A pre-#Monetaparty and a busy week of sewing

It’s been a busy week of sewing here! Somehow, I’ve made four dresses, a t-shirt, a cardigan and a sweater and finished two pairs of leggings (one of which you can see here) and a shawl. I’m not quite sure how all that happened…

It all started with these two Moneta dresses by Colette Patterns. A few weeks ago I heard about the #monetaparty on Instagram and decided not only to sew my own (I hadn’t planned to make two!) but to invite some sewing friends to make them together.

Last Wednesday, Hila from Saturday Night Stitch and another friend, Jane, with some of their children, came to sew and chat, and then on Saturday Rebecca, Ali, Sue, Karen and Wendi  (and Hila again!) came for more sewciable fun and food. We chatted, cut out, browsed patterns and generally enjoyed ourselves. My nine-year-old came and joined us too, bringing her sewing machine and fabric stash downstairs and making some little purses. There were four machines in action at various times around the table!

I’d started cutting the turquoise dress on Wednesday and by Saturday had finished it and the navy version too. Lining the bodices with power mesh (a handy tip from Hila!) gave a lovely smooth finish and avoided turning a hem, which was a great relief. I used a mix of lightning bolt and twin needle stitching on my sewing machine and some four thread overlocking. Not being keen on gathered skirts, I’ve pleated these in different ways and am happy with the results. Over the shoulders of the turquoise dress you’ll see my finished Abberley shawl, about which I’ll write more soon.

After a long wait, my husband finally has a handmade garment. The last t-shirts I made for him – about 11 years ago – weren’t a success. The fabric was flimsy and the fit was awful so I gave up, but have enjoyed making this Marlon t-shirt from the summer 2014 edition of La Maison Victor, which I bought on holiday in France but is actually from Belgium.

The ‘Cosmic leggings’ are finished after a long pause. Having bought some 4mm twin needles, it was easier to insert the elastic and finish the hems, and the Big Small loves them!

 

The chilly weather prompted two quick and cosy sewing projects. I’ll tell you more about the stripy one at the end of the month; the blue quilted sweater is another Toaster Sweater 2 by Sew House Seven. The textured knit was from B&M Fabrics in Leeds and is very soft but is starting to pill, as it’s a synthetic knit (probably polyester).

 

 

 

 

Finally – and these were the latest to be finished – I made two comfortable dresses for my girls, both adapted from Simplicity 8027 and made in cotton jersey from B&M Fabrics. They’re quick to sew and the girls love them!