Living in Portland, I was fortunate enough to be a pattern tester for Colette Pattern’s first knit dress pattern, the Moneta (which made its debut this past Tuesday). It was *so* hard for me to keep this from you guys, because I love this dress so much! I made Version 1, which is sleeveless and has a really neat collar.
It is incredibly comfy and soft and so easy to wear (no zip! Just slips on over the head!). I think that has a lot to do with fabric choice. I wanted to make my Moneta out of a fabric that was the highest percentage of cotton I could find (easier to work with, and a lot of the poly knits out there are just too slinky for me), and so I snagged this starburst printed cotton by Robert Kaufman. Luckily, I was able to find my fabric locally at Fabric Depot, but you can also find it online here.
Regarding my experience sewing knits prior to this, I’ve made a basic cardigan before using this Simplicity pattern. Not having a serger has always detracted me from sewing knits, but luckily, my machine as a stitch that is specifically designed to sew seams on knits (you can also use a zig-zag stitch, as well).
Besides the relative new-ness of sewing with knit fabric, there were also several techniques that this pattern uses that I had never done before. For example, the skirt is gathered using clear elastic, a notion that I had never used before (luckily, the Colette Patterns blog has a handy tutorial about how to use it).
I definitely plan to make this dress again (I already have the fabric!), but there are a few changes I would make:
- Shorten the bodice by about 1/2″. I don’t know if it’s the stretchiness of the particular fabric I chose, but the bottom of the bodice doesn’t hit quite at my natural waistline (hence the belt).
- Edgestitch along the neckline. Right now, the collar has a tendency to roll up, and edgestitching would help it lay flat.
Despite these future changes, I’m completely chuffed with my first knit dress, and would definitely recommend this pattern to any seamstress (or seamster!) wanting to get started with sewing knits.
This looks super cute on you!
Aww, thanks so much!
Ooh, exciting! The pattern is really cute and I love the fabric you chose 🙂
Aww, thank you so much! It was a little tricky to work with at first (I don’t have much experience with knits), but I think it was worth it. 😉
Super cute and great fabric! Sounds comfy to wear, too!
Best,
Quinn
Thank you so much! It is very comfy to wear (almost like sweats in dress form!).
You’re adorable! I love that back collar detail and your fabric choice is perfect!
Aww, thank you so much for that lovely comment!
This looks really lovely, the fabric you found is fantastic!
Thank you so much! I really lucked out that I found it locally!
That is so cute! The fabric you used is just perfect!
Thank you so much!
So cute. Did you have a hard time fiddling with the clear elastic? I’m working on cutting out the pattern now and I’m having apprehension about this new technique.
Thank you so much! And I wouldn’t say it was hard, per se – it was a little tricky, as it was a new sewing technique for me, as well. But, it ended up working marvelously and there is also a video tutorial on the blog (which I didn’t have when I was testing the pattern!).
Thanks for the reply.
Looks great! How true to pattern was the recommended fabric quantity? I keep making up patterns and having a 1/4-1/2 yd extra!!