Stewie Moneta

Heya. Today I'd like to return to a deeply loved pattern I haven't sewn in a while. The Moneta. This time it's in a fun Stewie Griffin print jersey that looks fun and carefree at first but true to Stewie's personality is filled with messages he would say.

Again, I sewed up size M with no alterations apart from shortening the skirt. All the seams are finished with the overlocker. the hem and sleeve hems are finished with twin needle. I sewed a strip of fabric to the neckline while slightly stretching the band and it gave me a nice finished neckline with a neckline band. I added an elastic silicone strip to the shoulder and waist seams for stability.

Other than that I have nothing to say except I love this dress, but you all already knew that because it's a Moneta and it has awesome print.

The fabric is from a remnant bin in Abakhan and it's so freakin' awesome, I could cry. I actually bought it with the idea of making a shirt or two for Mr.Man but that didn't happen and the fabric had been sitting in my stash for almost a year. But then we were going to see the latest Star Wars movie and I felt that I absolutely needed to make this fabric into a dress so I could wear it to the movies. With two hours left until the end of the work day and until I had to leave home for the cinema, I pulled out the fabric and was done with plenty of time left. Aaaaaaaaah, the joys of TNT patterns. They whip up so fast.

For previous Moneta versions I have made, follow these links:

Sweet

Insanity

Peplum Tops

Ruffle Sleeve

Red

Flowerchild

Fancy

Fancy Moneta

Yes. It's another Moneta. No, I am not sick of this pattern. Also. Getting from making this dress to actually blogging about it took me eight months. Uhhhmn, sorry?

This is my eight Moneta (Shoutout to one, two, three and four, five, six, seven.) so there's not much to say about it. It's a collarless size M with 3/4 sleeves. The fabric is a knit and lace combo where the lace is attached on the solid knit with an adhesive. I found it in the remnant bin that is next to the register at the fabric shop. They REALLY need to move that thing. It's not good for my wallet and stash diet.

I made the dress for a New Year's party at our place. I mean who doesn't want to look fancy as hell but still feel like wearing PJ's? However the idea to make the dress came to me on the 31st of December when I had one hour left until the end of the work day. But that didn't scare me. I have made this dress a bunch of times in the past so I know it's a quick project. And I already had black thread on my machine and serger. Win-win. I quickly cut it out and threw it under the machines. One hour and 15 minutes later, I was done. This is why TNT patterns are awesome.

I love-love-love this dress. Ever since I have worn it what feels a million times and I'm sure I'll wear it a million times more until it fades out and falls apart. It's so easy to throw on, put a belt on it and look like a million bucks.

Flowerchild Moneta

I think I'll skip a long intro this time because we all know what I'm going to say. I made a Moneta and I love it. Proof one, two, three, four, five and six.

As usual, I cut out size M but for this version I went for the scalloped collar and 3/4  sleeves. I serged all the seams and used a twin needle to hem the skirt and sleeves. The fabric is a viscose jersey and feels absolutely dreamy. Like wearing pajamas but still looking classy af.

I love the contrasting red collar especially when I pair the dress with a red belt. I feel like a little kid who plays a flower in a school play in this dress. But in a good way. If that makes sense.

Moneta in Red

Hello you gorgeous beast! How's it going? I've been busy with work and stuff. But in honor of Me-Made-May busting out all of it's cool moves, I'm going to attempt to blog about all of my selfish makes before they end up on my chronicles of Me-Made-May on Instagram and later as roundup posts on ze blog.

Today I want to share a cool Moneta with you. It's no secret that the Moneta is one of my favorite patterns as it's so easy to make and the possibilities are almost endless. I have made many versions before(see one, two, three, four and five) and I have a few that I have not yet gotten around to blog about but it will all be fixed in the future. My addiction to sew Monetas is at that stage where I realize that I have a problem and I'm trying to put the pattern away while I try different patterns in my stash but still think every time I go through my fabric stash "Oh this would make a great Moneta and this would make even a greater Moneta." Admitting you have a problem is one step closer to cure, right?

For this version I used the size M bodice and 3/4 sleeve patterns. But I wanted to have long sleeves on this dress so I lengthened the sleeve a bit to have a nice slim long sleeve. For the skirt part I drafted a full circle skirt and sewed it onto the bodice. And I decided to go for the Peter Pan this time. And as red+black is one of my favorite color combos of all time(along with red+white and white+black), I decided to make the collar from a piece of black jersey I had lying around.

