Liberty Moneta

I took a jaunt up to the Pacific Northwest for a family vacation last week and decided it was the perfect opportunity to sew myself another Colette Moneta. This is my third (one and two), although the first in a three-quarter sleeve length. I so like the plain, no frills version of this pattern because it's easy to wear a thousand different ways.

The fabric is a jersey from Liberty of London, and the first Liberty I've sewn with! I can't believe I started on a knit. I've got to finally use some of the cotton Liberty I've been saving in my stash!

It sewed very well, although I do notice I've got a bit of rippling and excess fabric at the CF neckline. For my second version, I did take out a small dart there, but I either needed to take out more, or I managed to stretch it a bit while I was sewing the neckline. I might try ripping that out and turning it into a lower scoop or a V-neck to fix it. 

The construction is pretty straightforward, and the same as the previous Monetas I've made. I serged the seams, coverstitched the hems, and added elastic at the waist and shoulders for extra support (and to create the gathers at the waist). I've still never fallen in love with sewing or wearing knits, but I do like to have a few of these in my wardrobe. I find they get good use, especially on trips. 

Since this is a pretty simple project, I had these grand ambitions of showing you gorgeous photos at the Multnomah Falls or rose gardens in Portland, but alas, the weather was not on my side! It was unseasonably cold during our visit. In fact, the locals said it felt more like late October/early November. Well that's pretty much dead of winter for us Texans, so I stuck to wearing pants. 

At any rate, I did manage to wear it one evening in Seattle for dinner when it warmed up a bit. Leo was waiting for me when we checked in, and he liked my new Moneta very much! Tehehehe.

Red & White Striped Moneta

Greetings from Austin! Well, it's always "Greetings from Austin" from me, but since I've shown you this pattern once before, I thought I would also show you this spectacular postcard mural.I have loved wearing my Colette Moneta so much, that I decided to sew a second version before the summer was up. This delightful red and white stripe fabric is a bamboo jersey knit. It's so wonderfully soft!

I made two fit changes from my first version of this pattern. I shortened the bodice by 1/2", and then I took 3/4" out of the neckline where I had a bit of gaping. My seamline is right at my natural waist now, which also means my belt doesn't look like it's riding up. Much better! 

I've read quite a few folks have had problems with the gathering method on this skirt. The instructions call for you to baste elastic to the skirt, which will gather it when you are finished. I didn't have any problems the first time around, or so I thought, so I proceeded per the instructions.

With stripes, though, you can really tell when things go wonky and it definitely did. I ended up ripping it all out and sewing it again because I wasn't able to get even gathers. It made the stripes look like they were hopping all around the top of my skirt. If I were ever to make another version, I think I'd do the regular old gathers with basting stitches.

Now, I'm still trying to sort out the coverstitch on my serger, and I continued to struggle with top-stitching over the seams on this dress. The stitch just isn't even when I go over those bumps. I tried decreasing the foot pressure, and although it helped, it didn't solve the problem. I'm thinking of trying a hump jumper. There was a thread on Pattern Review that indicated it should fix the problem. 

Source

Have you ever tried a hump jumper, sometimes called jean-a-ma-jig, or the DIY version, a stack of post-its? 

Polka Dot Colette Moneta

Oh, the Moneta! I see what all the hubbub is about! After diving into the world of knits with Coco, I thought I would try to brave a Colette Moneta in this dreamy polka dot jersey.

I was eager to get sewing on this one, so I didn't even bother to make a muslin. When it comes to knits, I live on the EDGE. I sewed a size L, my measurements matching most closely to the 12. I was really pleased with how well it fit me right out of the envelope. I have 2 small tweaks I'll be making for my next version - shortening the waist by about 1/2" and taking a small dart out of the neckline on the pattern to remove a bit of gaping. 

I tried a new method of cutting this time, which I've read is good for knits and other slippery fabrics, where I layered a piece of paper (the thin kind you sit on at doctor's office) between the fabric. It really did help keep it stable while I cut, but it was a struggle to get it all in place. I ended up laying it all on my living room floor, but I felt like I was basting a quilt with all that smoothing.  I think I got a more accurate cut in the end, though, so I'm hoping that gets less awkward to set up the more I do it. Here's a snap where you can see the paper between the two layers pretty well: 

The simplicity of this dress is a big part of what attracted me to it. Dresses like this are so easy to wear and can easily be sewn and worn in so many ways! My pattern making semester didn't cover knits and I haven't sewn with them much, so I'm also fascinated with the pattern itself and how you make fit adjustments. Plus, Jersey is so comfy! It's a superb casual dress.

Hooray for working with new fabrics! Are you trying any new fabrics or techniques this summer? 

Swan Dive: A Colette Hawthorn Peplum

This blouse is exactly how I pictured it in my head. I begin there, because it's rare that actually happens! A swan peplum leaped into my mind one evening fully formed, and with the Colette Hawthorn pattern, "Swan Dive" fabric from Michael Miller, and a little bit of sewing magic, here it is!

This is my second version of the Colette Hawthorn. My first version was a dress made out of plaid wool, and it's one of the most flattering dresses that I've made. I judge that by the fact that my mother asks me if I've lost weight every time I wear it, even though I know I haven't because I spend my free time going to things like artisanal cheese tasting classes. 

