FINISHED: Colette Moneta

My husband and I are leaving today for a 12 day trip - we'll be at Lake Junaluska for Worship & Arts Week until next Friday, then we'll head home to Knoxville, TN to visit family and friends. This is the longest we will have been away from home EVER. I have to admit that visiting family isn't exactly my idea of vacation, but I'm looking forward to the trip nonetheless.

 

I am proud to say that only a small handful of the garments in my suitcase are RTW - everything else is me made! There's something fun and rewarding about packing a suitcase full of handmade lovelies!

 

Since we're leaving right after church (and will be in the car 6 hours) I knew I needed something comfortable yet stylish yet sing-able for today. Enter the Colette Patterns Moneta.

 

I bought this after the patterns and book had been released, and purchased the bundle from Colette Patterns (well worth the cost I think). My knit repertoire had mainly consisted of Coco from Tilly & the Buttons which is really the knit version of the Laurel shift dress (10 versions I have yet to blog). Coco is stitched by machine, but Moneta and Mabel really take your knit sewing skills up a notch.

 

The accompanying book, The Colette Guide to Sewing Knits, is really fantastic and assists you with taking your knit garments to the next level. I'm happy to say that my knit sewing has been expanded to include Mabel and the Nettie bodysuit.

 

Twin needles still scare me so I used a 2.5/2.5 zig-zag for the hem and sleeves. Tilly recommends this stitch for Coco and I rather like it. It's large enough to look decorative and stretch, but not so "I made this" looking. I do, however, have my eye on a coverstitch machine. :-O

I busted out the twin needle for the neckline, although this photo stinks. It's a nice technique - just watch your stitch line if you're using contrasting thread. You have to be nice and even otherwise it shows.

My one source of panic is using the clear elastic. JoAnn's didn't have 1/4" (but Wawak did!!) so I had 3/8" for this and I might prefer it. I feel like I have more room to work with. Stitching along 1/4" width of elastic is a bit taxing - doable but taxing. For this Moneta I attached the elastic to the skirt and then attached the rouched skirt to the bodice. My most recent attempt was to gather the skirt, then attach the elastic while attaching the skirt to the bodice. This ended badly and I now have a cropped bodice and a shorter skirt due to a serger incident. I'm hoping I can salvage it.

The fit was spot on - I followed my usual size for Colette Patterns (12/14) and made the size large. It fits beautifully. The fabric is coral ponte from Girl Charlee. The weight and stretch is really nice for this pattern, although for Mabel it's a bit light. I made a Mabel in the red colorway of this ponte and basically doubled it and it works well.

The fabric claims to be cotton/poly/spandex and I think this is accurate. It breaths nicely.

I want to make this again, but the elastic bit has been scared.

Pattern: Colette Moneta, 3/4 sleeves
Size: Large
Fabric: coral ponte from Girl Charlee
Needle: Schmetz 75/11 Stretch; regular twin for topstitching
Thread: Maxi-Lock in white for seams, white Gutermann for hems
Changes: Used 3/8" clear elastic out of necessity, no others

Do you have any tips or tricks when using elastic?