The red jersey is a super drapey viscose jersey and it stretches like a *insert profanity* Everyone and their mom knows that you're supposed to let circle skirts hang for a while before hemming as it has the tendency to stretch in some parts of the skirts. I did that, evened it out, hemmed it, wore it, re-hemmed it, wore it and now it needs to be re-hemmed again. And I am seriously thinking of not bothering with it and pretending I totally wanted an asymmetrical look on the skirt part. I'm young and hip, I'm a rebel. Yeah.

Derp herp.

Anyways. I REALLY love this dress. And this is how I usually wear it (minus the 14cm heels). I feel a 100% better when I throw a belt over a dress and this belt I made on a whim over a year ago has gotten a ton of use since I made it.

One Week One Pattern 2014

It's roundup time! From 6th to 12th of September I took part of the One Week One Pattern challenge hosted by Handmade Jane. It was created by Tilly and the Buttons in 2012 to encourage the sewing community to truly celebrate our favorite patterns. The goal is to go through/survive a whole week wearing clothes made from only one pattern. It doesn't matter if it's one pair of trousers styled into seven different outfits or if it's seven different garments for each day, made with one pattern. When I found out that OWOP was coming this year, I was so excited and knew instantly what pattern I would be using. I guess you all know, it's a no-braine as it seems that lately it's ALL I blog about. Ofc it's the Moneta, how could it not be? So let's take a peek at my week!

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 1: Insanity Moneta paired with white wedge sandals
Day 2: Sweet Lace Moneta with black me-made belt and white wedge sandals
Day 3: Lacy Pleated Peplum Moneta Top with dark blue skinny jeans and work slippers
Day 4: Pleated Peplum Moneta Sweater with dark blue skinny jeans and work slippers
Day 5: Rosy Moneta Top, Delphine Skirt, red tights and flat black leather sandals.
Day 6: Black Moneta with red scalloped collar(yet to be blogged) paired with red me-made belt and flat black leather sandals
Day 7: Red full circle Moneta with long sleeves and black Peter Pan collar(yet to be blogged) paired with me-made black belt and black wedge shoes.

I really liked my week of Monetas. I felt like wearing my PJs all day but in fact I looked like I was putting a ton of effort into my outfits. Haha! Joke's on you, passerby on the street, I threw this on and was done with my outfit in five minutes!
I sure do hope OWOP is going to take place next year as well, I'l already thinking of which pattern I'd like to use for next one. I wouldn't want to use Moneta again, as I would feel like cheating  a bit. And Moneta and I are going to spend a little time apart now. We need to meet new patterns.

While I really enjoyed OWOP and can't wait for the next one, I sure am happy I can be free from the daily selfies. I got some serious flashbacks from Me-Made-May and had to keep repeating to myself that "It's only one week, you can do it!"

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Did you participate in One Week One Pattern? How did it go? What pattern did you use? I'd love to hear about your week.

Moneta and Delphine Smashup

So I might or might not have been sitting here, watching the screen for the past hour or two and try to think of a good(ish) introduction for this post and my mind came up with blank. Well it didn't exactly come up with blank, it came up with EVERYTHING BUT something to say in an introduction for this post so....[Introduction]blah-blah-blah-blah, you don't want me ranting about random things anyways and want to hear about these things I made [/Introduction]

So I made a Moneta. Again. I might or might not need an intervention. But that's not really important. What is important is what I did with this version. I've so far done four versions of this pattern: One, Two, Three+Four. And when I was preparing myself to cut out my Myrtle, I realized that if I cut my Myrtle as a top, I can use the rest for a Moneta top. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Pattern alterations: I cut the bodice out straight up size M, so no changes there, for the lower part, I placed the bodice piece on top of the lower piece, to have matching seam lengths and then slightly made it wider as much as I could. By now I was really doing some puzzle matching and couldn't morph the top and lower pieces into one. I also realized that I didn't have enough fabric to make the short sleeves that I originally planned, so I decided to make tiny cap sleeves that are slightly ruffled.

I used serger to sew all the seams. I used the twin needle for hemming the bottom and to finish the sleeve edges, armholes and the neckline. I didn't feel like making anything fussy for the neckline and reckoned  a simple twin needle finish would be enough and I quite like it.

Mr.Man, what are you taking pictures of? Beeeewbs.

I think you all have heard/own a copy of Tilly's book Love at First Stitch. It's an awesome book with five printed patterns plus additional instructions to draft two patterns. The book is full of witty comments, smart tips, plenty of directions for different methods and it's all illustrated by gorgeous pictures. After I found my book in the mail, I was obsessed with it, I kept scrolling through it and couldn't put it down. One day I decided to start working my way through it. No matter how many skills you have, it doesn't hurt to go through the basic stuff to reinstate your knowledge.

