Notions Of Fabric

This make is the last from batch 2 of my photographing technique. This was one of the dresses I made in lockdown #1, actually, in May of 2020. I got a tipoff from my fabulous sewing friend Chloe about some amazing fabric she had seen online. It was from 1st for Fabrics, and it was a UV reactive fabric! This sounded really interesting, so I jumped online a bought this fabric (which is not the same print, but another very cool one). I wanted to get something lighter in colour for the spring and summer months, as I don't actually wear very much in cream or white that isn't a plain tank top! This is another Colette Moneta, but rather than the 3/4 sleeve for a more summery look. This meant I needed to reprint the sleeve  piece in the short sleeve length (as I had 3/4 printed previously). I made the same size M (8-10) as usual and made the same adjustment to the sleeve as on my other sleeve piece by removing 1" out of width of the sleeve head. Really there's not much to say ...

 This was my final make for myself of 2020, and it turned out so well! I haven't had much of a chance to wear it yet, but it is comfy and I can see it being very wearable for work and comfy. This is another Moneta - my fourth (including the striped one, the rainbow striped one, and also one who have yet to be blogged which will be up soon!). I made the same size as usual, M, with the now standard altered sleeve piece (I took 1" out of each underarm seam to make the sleeve less baggy and tapered it to nothing at the elbow). I used the 3/4 sleeve for the most cold weather versatility. This fabric is a beautiful grey and blue plaid knit fabric I got from Fabworks during my weekend away for the Kelly Anorak meetup at the beginning of September. It is a really lovely fabric - thick but not too heavy. I put the plaid on the bias for the skirt, which serves the dual purpose of additional visual interest and to avoid pattern matching! Every time I make a Moneta I forget how quick and ...

As I often do with new patterns that I like, after I made my first one in the navy and white stripe, I promptly made another in a different but striped knit! Once I knew that the first dress was going to be successful, I ordered this gorgeous rainbow stripe knit from Tilly and the Buttons! I liked the idea of having a rainbow, and because this fabric is black printed on white (not black when woven) I needed a pattern that doesn't stretch very much. This fabric though is lovely, really comfy with a lovely stretch and the rainbow colours work super well with the black. I really love the end result! There is a little fading across the bust when I wear it due to it stretching slightly, but I don't think it's really noticeable and definitely not enough to stop me wearing it! As with my first Moneta, I placed the stripe horizontal on the bodice and vertical on the skirt. I think that looks better on me than the other way around. I made the same size (M), however...

After the busy time making my last dress (see my last post), I then had a period of about a month when there was no sewing or even thinking about it, because I had family visiting and lost my sewing room because it became a spare room instead. An amazing time, but no sewing involved! When I got my sewing room back, I wanted to sew something new, but nothing too complicated. And then I remembered one of the things on my Make Nine was a Colette Moneta, and figured, it should be easy! I had set aside in my head this striped knit for ages - it's not too thick but the white is opaque, which I was very excited about when I purchased it. I have made the Lady Skater in the past, and while I liked that pattern it didn't feel like it was something I could wear to work, and I was hoping to add some knit dresses to my wardrobe which were a bit more work appropriate. It turns out that Moneta is perfect for that! I chose the 3/4 sleeve option for some cooler weather  wear (a...