Me Made May 2019 Week One

This is the fifth year I have taken part in Me-Made-May. During the first week of MMM I wore the following outfits:

Wednesday 1st May

Top: Merchant and Mills Camber Set Top  Fabric: HM Samuels ikat print viscose. Made: 2016 

Trousers: Oliver Bonas

Watch: Clear G Shock

Socks: Gap

Shoes: Paul Smith Burgundy Loafers

I love this top and you can read in my previous post how I have prolonged its life since the shoulder seams burst open at the end of the day!

Thursday 2nd May

Dress: So Over It Alex Shirt Dress. Fabric: Stoff and Stil. Made: 2017 

Watch: White G Shock

Shoes: Paul Smith Burgundy Loafers

This dress has had a lot of wear since I made it in 2017. I have another cut out ready to sew up in a black leaf-print viscose that was gifted to me last year. I just need to get around to sewing it up!

Friday 3rd May

Dress: Christine Haynes Emery Dress. Fabric: Viscose, Chapel Street Market. Made: 2017

Watch: White G Shock

Cardigan: Next via Oxfam, Highgate

Bangle: Oxfam, Putney

Trainers: Nike

A relaxed vibe with my Emery dress on Friday. I suspect the looser fit of this dress is mainly down to me cutting out a larger size although it has shrunk a little in the two years I have been wearing it. I ripped the side seam at lunchtime and spent a little time mending it this weekend.

Saturday 4th May
Top: Eva sweatshirt. Fabric: Tilly and the Buttons sweatshirt fleece. Made: 2019
Pants: Peak Performance jogging pants

I recently blogged about this sweatshirt and wasn't quite happy with the sleeves. The solution? I chopped them off to just above elbow length and I have worn it so much more now!

Sunday 5th May

Dressing Gown: Buchanan Fabric: Paul Frank. Made: 2017

I spent the majority of the day pottering around the house cleaning, sorting and chilling with my dressing gown on! That's what Bank Holiday weekends are for, right? This is my most worn make since sewing it two years ago. I have a second cut out ready to sew together so I can rotate between washes.

How is your Me-Made-May coming along?
Have you discovered any new items of clothing from following other peoples social media and blogs that you would like to make?

Me-Made-May 2018 Week Four

Wow, Me-Made-May week four already. I have been busy with work and had quite a few adventures after work to the Village Haberdashery again for the Social Sewing on Thursday and a meal out in Notting Hill with a friend on Friday. 

Day 21

Top: Merchant and Mills Camber Set Dress.  Fabric: Viscose, Guthrie & Ghani. Made: 2017

Watch: Black G Shock

Necklace: Tatty Devine stars A/W 2017

Belt: Top Shop

Shoes: Paul Smith black patent loafers

I really like this dress and seem to always wear it with a belt. The viscose has a wonderful drape but is very delicate. Some of the seams are beginning to fray at the sides near the in-seam pockets and I had to do a little repair at work in the morning with some hand-stitching. I may need to reinforce the side seams to ensure its longevity.

Day 22

Top: Grainline Scout Tee. Fabric: 100% cotton, Hong Kong. Made: 2016

Trousers: Gap

Watch: Black G Shock

Brooch: Tatty Devine anchor

Shoes: Paul Smith red Miller brogues

The Grainline Scout Tee is a simple and easy to wear top. Any long-term readers of CJ Made will attest to my LOVE for the Scout Tee! It is a perfect silhouette to showcase a pretty print or to use up a metre or less of left-over fabric.

Day 23

Top: Grainline Scout Tee. Fabric: 100% cotton, Hong Kong. Made: 2016

Trousers: Gap

Jacket: Levi's denim

Watch: Black G Shock

Trainers: Nike

Another Scout Tee. Well, I did say I loved them!

Day 24

Top: Oliver Bonas sale

Skirt: By Hand London Charlotte Skirt. Fabric: Plaid twill, Samuel Taylors. Made: 2017

Watch: Black G Shock

Shoes: Paul Smith purple Miller brogues

As the day progressed my very form-fitting Charlotte Skirt seemed to get tighter. Maybe I tweaked my fitting a little too much on this version because after lunch it feels a bit restrictive. I am still super proud of my plaid matching skills though and I love the black and white twill fabric.  

Day 25

Dress: Christine Haynes Emery Dress. Fabric: Viscose, Chapel Street Market. Made: 2017

Watch: White G Shock

Necklace: Tatty Devine brushstrokes

Shoes: Paul Smith red Miller brogues

A relaxed vibe with my Emery dress on Friday. I suspect the looser fit of this dress is mainly down to me cutting out a larger size when I have seen other versions via blogs and IG it looks like a more fitted dress. It also sits higher than my natural waist which makes is so comfy. I would like to make another version and perhaps will experiment with dropping the waist down 3cm and consider nipping in the waist slightly.

Days 26 & 27

Another weekend of house renovations wearing my stylish DIY clothes!

How is your Me-Made-May?

Did you do anything fun over the Bank Holiday if you are in the UK?

Polka Dot Emery Dress

I can't believe it has taken me so long to sew the classic Christine Haynes Emery Dress.

I used two metres of a cheap £2 p/m polka dot viscose that I bought from the Man Outside Iceland at Chapel Street market in Islington. I saw this as a wearable toile if things went well and if it was a disaster it was only £4 and a date with a seam-ripper. 

On a side note I am joining Jo at Stuff Jo Has Made blog who is encouraging us all to Sew Your Stash September! More details here. The three things I have made in September have all been from my stash and I have a pile of garments cut out from stash fabric ready to get sewn up when I get the chance. SYSS is going well so far.

I pretty much followed the instructions to the letter, the only changes I made were how I attached the lining. I used a method I learnt at Sew Over It from the lovely teacher Julie Johnston about hand-stitching the bodice lining to the arm hole for a neater finish. 

Self lined bodice hand-stitched at the armhole and waistline

I had to add a centre seam in the bodice lining due to shortage of fabric

The insides all look nice and neat here

Skirt seams were zig-zagged I haven't worked out how to do French Seams on skirts with internal side-seam pockets yet

Overall I am pretty happy with the dress. The skirt section is a great length for me, but I suspect the bodice is possibly a little big. It is quite loose at the waist. On a positive note it is very comfortable which is important feature if I wear it to work (secondary school art and technology teacher). I may look into slightly adjusting the bodice for version two.