So the day that Colette Patterns posted on Instagram that it was the last day for Moneta Madness, I decided to just jump in and order my dream dress.
I'll admit, it's sad to see such large space between the collar and the pockets or other pattern pieces. I tend to be very judicious and economical in my pattern placement. I do believe that sprout's laying the pieces so that they will work best with the pattern, but I could be wrong.
Aren't their labels marking each piece cute? Since I left all the white and trimmed after I sewed in many cases, it was really easy for me to tell each piece apart. Sprout recommends you cut the labels off and pin to each pattern piece. Well, that makes sense!
The sleeveless Moneta comes with a collar. I am not keen on the Moneta collar. It's a lovely design, don't get me wrong. I'm just not really into collars. Sporty spice, me. Collars just make one hotter and add another area to care for, press, or keep clean/out of trouble.
The Colette Moneta Pattern instructions call for a lining. I'm lining adverse. I'll just wear a slip. Without a lining, that changes the way all the edges are finished. So how did I do it? Well, I've sewn quite a lot of knits lately and learned a tremendous amount from Kelly Hogaboom andJalie Patterns. I chose to use the simplest, fastest route that came to mind.
- Baste a line where you want to be your fold. I made this the longest, straightest stitch possible to make it easy to remove later. I chose 1/4" in from the black line / edge of print. Notice how I left the white edges on to help make the turn easier.
I had time to take a walk and take some photos in a lovely natural spot. Using wee ledges I found on these amazing cottonwood trees (dear friends really, I am a tree lover at heart) and the timer on my phone, I took a few shots of the finished dress. I got to wear it all day and it's ridiculously comfortable.
Damn I'm good. leaving that extra white trim on allows the neckline and armscyes to lay flat against my body. Woot woot!
"Eh, beam me up Scotty." Aren't those sun rays wild? Looks just like Star Trek to me.
If you're kind of new to sewing, this would be a great project to take on with the help of an experienced sewer. There are some things that I just *knew* to do from my years of sewing experience that a beginner might be puzzled or frustrated by. But, at the same time, with a little help, this kind of project would be tremendously satisfying! Maybe I should find a youth group and offer to teach them... it would be nice to give back and help others learn to sew (somewhere out of my studio in a short, defined period of time).
How about you, have you tried Sprout Patterns yet? What about Spoonflower or even the Moneta Dress?