Insta Challenges Everywhere!

It’s May 1st! We all know what that means – it’s time for Me Made May 2018! I will be joining in for the first time this year and I am so excited!

It seems to be the season of Insta challenges with so many beginning and ending at the moment. The end of April marked the end of #soiselflessewingmonth which was organised by Sew Over It , the challenge was to dedicate all of your sewing in April to sewing for others. I took part for the entire month and actually really enjoyed it. I kind of used it as an excuse to get through a big to-do-list of things I wanted to sew for people. My little boy has just gone up a size and so I made him three t-shirts and two pairs of jogging bottoms. I made a sweet baby set of dungarees and a bib for a friend who is about to have a baby. I made my hubby a t-shirt to match our son for his birthday and I made a new duvet cover and pillowcase for my little one’s toddler bed.

As I didn’t make anything for myself in April I haven’t done any mad sewing to prepare for Me Made May. If you want to know more or to sign up, head over to Zoe’s blog for all the deets. My pledge is to wear at least one handmade item each day in May, as I will have to repeat garments several times I am challenging myself to mix and match and try and find new ways to wear them. I am also hoping to identify any gaps in my wardrobe and make plans for upcycling or making some things to fill those gaps. My little boy turns three this month and I am still wearing some maternity clothes so I am in desperate need of a wardrobe update – by the end of May I hope to have come up with a plan!

The only thing I made for myself (on the last night of April!) is this top which I whipped up so that I can take part in Insta Challenge #sewoutofthisworld which finishes on May the Fourth – so if you want to take part you only have a few more days! This challenge has been organised by Sew Loco and has three different missions you can take part in:

Mission 1: To Infinity and Beyond – Make a pledge to challenge yourself this month and try something new. Really think about what could take your sewing skills to the next level, and push yourself.

Mission 2: Tackling UFOs – Start off by seeking out your UFOs… count them and identify the ones that still have potential. Make a pledge to complete as many as you can between now and May the 4th.

Mission 3: Stargazer – Let your creative juices flow and dream up a cosmic outfit worthy of a trip to outer space! Share your inspiration, and progress photos on instagram – or keep us all in the dark until the big reveal.

I decided to take part in the Stargazer mission as I knew I had some off this starry night fabric in my stash leftover from the Kielo Wrap Dress I made in it. SO not only does it qualify for #sewoutofthisworld it also qualifies for #sewingleftovers and #makeyourstash – didn’t I say there were TONS of sewing challenges going on right now?!

Dudes, it is HARD to take pictures of yourself with a remote. I am such a doofus.

Anyway, more about the top. I was really inspired by Jen of Pins and Whiskers when she made this Chalk and Notch Waterfall Raglan. I feel like I have a similar style to Jen so when she made this I immediately loved it even though it’s not a silhouette I would have usually considered. I already have the Patterns For Pirates Slim Fit Raglan however, so I wasn’t about to buy another raglan pattern, instead I decided to hack my own version! It was a simple hack – I widened and cropped the t-shirt shape and then copied the peplum pieces from the In The Folds Peplum Top I made at the beginning of March. I had to make it short sleeved as the scrap pieces I was using for making this were only small.

All in all I am really happy with it, I have worn it all day today and it is comfy and floaty and I do think I would make this hack again! To make it even more #sewoutofthisworld I wore it with some space inspired pins from Kate Rowland.

So are you taking part in any sewing challenges at the moment? Do you think there are too many going on at once? I can think of at least three more I know of at the moment I haven’t mentioned here!