I skipped the Brigitte scarf(I'm really not a scarf kind of girl) and went straight to the first skirt. The Delphine. And what a delight she is. As the fabric I chose a piece of mystery blend I had in my stash. Is't a grey fabric with tiny white triangles in it. I'm yet to go a burning test to determine the compound of the fabric. Anyways.

I cut out a size four. It seemed to fit my measurements the best and as it was my first version, I decided to keep it simple and test it out. I followed the instructions to the dot(for a change) and when I got to trying it on I saw that the fit was quite good. I loved the length and how it fit my hips. But it was a bit too loose around my waist and only in the top part. So I changed my waistband pieces a bit and took in a bit from the very top of the waistband and gradually connected the lower point of the waistband that fit with the new top point. So in the end I took in a total of 6cm from the top of the waistband while the bottom of the waistband remained the way it was on the original pattern.

Itty-bitty print matching, yo.

For the skirt I finished all the raw edges with my serger, I used a rolled hem to finish the hem and I used an invisible zipper as per instructions. While wearing the skirt I noticed that the fabric is a tad bit too stubborn for the invisible zipper and the fabric gets a bit in the way while unzipping or zipping up the zipper, so I might change the zipper at one point, or I might not, we'll see. The fabric has one other fault as well. It gets stuck a lot, if there's a TINIEST bit of some sort of a surface that it can get it's threads stuck to, it will, so I already have a few white threads sticking out so I need to be really careful of what I'm doing while wearing the skirt and I've got to hide those loose threads when I see them. But that's the fabric's fault and not the pattern's. The pattern is a delight and super easy to make. I'm sure I'll make another one in the future, I already have a fabric for it in my sights.

Moneta Pleated Peplum Top 1 and 2

 It feels like all I talk about lately is the Moneta dress pattern by Colette Patterns. A little more and I should start the official Moneta Fan Club(if there already is one, can I join it like yesterday? Pretty please?) I mean I've already posted two dresses(one and two) and I see at least two more emerging from the sewing room. I might need an intervention. Anyways to lessen the post amount dedicated to this insanely versatile pattern, I've decided to treat you guys with a double whammy today. That's right. Instead of one garment I'm going to share two in one post. Woopwoop.

First up is The Lacy Pleated Peplum Moneta Top. After finishing my Sweet Moneta , that I made from moss green lace and white jersey, I started to think what to do with the leftover lace. I didn't have enough for a full dress and I started to think about making it into a top. As the OWOP started to approach, I had the perfect opportunity and idea to make it into a peplum top.

I cut out the bodice and 3/4 sleeve straight up size M. Though for me the sleeves seem more like half sleeves, but whatever, maybe I have ape arms(actually I kind of do have long arms, thanks Mom) I lined the bodice and peplum with white viscose jersey but I left the sleeves unlined. I felt like the lace would be enough to cover the arms and the extra layer of jersey would be too thick around the arm. For the peplum I cut out straight strips that were 23 cm wide and as long as I could cut them. At this point I was running out of lace and had to do quite a bit of puzzle matching to make it work. I stitched the neckline back with the twin needle as I didn't want to add anything that would make the top look too busy. I also had to stitch the seam that connects the bodice with the peplum towards the bodice as it kept pulling itself down in some places and up in other places and it kept looking wonky. To hem the sleeves and the peplum I used also twin needle. .

Diamonds aren't girls best friend, that's a lie. Twin needle is.

 While I was cutting out the Lace Top I kept noticing that my eyes were peeking towards my knit stash and flirting with this ethnic striped knit fabric. Eyes, wat you doing? Eyes, stahp! Nothing I did or said to myself helped. Fine, you slut! Lets flirt with these both at the same time. So I cut out two tops at the same time.

This fabric has been in my stash for about three years now. It's a wool and viscose blend and it feels like unicorns giving me hugs. Can't all fabrics feel like this? I got it from Abakhan when I went to buy a spool of thread and this seducer called to me. Buy me! You'll sew me into something gorgeous in no time! I won't take any space! You know you want me! Touch me! Love me! Buy me! So I wiped off the drool from my face and bought the last piece they had, which was around 1,25m and I promised myself that by the end of the month this piece of fabric will be on my body as an awesome garment. Like always, I couldn't be more wrong. It kept taunting me from the stash shelf and I felt the pressure. Nothing I thought of felt like it would make the fabric justice and I kept pulling it out and putting it back. I think the fabric and I were waiting for this project.

