Moneta Party!!

It’s Moneta Party time!

If you are on Instagram you might well have seen that this is the weekend of the #monetaparty. Last month The Triple Stitchers announced the hash tag that has taken the Instagram sewing community by storm. The concept is that you make the Colette Patterns Moneta dress and post a picture on the social media site. There are sponsors giving away prizes which is awesome but really everyone is a winner here because the pattern is just so damn awesome!!

Let me start by talking about the pattern itself. This is the first time I have used a Colette pattern and I am super impressed. The Moneta includes sizes XS-3XL which is a massive range. Sizes 2XL and 3XL are drafted separately from the rest, meaning a much better fit.

There are three versions of the dress to choose from, including shorter sleeves, sleeveless with a lined bodice and the option of a collar that overlaps at the centre back. I opted for version three which has 3/4 length sleeves – however they came up a little shorter on me than what I what typically class as a 3/4 length. I’m still incredibly happy with the sleeves but would probably lengthen them next time. But that just goes to show the versatility of this dress as I think it would also work if I altered the pattern to include a full length sleeve.

For the bodice I cut a large at the bust and graded out to an XL at the waist as well as adding an extra inch to the length, due to being slightly fuller of bust. I did toy with the idea of doing an FBA and googled how that would be done with a knit fabric but decided just to go for it and if it didn’t work great I’d just call it a wearable toile. As it happens I’m delighted with the fit. As the skirt is not fitted at the hips, on checking the finished garment measurements I stuck with an XL for the skirt as well, but added an extra two inches to the length. For reference I’m 5’7″ but with wide hips which can result in skirts coming up too short on me.

The only alteration I would do next time is to bring the neckline in by about 1.5cm on each side at the shoulders as I’m getting a little bit of bra strap peeking out and keep having to pull it up slightly. The pattern instructions don’t suggest stabilising the shoulder seams the way a lot of other knit patterns do. I stuck with the instructions but next time I probably would add a bit of clear elastic or ribbon just to be on the safe side, this stops the fabric from stretching out at a point where there can be a lot of stress on the garment.

The instructions suggest hemming using a twin needle. I don’t currently have a twin needle for my machine so I just overlocked the raw edges and turned them up, which I think looks fine.

A word on overlocking, my machine did not get on with this fabric until I released the top blade. The two layers of fabric were being fed through at different speeds which would have resulted in seriously wonky seams. As the fabric is a knit there wasn’t an awful lot of fraying to worry about anyway. Being new to the world of overlocking I didn’t feel confident enough to sew the dress up entirely on the overlocker so I used a zig zag seam on my regular machine first and then went over it with the overlocker.

The fabric is a gorgeous double knit ponte, with a black and red floral jacquard design meaning it has a slight texture to it. I purchased it from Fabworks using the discount code they gave out for those joining in with the Moneta party. I was a little worried when it turned up that it would be too thick for the gathered skirt but it’s worked perfectly.

The skirt is lightly gathered using clear elastic, which was a new-to-me technique. I used 9mm elastic which I bought from Guthrie & Ghani alongside the pattern itself.

Just to complete an already amazing pattern… it also has pockets!

I have already seen about a million versions of the Moneta pop up on Instagram, and I am so excited to see everyone’s dresses over the weekend. I think in different fabrics you can end up with a completely different look. I am definitely going to be making this one again. I think I could easily just wear a different Moneta every single day. The perfect pattern.

I managed to finish this dress just in time for a lovely Valentines Day dinner at home.

Are you joining in with the Moneta party?