Secret pyjamas

Part of my sewing plans for winter included several Jersey dresses. Last year, after finally learning how to sew with knit fabrics, I made the 'Lady Skater Dress'. I was really pleased with this dress and wore it a heck of a lot, but it had its problems. The fabric I used shrunk after several washes, which meant the bodice was quite short and the waist sat too high. But I couldn't quite get the hang of the way the skirt hung, I wasn't convinced it was very flattering on me. So after so many people sang the praise of the Moneta pattern from Colette I thought I'd give it a try as an alternative.

The pattern comes with three sleeve options and two collar options.... But you can download a pack with about a million other collar variations for free, so there is oodles of choice. I launched straight into making a wearable muslin by cutting a medium and the only alteration being to take an inch off the bodice length.

In my opinion this dress has a much better shape than the Skater dress does, there is a much more defined waist which I really like. And when I say it's an easy make I mean super lemon squeezy kind of easy! The only problem I encountered was that the back bodice piece wouldn't fit on the fold of my fabric length so I have a seam where a seam should not be.

But check it out, you can barely see it (on my rather fuzzy photos, my camera only focuses when it pleases). The fabric I used is a ponte Roma jersey in 'fawn', though I'd call it a caramel brown. It's a really beautiful fabric which has drape, but also manages to hold shape nicely. It was a bit risky using this as my wearable muslin, but I was far too impatient to do a practice run.

The pattern itself is great. It has details on the best way to work with knits and detailed descriptions of how to do the shirring for the waist. I've never done this before and I'll admit mine was rather messy. It's done using clear elastic, stretching the elastic over the skirt waist and stitching straight, when the elastic is released, it's gathered like magic while still being nice and stretchy!

I do love this detail, and hopefully the more I use this skill the neater it will become. 

Well after harping on about the things I like about this pattern, it's only fair to disclose the parts that I don't like. The mid length sleeves I really feel could be a bit longer, I really do like them just past the elbow. Also, if you choose not to add a collar, the neckline is finished by simply turning over the edge and stitching. In my opinion this doesn't feel very professional, although I will admit that finished with a twin needle it still looks smart, but with a zig zag stitch I think it would be much less so.

I also think the medium is a tad too big for me, see underarm bagginess above. So to counter these little gripes next time I will be cutting the small, and adding a pretty collar from the bonus pack! Yay!

The absolute best thing about this dress though, is just how comfortable it is. I've seen it described on other blogs as secret pyjamas, and this is the most accurate description of this dress that I can think of! I'm currently wearing it curled up on the sofa, and I swear I have less comfortable tracksuit bottoms! For this reason, combined with how smart it is (it's totally a work appropriate dress!) I must have several of these dresses!

And maybe another half inch off the waistband would probably be good!