Wintery Things to Sew: The Colette Moneta Dress

By
 

The chill is in the air in this part of the world, and we are all reaching for layers of comfy things to keep us warm. Layerable dresses with sleeves? Yes please. The Colette Moneta dress for knits looked like it might tick a few of those boxes. And indeed it has. 

I made this wearable muslin from this Soy/Organic Cotton/Spandex French Terry in 'Coffee Bean'. It's a sturdy, medium weight knit with lots of drape plus just the right amount of spandex necessary for the Moneta. 

I chose to make the Medium based on my waist measurements. My sizing tends to be all over the place with Collette patterns so I picked somewhere in the middle, hoping it would be the easiest place to let the adjustment party begin. Happily, nay - amazingly, no adjustments were needed. Happy days! 

This came together super quickly on my domestic sewing machine using its stretch stitch (a small zig zag would have done equally well) and the overcast stitch to finish the seams, plus a ball point needle and walking foot. It would overlock even faster.

Silly twirl shot to show the back.
It's a great pattern and I'll definitely make another. The only hitch came once I'd tried it on and noticed some excess fabric just under the arms. Thanks to the wonderfully helpful sewing blog network (thank you Rachel and Emma!), this problem was diagnosed as a common one, easy fixed with a straightforward adjustment (link below).

 

Pattern notes:
Pattern: Colette Moneta, version 3 with 3/4 length sleeves.
Fabric: Soy/Organic Cotton/Spandex French Terry in 'Coffee Bean'.
Notions: The pattern calls for clear elastic at the waist (available in store).
Size: Medium.
Alterations: Nothing for this version, but next time I'll follow this great tutorial at Miss Make to combat the dreaded underarm crinkle. I'd also noted online that some makers had opted to gather their skirt waist using a good old gathering stitch rather than shirring the clear elastic - I gave this a go and it worked out fine.

- Fiona & Jane xx

Comments

Post a Comment

We love to know who's reading and what you think so please leave us a comment! We'll also try to answer any questions you may have.

Popular posts from this blog

Pattern Review: In The Folds Jumpsuit (free pattern for Peppermint Magazine)

By
Image
Did someone say jumpsuit? Free pattern? By fantastic Australian designer In The Folds ? I was onto it like a shot! Pattern promo pic: I certainly hope Emily of In The Folds is paid quite well by Peppermint Magazine for the patterns she designs for them, because she's a thorough professional. This is a great pattern, a really well-constructed blank slate for individual interpretation or just a really clean, simple silhouette. So thanks Peppermint Magazine , for making this available to sewists everywhere (and for encouraging sewing in general)! And thanks Emily for the fab designs (more online here ). I made a muslin, which we always recommend and is particularly wise for a fabric-hungry pattern like this. You really don't want to use your 'good' fabric until you're sure of what you're doing. Muslin legs not full length because that was not necessary to check fit The pattern states that it's designed for a height of 5'7" which is a good f
Read more

Care of your Boiled Wool

By
Image
We have some lovely 100% boiled wools at The Drapery for this first time this year. The care of these fabrics was a bit of a mystery to us as well as to you, so we've done some investigation. Will my boiled wool shrink if I wash it at home? More than likely, yes. That surprised us, too. One would guess since the fabric is called 'boiled wool' and has a felted, non-fray texture, that it is pre-shrunk and would not shrink further. Not so - please be well aware! Here's what we found: We tried three kinds of gentle washing: - Front loading machine wash 'wool cycle', 30 degrees , with wool wash liquid, rinse, spin. - Gentle hand wash, warm , with wool wash liquid, rinse, press dry in a towel. - Front loading machine wash 'wool cycle' cold , with wool wash liquid, rinse, spin. In both warm washes (machine and hand) the wool experienced 10 - 15% shrinkage in length. There was little to no shrinkage in width. The cold wash showed sligh
Read more

Boiled Wool Shrug - free tutorial

By
Image
We have some luscious boiled wools in stock at The Drapery right now, and have put together a free tutorial for possibly the easiest garment you'll ever make! Searching for boiled wool inspiration, we came across this simple and lovely shrug by Manda of Treefall Design, who was inspired by a ready-to-wear piece. We whipped up a couple of prototypes in the shop and arrived at this which takes just a 75cm cut of fabric and three straight seams. Edges can all be left raw because boiled wool does not fray! REQUIREMENTS 75cm x boiled wool , ours is 150cm wide - would also work in wool knit fabric such as this Japanese wool blend (or this one ) and this Merino Rib Gutermann Sew-All thread in matching colour Cut about 50 - 55cm in from each selvedge so you have 2 pieces approx. 50 x 75cm, each with a 75cm fluffy selvedge. The piece from the middle is spare so you can use it for another project, or perhaps to embellish your shrug. Pin your pieces together along th
Read more