It’s been so much fun to play along with Me Made May! I’m really enjoying this idea of wearing and styling the clothes I’ve made for myself, and since I switched our closets to spring and summer clothes the last weekend in April (I was feeling optimistic about the weather), it’s been fun to see all my old spring and summer clothing friends again. Also, now that spring has arrived I’ve remembered that I have actual arms and legs, not just furry sweaters over multiple layers of long underwear!
Over on Instagram the other day Rae and I started chatting about how much fun it would be to involve our kids in this idea of wearing and appreciating handmade clothes for a month. We were inspired to start a June project we’re calling Made for Kids Month, and we hope you’ll join us!
Here’s the idea: For the whole month of June, let’s encourage our kids to wear and enjoy their handmade items. Whether their clothes have been made by a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, friend, or themselves, let’s encourage them to wear it proudly!
S selected this ensemble just for you. I love it when kids feel free to express themselves through their clothing and thought this photo might encourage them to do so!
Here are a few thoughts about the project:
- Participate as much or as little as you and your kids like. This isn’t a contest, just a fun project for you to do together!
- Let your kids express their own style: Mismatched? Crazy color schemes? Eighteen different prints? Who cares? Kids love to choose their own clothing, and this project will encourage them to play and experiment. S always says that wearing mismatched socks helps her to fight “the feeling of ennui.” We could all use a little of that, right?
- You don’t need to participate every day. For example, S’s school has a dress code, and she can’t wear hand-made clothing very much during the week. So we’ll probably focus on weekends when we have time and she feels like participating.
- Let your kids be the guide here. If they don’t want to participate, that’s OK. Don’t force them! We want this to be fun for everyone. No meltdowns! (Parents, that includes you.)
- Post your photos to Instagram, the new Made for Kids Month Flickr group, Twitter, and/or your blog. Use hashtag #madeforkidsmonth so we can all find you. And feel free to post photos in more than one place, too!
- This project might give you some opportunities to talk to your children about where our clothes come from. Like with Fashion Revolution Day, let’s teach kids about who makes our clothing. Maybe they don’t think about it very much. Whether you’ve sewn just a few items (so far) or you make everything for your kids, it’s good to talk to them about their clothing. We want you and your kids to be proud of the clothing you’ve made and to enjoy spending time making things.
- If you’re able to do so, set aside a little time this month to make something together just for the fun of it. It doesn’t have to be clothing. Make a painting together, or take turns making silly faces for the camera. Let’s celebrate kids and creativity!
- And who knows, maybe our kids will be inspired to get involved in making clothing themselves, if they haven’t yet. Maybe June will be a great opportunity for your first parent-kid sewing lesson.
Will you join us? I hope so!
Do you really want to use two different hashtags (#kidhandmade14 and #madeforkidsmonth) or is this a mistake? You might want to correct it in the text.
Besides this: Cool idea. I’m (or better my kids are) in!
Thanks for catching that Annika. Old hashtag leftover from an early draft of this post. It’s been corrected now.
Is the Day 5 dress an adult version of the Hide and See Dress? I love it.
I’ve been posting some of my kids for me made may! Will definitely be getting involved 🙂
Such a fun idea! My kids will love it! Thank you.
This is fantastic! You count my dress-loving kiddo and me in. Added bonus: Now I’ll actually have a good reason to get pictures of all of her hand-mades instead of just *thinking* about doing so!
Oh, I love this! She’s outgrown many of the things I’ve made her but about 80% of her wardrobe is grandmother-made so I think we should have a good number of outfits to draw on. And I have some items in the works for her anyway (like her Lego Birthday dress I’m going to make with either the Ice Cream Dress or Popover Sundress pattern), will give me a good reason to get them all done!
Oh what an awesome idea! I look forward to seeing so many great photos. I know one of my guys would gladly do this every day, oh wait he already does! Not all hand made but he loves to wear as many colors as possible.
Can’t wait!!
I’m so in!
My kids will enjoy this! I will try to get my sewing students involved so they can post the kids clothes they have made too. My daughter and son have made quite a few by themselves too which I shall bring to the front of the wardrobe! Posting on twitter x
COUNT ON ME!
Hmmm…. 30 days x 2 kids = minimum 60 garments. I think I can do that! And I’d be prepared to bet over 50 of those things will be Oliver + S!!
Pretty much every day is made by mum, chosen by kids at our house.
What a fantastic idea. I will see if my grand children will participate at least as much as they can. They love to wear the clothes I make and the sweaters their other grand ma makes. Great awareness!!!!
So fun! I linked up here to spread the word: http://swoodsonsays.com/sew-a-long-calendar/
Great initiative lies (and rae)! As part of my commitment to me made may I pledged to have one of my kids wear something handmade each day during may. Looks like I’ll be stepping it up for June! You know I’m so on board with knowing where our clothes come from and this is a great way to include our kids in the conversation. Looking forward to being part of it.
Sad I have been so busy I didn’t know about this. But it has been a handmade clothing-heavy June anyway since Kindergarten graduation needed a dress, and dd’s birthday is mid-month and she gets at least one birthday dress (I also made a leotard that I’m not too happy with, it needs adjusting in the length but she wore it to dance anyway). The kids’ school also has uniforms (at least the bottom half of which I made, [they have a uniform polo shirt that is embroidered and I can’t duplicate that] that counts right?:D) but now they are both out they wear their mommy-made playclothes every day.