Wintery Things to Sew: The Colette Moneta Dress

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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

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