Since I had proof that I looked slim in the Hawthorn, I didn't make any additional fit changes from my first version. My original changes included shortening the dart 1", doing 1/4" broad back adjustment, and taking 1/2" out of the waist.

The short-sleeve version of this pattern has a cuff that is a really nice detail. I also loved all the top stitching! I got myself a new Bernina, which I really should post about soon, and the stitch is so lovely it makes me want to top stitch everything! 

Wool Plaid Colette Hawthorn

My latest make is a Hawthorn by Colette Patterns. The fabric is from my stash, a plaid wool I purchased from High Fashion Fabrics in Houston, TX. It's ideal for winter!

I confess I was unsure about the Hawthorn when it first released, mostly because the collar seemed a little odd to me. Like most of us in the sewing community, I adore Colette Patterns and decided to give it a go anyway. I'm so glad that I did! The pattern came together really nicely with minimal changes, and it's a very comfortable and becoming dress. I even really like the collar now. 

The Case of the Mismatched Plaid

The pattern gave me no trouble, but the plaid is an entirely different story. All of my seams lined up grandly, except for one dastardly side of the skirt. I cursed the heavens and simultaneously scratched my head in confusion when this happened. I couldn't understand what went wrong. A mystery!

Huzzah!

$#!@*#!...

I was determined to get to the bottom of it, so I started work on another plaid wool dress. What's that you say? I'm daft? There was a mystery to solve! As any good amateur sleuth knows, you must recreate the scene of the crime to get the juices flowing.

This Gum Shoe Cracks the Case!

I realized in working on the second dress that I had paid very careful attention to my fabric being on the straight grain and my center seams matching. I neglected to pay attention to the cross grain. I didn't keep it straight as I went, and I ended up with one side that was wonky. A good lesson that is easily correctable on future garments!

I'm also still working on plaid matching with sleeves. I went with vertical instead of horizontal for the dominant stripe to break things up a bit. I hit it dead on in some places, and not so much in others. I know from lots of investigative work on the internet that not everything will match at a sleeve, but I still haven't quite sorted out what can!

Shifting the Dart for Plaid Matching: Tutorial Coming Soon

The bust darts on the Hawthorn are slightly angled. This is jolly good, except for when you have a stripe or a plaid. It will make your line cattywampus at your bust. 

I didn't want this, so I shifted the dart to be perpendicular, making sure it stayed pointed at my bust apex. Here's the difference.

Dart on the left is original to pattern, dart on right is with shifting.

See? The dart on the left causes the plaid lines to not match up, whereas the one on the right keeps things all lined up. I'll post up a tutorial on Thursday to show you how I did that. 

Colette Taffy

Another gem from the Colette Sewing Handbook! This is the Taffy.

Sewing Air

I used Silk Georgette for this top from The Common Thread, a local fabric shop here in Austin. I've never sewn a silk before, so this was a new experience for me. 

In the end, I found cutting to be the most challenging. I used masking tape to tape my fabric to my hardwood floor so that it wouldn't slip around so much while cutting. I thought it worked fairly well, until I started sewing and discovered my front top was all wobbly at the bottom ends. So perhaps not as precise as I had hoped...I saw on Colette Snippets today that they recommended a fabric spray stabilizer, so I will have to try that next time. 

Sewing turned out to be just fine, despite the airy quality of the fabric. I loved doing the French seams. They just look so beautiful. 

Bias Woes

Like a complete ninny, I forgot to staystitch my neckline as soon as I cut. The end result was that my neckline stretched quite a bit when I applied the bias tape. So my two options were...

 I could have worn it like this, with a lovely droop in the middle. 

Or like so, as a kind of off the shoulder number.

As I'm sure you can tell by my face, I wasn't too keen on either of those options. I also didn't want to put a dart because the fabric is so sheer. 

I got a stroke of genius, though, and remembered I had elastic thread in a bobbin from the shirring I did on my shirtwaist dress. So I ripped out the stitches on the bias tape, sewed a line with elastic thread in the bobbin, and it fixed the problem! The little bit of gathering just looks like it's part of the design of the top, so it worked out splendidly.

The Flutter Sleeves

I've seen quite a few posts where people have said that the largeness of the flutter sleeves bothered them on this top. I actually quite like them! What do you think? 

Until next time, remember to staystitch those curves!

My Easter Dress: Colette Truffle

Feast your eyes on my Easter Dress! This is another pattern from The Colette Sewing Handbook from Colette Patterns.

I must admit, I was uncertain about this dress going into it. I was unsure about the fabric I had selected (perhaps too vintage table clothe-y?), and I didn't know if the asymmetrical ruffle across the front would be flattering on me. I am a convert! 

The drape-y bits actually conceal the parts I want to hide while the fitted under-skirt shows a nice silhouette of my figure. As Edith Head said, "You're dresses should be tight enough to show you're a woman and loose enough to show you're a lady." Amen, sister!

The only trouble I had was with attaching the lining. The instructions tell you to attach the lining to the dress, right sides together, then flip it inside out through the shoulders. I felt like I was fitting a camel through the eye of a needle! 

What is was like cramming my entire dress through the shoulder straps to flip it inside out. 

The end effect is very nice, and it saved me a lot of hand stitching, but it was a struggle! I also ended up top stitching at the neckline and armholes instead of doing an under stitch because I couldn't manipulate it right to understitch the whole thing.

I'm loving it, though! And do you see my new hat?! Another little beauty from Poppycock Vintage.