Me Made May Week 1: Chartreuse, Polka Dots & a Reversible Skirt

Day 1: Georgina & Jalie With Jeans

Me-Mades (FOUR of them!):
1. Jalie 2921 scarf-collar floral poly knit top
2. Georgina cardigan by Alexis Winslow in chartreuse someone-else-handdyed Swans Island merino wool
3. Waving Lace ombré knit socks, both me-made AND me-hand-dyed
4. Striped undies adapted from RTW

Other:
• Not Your Daughter's Jeans Marilyn Straight Leg stretch jeans with natural waist (made in USA).
• Arcopedico Flower leather Mary Jane cut-out flats in black, bought for 50% off a few years ago and worn constantly. These shoes may be chunky, but they are SERIOUSLY comfortable for walking around the city.

Day 2: Plum and Fuschia Reversible Skirt Overload

Me-Mades (just 1, but it's REVERSIBLE!):
1. Self-drafted reversible shirred skirt, the Maggy London geometric side. This was the only maternity item I sewed in 2010 that still fits me now at 35 pounds lighter. I don't wear it too often because it's a bit of an awkward length (having been designed to go under a preggo belly) and doesn't seem to work well with tucked-in tops.

Z-Made (by my 2-year-old daughter):
• Colorful wooden beaded necklace. I love how she started out with just pink beads on one half, then got much more rainbow with it all. (Sorry, she's not taking commissions!)

Other:
• Silver Charm surplice top (made in USA).
• Fuschia silk rib-knit lace-edge cami, bought ages ago.
• Camper pink leather sandal wedges, bought ages ago (similar cross-strap Campers here).

Day 3: Pink, Red and Polka Dot Overload

Me-Mades (1):
1. Polka dot ombré surplice knit dress (McCall's 6070 top, self-drafted half circle skirt bottom).

Other:
• Pink lightweight cotton cardigan.
• Second Base Brittany demi lace cami (made in USA). This is a really cool item that I'm sure you clever sewists could easily knock off if you don't want to buy one—it's a soft little cami that ends just below the bust with a band of picot lingerie elastic, and makes for a less bulky bra-cover-up under a dress than a full-length cami.
• Red beaded necklace, a gift from my mom
• Fishnet-esque tights
• Camper Kim Mary Janes — sturdy heels in red leather... super comfortable even for decently long NYC walks.
• Belt borrowed from my favorite 40s-style Stop Staring wiggle dress that is not fitting me at the moment. GRRR.

I finally got Z happily participating in the photo shoots. Her outfit isn't me-made, but she picked it out herself because she wanted to "match Mommy." She's wearing a second-hand colorblocked Hello Kitty dress hand-me-down courtesy of fellow Me-Made-May-er Lee of the Slow Steady. (Hurrah for hand-me-downs!)

Day 4: Jalie Redux in Red and Cream Polka Dots

Me-Mades (2):
1. Jalie Scarf-Collar top in red and cream polka dot knit.
2. Monkey socks by Cookie A in kettle-dyed magenta superwash merino from Knit Picks (never blogged, but pictured in this post).
3. Tardis sock the second, in progress (held, not worn).

Other:
• Blue silk rib knit lace-edge cami (had forever)
• Not Your Daughter's Marilyn Straight Leg stretch jeans at natural waist in black. Yes, you have now seen the entirety of my jean collection—two pairs! (All I need, really, and I've even made do with just one in the past. But some day I'd like to sew some colorful ones...)
• Privo by Clarks super-comfortable falling-apart purple Mary Jane sneaker flats I've worn to shreds over the last five or six years. (Similaresque Privos here and here).

I'm happy with this outfit but pretty soon I'll be scraping the bottom of the me-made barrel since I have so few!

That's it so far—I'm doing my recaps through each Saturday.

Observations so far on Me Made May:

• Wow, this is fun...addictive, even! The Flickr community is really fantastic and encouraging.
• I originally pledged to wear at least 1 me-made just four days per week, but now that I'm in the thick of it, I may even aim for five or six days per week.
• I'm sure you're sick of the sewing corner of my living room, but the only way I'm going to get a photo each day is by keeping the tripod all set up in one spot.
• There's almost no distinction between work wear and weekend wear in my life.

Which outfit from Week 1 is your favorite?

**Disclosure: Actions you take from the ready-to-wear hyperlinks within this blog post may yield commissions for polkadotoverload.com (and quite likely spent on yarn or fabric).