Construction wise it's pretty identical to the lace top. Only I placed the pleats a bit differently. And for the neckline I cut out a strip from the fabric to have a cool effect of the print running around my neckline. Instant necklace! Yes, I would love that, thank you. I cut the strip as a straight piece and sewed it on as I would sew on a regular bias tape. As it's a knit that had a lot of stretch it didn't need to be cut as a bias tape.

The hem and sleeves are also finished with the twin needle and all the seams are serged for both tops.

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The Moneta is definitely mu TNT pattern. What's yours? Or have you ever felt like you have been waiting for years for the right pattern for THAT fabric in your stash?

Insanity Moneta

 Once upon a time I had my last day at work before our trip to Greece and I was going insane with the anticipation and excitement of the trip and seeing some really awesome people and some of my dearest friends again. Before the trip I was suddenly struck by an unexpected surge of sewing thrive and motivation and I wanted to take as many me-made clothes as humanly possible. So I had two hours left until my work day in the studio room was over and I decided that even though I had 2 skirts and 2 dresses to hem, one pair of shorts to sew, I would cut out and make me another Moneta by Colette Patterns before I would go to bed. It was frustrating and I knew that I was officially crazy, but...WORTH IT!

For this version I decided to go with short sleeves and simple bias tape neckline. I cut out a size 10 and the only modification I made was making the skirt shorter as I already knew based on my first Moneta that the skirt based on the pattern is a bit too long for me. Looking at the pictures now it feels like I should rise the waistline a bit but when I'm wearing it, it hasn't bothered me so...Not sure..Maybe on my next one.

When I started to work on the neckline I had a weird(lazy) idea not to sew the tape as it's meant to be sewn and I took an easier way. Instead of making a proper circle with the tape and then sewing it, I decided to fold it in half and make it overlap in the center. It looks a bit more interesting and it's quicker and easier. Hey, I was tired, no judgy stuff!

I went for pockets and well..No regret because hey, pockets! I luv me sum pockets. I serged all the seams together and used twin needle to hem the sleeves and bottom of dress. To stitch the neck binding down I used regular jersey needle as I didn't want the twin seam there complicating things.

 The floral fabric is something I had lying around in my stash(okay, let's face it, the whole dress was lying around in my stash). I made a dress with it for Mr.Man's cousin a few years ago and held on to the leftovers. So when I was deliriously considering making a quick dress, I decided to go with this floral fabric. Both jerseys are viscose and cotton blend.

What I really like about Moneta is that it comes together really quickly. It took about an hour and a half from cutting out to finish. The pattern is easy(but versatile) and the thing I looooooove about jersey is that it's so easy and quick to work with.

Sooo...I have more ideas for more Monetas and I'm going to use it as my One Week One Pattern pattern and I can't wait for starting my next one..Thinking of butterflies..hmm..

What have you been up to? Do you think I should rise the waist by a few cm?

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Stay classy

Sweet Moneta

Heya. I have been sewing like crazy this weekend. Mr.Man and I will be flying to Greece for some summer seaside fun for a week and I want to bring as many me-made dresses and summery clothes as humanly possible. And one of them is the Moneta dress.

For my version of this awesome  dress I decided to mix it up a bit and do it a bit my way. I had this grayish green lace in my stash for a while and I kept waiting for the perfect thing to sew it with. And when the Moneta pattern came out, I just knew this was it. This was the project I would use the lace for. The white jersey is cotton and viscose blend and feels so good against the skin.

 To get the dropped back and sweetheart neckline look, I cut the outside layer of the fabric in two pieces, the lace and the white jersey. I decided not to sew sleeves or a collar for this version as I thought it would look like it has too much going. I'm a less is more kind of gal.

 The skirt is cut in two layers(one lace and other jersey). I sewed them separately and sewed the pockets from the white fabric and attached them to the lace layer. Pockets on a dress. How brilliant is that? I like.

 When I was attaching the skirt to the bodice, I sandwiched the bodice between lace and jersey skirt layers in order to have clean and finished look on the inside of the dress as well.

The instructions and pattern was very well made. I did cut away about 14 cm from the skirt as it looked a bit too long on me. I'm not a tall girl, I can't do midway skirt lengths. Either the knee is showing or the hemline is near the floor.

I will definitely sew another Moneta in the future and I think this will be perfect for Greece. I can't wait! :)