Colette Moneta… in gold!

This site has now moved to bobbinsonmymind.co.uk. See this post there.

I’m not usually one to wear gold! But I was in a frivolous mood, and this gold spotty ponte roma was on sale in Backstitch (none left now though I’m afraid) and that was enough to tip me over the edge. I only got about 1.25m of it, but that was enough to squeeze out a sleeveless Colette Moneta! I’d seen some maternity monetas in other places, like here and here, and in both cases it sounded as simple as raising the waistline by 2-3″ and making the skirt a bit bigger, so I thought I’d have a go. And I’m pleased I did! I had to do it slightly differently because didn’t have enough fabric to cut out the proper moneta skirt pieces, and so I just used gathered rectangles. This means there’s more bulk at the waistline, but then it also means there’s a lot more fabric for my tummy (when it eventually appears in its full form) so we’ll see. The bulk isn’t too bad, but I think I’ll use the proper pieces on my next one, as it does give a nicer shape. However! This dress did only cost about £8 (including lining and thread) so it’s a definite winner, in experimentation terms at least! You can’t see the fabric very well in any of those photos, so here it is up close: I do like it, and it’s nice and drapey without being too heavy, but I haven’t been brave enough to wear it in public yet. This is a medium (or I think slightly bigger), which is what I fit into a few months ago, and I foolishly cut the same out thinking that I shouldn’t have expanded anywhere except the tummy (even though I had measured myself and knew that not to be true – duh!), and I think for the next one I’ll cut out a large. It means re-printing and taping the whole PDF (or at least the bodice bits) together again though, bleurgh! For the lining I used some charcoal cotton-viscose jersey I had left over from something. Probably not the ideal choice colour wise, but I don’t think you can see it through the ponte at all. I also did a clever thing and put that little tab on the inside back! It’s only attached to the lining. The back of the moneta is lower than the front, which is very nice, but confusing when you come to put it on! I can imagine myself turning it round and round. It’s definitely not the neatest thing I’ve ever done, but nobody will see it except me (and now you, but sssshhhhhhh)… I do like the slightly lower back, I think it makes it feel a lot more sophisticated than a tank made into a dress (which, after all, is basically what it is). I’m hoping that this will pave the way for many maternity-monetas to come, so the big question is: how much room is there in there?? Answer: lots!