I probably wouldn't have ended up making one had I had not found the softest squishiest jersey in Simply Solids. I might go buy the rest because it's the perfect stripe fabric.
Anyway all was going swimmingly sewing the Moneta, I sewed the whole thing on my overlocker, pockets and all, and twin needled all the hems. I was starting to think it was the most professional dress I'd ever made.
Then came the skirt. Now if you've never made a Moneta before you gather the skirt using elastic by cutting the elastic to the length of the bodice and stretching it. In THEORY this is supposed to gather the skirt nice and evenly. It doesn't. There was bad swearing. There was ripping out. There were tantrums.
I sewed the effing thing twice and I still couldn't get it to gather evenly. Eventually I gathered the bodice using the embroidery thread method and then overlocked the elastic and the bodice and skirt at the same time. My sewing machine hated sewing the elastic but my overlocker didn't even notice it was there.
There was some searching of the Internet during this skirt fiasco, and it seems most people don't sew the skirt the way that Colette suggest. Now this really pissed me off, this is supposed to be a beginner pattern. Now had I picked this up and sewed it as my first jersey dress pattern I would've possibly given sewing jersey up forever which is a shame because I looooove jersey, especially dem stripes. Anyway, I digress, the point is, there are easier ways to do what Colette suggest without having to
lose your sanity along the way. Theres too many factors that can go wrong using the elastic to gather the skirt; the machine, the tension, type of elastic etc. I may being a little dramatic but it's put me off Colette a little. I sewed the Marianne dress which is also jersey and a beginner pattern with elastic in the shoulders with no problems!
Anyway, rant over, I love my dress. I sized up to accommodate my (newly) massive bust and expanding waistline but it still came out bigger than I was expecting, the fabric is quite heavy which pulls the bodice down. Don't worry if you think you won't fit into your usual size, there's a bit of negative ease here. I love the oversized look so this will be perfect after my pregnancy.
In order to make it maternity friendly, I shortened the bodice by 3 stripes (technical term) and lengthened the front of the skirt by about a a few stripes and graded the sides up to match the back. Unfortunately the fabric isn't on grain and therefore the stripes aren't parallel to the selvedge which means the stripe at the bodice seam is wonky. I can really notice it but it doesn't look too bad in the pictures. I can always resew the bodice slightly to match it if it really bothers me. Once my pregnancy is over I just need to shorten the front skirt as its a little too long at the moment.
Overall I love my new dress despite the difficulty I had, it's like wearing secret pyjamas! Which is never a bad thing. I can see me living in this dress for quite some time. Oh and in case you're wondering we went to Bolton abbey in North Yorkshire for a walk and a picnic, I do love our little adventures!
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