The Moneta dress by Colette and sewing with plaid

Moneta Dress

I bought this red plaid knit fabric from the online shop Girl Charlee. I know that it looks like flannel and it kind of feels like flannel. However, it is a nice soft knit. I bought it in December along with their “KnitFix” which is a group of six 2 yard cuts of different knit fabrics. When you order a KnitFix, you don’t know exactly what the fabrics you get are going to look like but they promise they will all be high quality and “on trend”.

The collar has a little center piece that hangs down in the back.

I seem to be enamored with “mysteries” lately as I also signed up for the Amitie Mystery Block of the Month in December. I haven’t cut into the other knits yet but will soon. There is a Facebook group for those who are sewing with these knits and there has been a lot of sharing of favorite patterns and tips for sewing with knits.

Unable to “cut on the fold”.

Cutting out this plaid dress was quite a bit of trouble. There is no way you can fold this knit fabric in half and have it line up exactly right. In order to be absolutely sure that the 2 halves were identical, I had to cut it out without folding. I cut one side and then turned the pattern over to lay it on the other side.

Bodice

For the bodice I actually marked some of the darker black parts of the plaid on the pattern in order to get it just right. This was very fussy but definitely worth it.

Pockets!

The Moneta pattern has pockets and the collar and sleeves are optional. The pattern says that it’s skill level is “beginner”. I would hate to see a true beginner try to make this dress. There are a number of tricky parts – but I will say that it has very good directions – including a link to a video that shows a lining technique for the sleeveless version. There are also good directions for inserting clear elastic into the waistline which is done to keep that area from stretching out over time.

Megan’s sleeveless version

My daughter made the sleeveless version last May. Isn’t she adorable?

The Moneta pattern has quite a bit of “negative ease”. This means that the garment measurements of the bust and waist are less than your own measurements. The bodice is meant to s-t-r-e-t-c-h and be very form fitting. I think this is more appealing to a younger sewist like my daughter than it is for me. I made a size larger than my measurements called for and it is still very close fitting. Because of the knit fabric, though, it is very comfortable. I am looking forward to sewing with my KnitFix fabrics next!

Notes to myself about making up this pattern –  Size XL. Added 1 inch to center of sleeve. Added 1 inch to length of bodice and graded bodice out to make waist about 1/2 inch larger on each side. Lined the bodice with the same fabric I made the collar out of. Lengthened the hemline by 1.5 inches which is about the size of the hem I turned under. Used ballpoint needles in both my sewing machine and serger. Used a double needle with regular thread in the needles and wooly nylon in the bobbin to hem the skirt and the sleeves. Also used my black latch bobbin case in order to loosen the tension on the bobbin when using the double needle. Used 3/8″ plastic elastic from JoAnns for the waistline but would have preferred 1/4″ if I could have gotten it. Sewed the waistline with a zig zag stitch on my sewing machine rather than using the serger. I would love to make this dress again but would rather not have to match a plaid or stripe!