Colette Zinnia Maxi Skirt

I've been itching to make a maxi skirt for some time now.  I knew a knit version would be simple and quick, but I was imagining something in a flowy light fabric, like a voile.

I also knew that a maxi skirt would require a lot of fabric and given that voiles tend to be more expensive than regular cottons, I kept putting it off.  But last weekend my husband went out of town to visit his brother for some boy time, so I stopped in to Finch to browse.  Yeah, browse.  That's what I told myself, anyway.  An hour later I walked out of there with three yards of April Rhodes' Arizona voile, the Colette Zinnia pattern, and white cotton fabric for a lining.

I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out the best way to convert the Zinnia (Version 3) into a maxi skirt.  In the end, I did the slash-and-spread method, but it took awhile to determine the best way to do it.  Should I extrapolate the A-line from the top of the skirt down to the bottom, making a wide-ass hem?  Or should I draw a line from the end of the top part of the skirt down to the bottom of the skirt?  I opted for the latter, but I did a lot of researching online to make sure my skirt wouldn't end up with too tight a hem circumference making me walk like a Mermaid or something.

The Zinnia pattern sewed up easily once I got all of the specifics out of the way.  I went up a size so that it would be a little looser around my waist - I am high waisted with a long torso, so when something is designed to sit on the natural waist, it ends up being really high.  I wanted this to sit more toward my belly button, so I measured this area and sized for it rather than my natural waist.  This worked out pretty well.

My only gripe about this last-minute skirt that I sewed is that the cotton fabric I used for a lining is too thick.  It's a quilting cotton, so paired with a fabric as light and flowy as a voile, it practically feels like canvas.  It'll be too much effort to take the skirt apart and swap out the cotton for something lighter/drapier, though.

I was up until 1:30 in the morning working on this skirt, and the only reason is because I had planned to wear it that day (Sunday morning) to an event  I was attending - Blog Brunch DC.  Head on over to my photo blog to read more about it.  Trust me, you want to!

Pattern: Colette Zinnia

Fabric: April Rhodes' Arizona Voile (Triangle Tokens)
Alterations: Converted into maxi skirt.  Used V. 3, but gathered rather than pleated.
Photos: By Nicole outside of her shop!

Moneta Sleeveless

Second Moneta is done.  

After work Tuesday night, I spread out my Swedish tracing paper (thanks, Nicole!) and traced the pattern pieces while watching a documentary about the infamous escape from Alcatraz (nerd alert).  Wednesday morning I had some time to sit and trace the pattern pieces onto my fabric and cut them out.  Come Wednesday night, I finished working around 8:30, and Jon had to work late as well, so I brought my machine downstairs and started stitching the bodice together.  Thursday morning, Moneta #2 was complete and I was a happy girl.  

Her debut was Friday night at the Finch for Friday Night Sewcial, and little miss Moneta and I received tons of compliments.  As flattered as I am, let's be honest kids - it really has less to do with my novice sewing skills and more to do with the beautiful dress pattern Sarai and her team at Colette Patterns have created, as well as the beautiful knit fabric Nicole helped me choose.  

Again, this pattern (and finished dress) gets a standing ovation from me.  So easy to make, and thanks to the knit fabric, so damn comfortable.  This lazy girl can get on board with knit dresses, let me tell you.  I'm not kidding when I say there will be more to come.  I might have to name my future child Moneta.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I can't be trusted with a child.

Stats:

Injury count: 1.  My arm had a run-in with the iron.

Broken needle count: 1.  I am down one jersey needle.

Because I spent all of my free time actually creating the dress, I didn't have much time left to actually get pictures of myself in it.  So this morning, Jon and I went up to Brunswick to get coffee before coming home to do big-kid stuff (i.e. yard work), and I tossed on my dress and grabbed my camera before we headed out the door.

Are you kidding me with this collar design?  Love!

Girl, you better WORK.  Sashay, shantay.

And a few other pictures of our morning:

Thanks to Jon for taking pictures of me. :)

Awesome Project of the Week

So this happened:

and basically made my day.  Or week.  Taking self portraits of yourself on a really windy day without makeup or doing much more to your hair than brushing it and putting it in a bun can really work out in the end.

Thanks to Sarai of Colette Patterns!

Colette Moneta

I am relatively new to garment sewing, but oh, how I love Colette Patterns.  Not just the finished product, but the physical pattern packaging itself.

How cute is this?!

In the weeks leading up to Easter, Jon and I once again agreed that we didn't want candy-filled Easter baskets, and so one of my not-so-subtle hints was "oh, some fabric or yarn from Finch." Incidentally, that was his plan anyway, given that my one-track-mind is all about crafting these days.

He sought out Nicole's help to fill my basket with some sweet goodies, including the brand new Colette Moneta pattern and a beautiful chevron print cotton knit fabric.  Swoon!

So on Monday I got started.  Mind you, this was, I think, my first real garment pattern experience (not including the free sundress pattern I printed from the internet a few summers ago).  I got to work reading, cutting, tracing, cutting again, and then it was time to sew.
Just a few hours later I had completed the bodice and the skirt, minus the hemming and the elastic waistband; I'd have to wait until Tuesday to complete the dress after buying the rest of my supplies (a twin needle and clear elastic).

The rest of the dress didn't take long at all!  Colette's clear elastic tutorial helped me understand how in the world to shirr the waistline without using elastic thread, and then I quickly hemmed all of my edges with the twin needle.  Done!  Sure enough, despite having a little doubt that the dress would be long enough for my long torso, it fit like a glooooove.  I'm in love with this dress.

The super awesome part about the Moneta pattern is how versatile it is.  I made the short sleeve version, but there is also a 3/4 sleeve (which I plan to make very soon in stripes) and a sleeveless version with a myriad of collar options (free!).  The printed pattern is sold out right now on the Colette website, but you can always download the PDF version, or purchase a printed copy from a retailer like Finch.  It's a great beginner pattern, a perfect introduction to working with knits, and results in a seriously comfortable dress.  I plan on making a ton more, just because I can see myself whipping them up quickly and wearing them often.

A few more photos:

Testing... too bright!