My first Colette Monetta

Here you thought I wasn’t sewing anything during April. Silly you!

003I’ve been seeing this dress all over the internet and finally decided it was time for me to make one. This is the Monetta dress from Colette Patterns, and INDY designer.

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I have a lot to learn about sewing stretchy knits. I think this crazy striped fabric is called ITY (interlock twist yarn.) I’m still learning what the different types of knit are and what they look like.  The fabric is really stretchy. It drapes beautifully and is Very Comfortable to wear…like wearing pajamas except its a dress, lol! But not the easiest thing to sew…slippery and I couldn’t press a crease into it, so it was hard to make a nice hem.

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I sewed it on my domestic machine (I don’t have a serger, though would dearly love one!) and used my walking foot and a ball point needle. Oh, and I also used a twin needle for the first time.

I don’t know what I did, but I stretched the neck out somehow. It comes dangerously close to falling off my shoulders, though it hasn’t yet. I hope it survives the washing machine.  I’ll be more careful with the neck next time.  And I couldnt find clear elastic so used regular elastic instead. I liked how the skirt is gathered directly onto the elastic. It was so easy to do! The hard part was sewing the gathered bit into the bodice – I caught a bit of the skirt up into the seam here and there, making puckers (not too noticeable). BUT… The regular elastic is stiff compared to the clear stuff, so there is a hard ridge that IS noticeable, which is why I’m wearing a belt. 

Oh, and I put a button on the front for decoration (not really…it’s so I’ll know which is the front when putting it on!)

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And this dress has pockets! …though I’m not happy with the job I did on them. They kind of stick out a bit. And really, I prefer not to have pockets in a dress, so I won’t put them into the next one. This is version 2 of the pattern. It’s a great pattern, I recommend it. Three sleeve options, lined or unlined bodice, collar or no collar (and you can download a booklet containing a big handful of different collars to use when you pay for the pattern – bonus!) I’ll make the next one with the lined bodice version and a collar.

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Next one? You bet! My friend Dee and I will be having a Monetta day together later this month! You can be sure to see the fashion show right here!

9 comments

  1. Great dress and beautiful fabric! I agree on the pockets, they can so easily distort the side seams. I noticed your question about the lining on my blog. I find lining the bodice gives a cleaner overall look (more forgiving for my lumps and bumps!) and a better finish for the neckline. No visible stitching and less stretching out of shape. At the armscye I treated both layers as one on regular fabric, on sheer fabric I would set in the sleeves on the outer shell and fold in and hand stitch the seam allowances of the lining. Can’t wait to see your next Moneta!

  2. I think you have made a super job on your dress. Call it a test run ready for the next one. More importantly it fits you well and it really suits you too. Looks great with the yellow. Applauding you.

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