Colette Moneta

The Colette Moneta is still my go-to knit dress pattern.  I need to replace my previous makes because they've reached the end of their life span.  I've made it so many times that there really isn't anything left to say about it, so you're just getting pictures.  

You can see the hint of lining peeking through in the back, so I'll have to stitch that down.

Happy sewing!

Two Fall Monetas

I was gung-ho to start the Jean-ius course on Craftsy but hit a roadblock when I discovered I needed silk organza.  I'll have to order some so in the meantime I made two Monetas for fall.  A couple of years ago I saw a picture in a magazine of a woman wearing a knit dress, a cardigan and a scarf.  So cute and chic. I've tried to come up with a couple of "uniforms" for fall to keep myself focused and this is one of them.

I absolutely love this gray fabric I found at my local fabric store.  It is such a nice quality.  It was $16/yard which feels pricey when you're looking at the bolt but it's so much better to buy something high quality that wears well.  

My original intention was to make it with sleeves but at the last minute I left them off.  I'm going to see if I can get more wear out of a sleeveless top in a heavier fabric.  Maybe if I wear it with a heavy sweater, tights and boots I can wear it in the winter but also in the spring and fall with a lighter sweater.

This is my second Moneta with the Peter Pan collar (first one here). I thought maybe the previous material was to blame for the collar sticking up but I had the same issue with this material.  I've had a Bernina machine for a couple of year and would you believe that this is the first time I've used a decorative stitch? I used it to anchor the the collar to the dress. After I completed it I was sad I didn't think ahead and do some embroidery all over the collar.  Next time, I guess.

I only managed to get one decent picture of the second Moneta because my photographer/son was chomping at the bit to go out with his friends.  I had a few issues with this dress.  1) I know that I just said that I feel better when I buy higher quality fabrics.  I didn't follow my own advice on this one.  I ordered this online.  I was so in love with the idea of polka dots but the quality is just not great. It's thin and flimsy. 2)  I made the version that doesn't have a lined bodice.  Since I was going to use a twin needle around the neckline I decided to reinforce it with knit interfacing.  Disaster! The fabric stretched and curled so bad that I won't be wearing this one without a scarf.  3) I use the XS bodice graded out to a small at the waist.  I figured the XS sleeves would fit snugly around my biceps but they were very baggy.  I went back and used a much bigger seam allowance but I'll have to fix the pattern piece.

Moneta #3

One of the things I love about sewing is the ability to make an outfit for yourself out of anything you want.  If you want to go into the kid section for some knit fabric with ladybugs on it, then go for it just like I did.

This is my second to last Moneta for the season.  After the next one I'm making myself stop for awhile but then when fall and winter are approaching it's game on.

The ladybug fabric is from www.fabricworm.com and it's by Birch.  I love it even though it's not very drapey.  I like nice drapey jersey for this dress.  This fabric would be more suitable for a top that doesn't need drape but it still works here.

 

The orange fabric is from Sarah's in Lawrence KS.  It's a great quality fabric but it's a little on the thick side.  So is the ladybug fabric.  I was supposed to interface the Peter Pan collar but I didn't because 1) I didn't have any interfacing and I was feeling too lazy to run to the store and 2) I was worried that with the thickness of the fabric it would be a big bulky collar if I added interfacing.  I should have interfaced it because it waves a bit.  I'll know for next time. 

 

 

 

This is as close to the back of the dress as we're going to see today.  I just used the front piece out of the envelope for the back and then forgot to take a picture of it.

 

 

You can see how the hem waves a little bit.  I wasn't planning on that but I like it.  I used a twin needle for hemming and the wave gives it a little bit of extra personality.

 

 

I bought this label from www.sewaholicpatterns.com.  I love it! 

 

 







Colette Moneta #2

Oh look.  Another Moneta. I don't see my love affair with this pattern coming to an end at any point in the near future.  It's easy to make and easier to wear which makes it the best in my book! Eventually maybe I'll get to the point where I only provide pictures with no text because I'll run out of things to say about it.

 

My oldest son has taken over as lead photographer for my sewing projects which is hilarious because he's such a jock.  He picked this location and told me where to stand so pretty much all I had to do was show up.  I'm happy because arranging photographs can be challenging when you are in them.  The above picture is my attempt at following the instruction to "look sassy."  Looking sassy is really hard.

 

 

I bought this fabric at Hancock's when I was in there for elastic.  It was sitting on the clearance rack for $3.50 a yard so I thought I wouldn't be losing much if it didn't work out.  It feels like tshirt material so when I'm wearing it's like wearing pajamas.

 



 

The flaps at the back look a little funny because the material tends to curl a little bit.  I can't see it so I'm not going to worry about it.  I chose to do a rolled hem instead of serging and turning under.  I actually did serge it first but it was rolling so much I decided to be lazy and just do the rolled hem.  I like it.  Rolled hems are a lot easier when you know how to do them.

 

I wonder how many of these I can make this summer.......

Colette Moneta

 

 

I love, love, love the Moneta from Colette Patterns! I purchased both the Moneta and Mabel (which I will not be making as a mini skirt in case you're wondering) plus The Colette Guide to Sewing Knits during the pre-sale which meant I didn't know what patterns I was buying.  So risky but turned out so well! It's a great every-day dress for my lifestyle.  I look more put together than shorts and a shirt but I'm still super comfortable which was the point of my RTW fast.

 

I used a Liberty of London Dufour jersey knit called Gleason from www.fabric.com but it's gone now.  Those Liberty prints are so pricey but so worth it.  It almost feels a little silky and sews up very well.  A standard adjustment for me is lengthening the bodice by an inch because I have a long torso and adding length to the skirt because I generally try to avoid the awkward maneuvering you have to do in a shorter skirt with kids and living life in general.  I did both of those adjustments but the bodice turned out too long and I serged inches off the skirt to get it to hit me at the knee. I don't feel uncomfortable in it but I will take away that inch in the bodice next time.

 

 

I went with the standard collar even though the pattern comes with 5 free downloadable collar variations.  I've never sewn sleeves by reaching between the bodice and lining before.  I liked the finish and will do that again.

 

I didn't realize until too late that the belt is way too big.  That's why I'm holding it with my finger in previous pictures.  It does allow you to see the gathering at the waistline in this picture though:

 

 

The dress is extremely easy to sew but gathering the skirt with the elastic did give me a second of trouble.  It went smoothly after I got the hang of it.  I had to stitch it down every few inches to keep things stable while I stretched the elastic.  Stretching the elastic while trying to keep it at the edge of the fabric for long stretches was too hard. 

 



 

I think I've found a wardrobe staple! It makes me laugh that I used to think knits were super hard.  This is my second knit garment and I'm in love.