Moneta/Lady Skater mash-up

I started this toile back in February and finally finished it today - talk about a slow make!  I bought the Moneta Dress pattern when it was first released and sat on it for about two years - mostly put off by the "gathered elastic waistband" which seemed tricky and destined for failure.

In February I decided to give the Moneta bodice a try with the circle skirt from the Lady Skater Dress (that I've made a few times but the bodice is just too small for me). I cut the Moneta bodice in an XL and it was SMALL...like, really really small. Ugh. I had enough fabric to recut the bodice in a 2XL (despite my measurements firmly putting me in the XL camp) so I cut it out last night and sewed up a rough toile today. The dress is unfinished but I have a good idea of how it fits.

Well, it fits so that's great! BUT...the neckline on the front bodice is higher than the back which is fine, but I feel like I'm choking, so I'll lower the front. The armholes are also really high - like right up in my armpit which is kinda uncomfortable so I'm going to lose 1cm from the bottom of the front and back armhole and subsequently will add 1cm to the front and back of the sleeve piece. There some excess fabric under the arms (on the bodice) but I think I'll leave that alone as I don't know how to fix it. I don't like the shape at the hem of the sleeve piece either as it's tricky to overlock so I'm going to copy the shape of the sleeve sides/hem from the Lady Skater as well as the length of the Lady Skater sleeve as I think this will be a little too short when hemmed.

I think it looks "okay" from the back and I don't need to loose any length from the bodice even though it does catch on my bum a bit (big bum problems = don't care). The skirt length is good - it has 1" added to the length of the hem from when I tried to make a Lady Skater.

I've not finished the dress because as it is I won't wear it and it's not 100% comfortable. When I make the real thing I will add a neckband to the neck rather than turning under and stitching as that finish never works for me. I also didn't add elastic to the waist to stop it stretching out as this was a toile, but will do so for the "real deal".

From all the changes I've listed it sounds like this is a total dud, but it's a good experiment and "if" I can implement the changes mentioned above it might become a good TNT pattern.

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Pattern: Moneta Dress by Colette Patterns (bodice) + Lady Skater Dress by Kitschy Koo (skirt)
Size: Moneta Bodice = 2XL + Lady Skater Skirt = 8
Modifications: so many (see above)
Fabric: thin ponti-like fabric from Girl Charlee USA
Changes for next time: so many (see above)

Just one more Lady Skater Skirt

Despite having come home from Japan with a suitcase full of fabric, I actually didn't buy anything that was summer-weight (it's winter in Japan so there was only winter fabric around). A quick trip to Lincraft to pick up a pattern saw me come home with this pretty mystery fabric. It feels a bit like neoprene, but nowhere near as thick.

No surprise, but I made myself another Lady Skater Skirt. The fabric has the potential to be hot and sweaty if made into anything fitted, but as a floaty skirt....no worries! I wore this out to dinner last night and felt great in it. Nothing to say that hasn't be said before on my other posts (here , here and here). I left the skirt unhemmed as it sits better that way, so all up (cutting time included) this took about an hour to sew up.

Most excitingly I got to use my new purchased glass-head pins purchased from Kyoto's gorgeous Misuyabari Needle Shop. These needles are handmade and they are simple, but lovely.

I love these skirts, but I think I now need to move on and find a t-shirt pattern to go with them as none of my RTW tops are quite right; or quite fitted in the right way for such a skirt. Any recommendatins? I think of the Maria Denmark Kimono Tee?

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Pattern: "Lady Skater Skirt" by Kitschy Coo
Size: 8, sewn with 3/8" seam allowance
Modifications: elastic waistband and skirt lengthened by 7.5cm from the original pattern piece
Fabric: some sort of knit from Lincraft (Parramatta)
Changes for next time: I wouldn't change a thing <3

Two more Lady Skater Skirts. That'll do pig!

I've busted out two more Lady Skater Skirts over the weekend - I probably need to stop now otherwise I'll have 55 more of these before the month is out!

I'm a bit under the weather so instead of my pretty self all dressed up in my latest makes you get "floor flat-lay" which I believe is quite the thing with all the young fashion bloggers these days (and sick 40 something year old sewing bloggers).

I found this fabric at Lincraft recently and bought it specifically for this skirt (I also have another piece in the stash for a shift dress). The elastic is 5cm thick, bought from Tessuti. This elastic is not as soft (so not as comfortable) as the elastic from the Remnant Warehouse used on my last Lady Skater Skirt. I used this elastic on my Butterfly Ponti Mabel (that I've only worn once as the waistband bugs me and feels a bit sweaty on a hot day).  The overlocker also skipped a few stitches whilst attaching the waistband and I guess that's also due to it being a bit more...stiff. The hem is rolled on the overlocker, same as before!

Verdict = I like this skirt, but I don't love it like I love my other floral Lady Skater Skirt as it's not as comfortable and the fabric is not as "floaty". That said I wore it out of the house today and it served its purpose.

This fabric was bought at Tessuti well over a year ago and is a swimsuit fabric that I intended to use for a swimsuit class (that I obviously never went to).  I think it might be Tigerlily, but I'm not sure.  I figured sewing swimsuits is not in my distant future SO I sacrificed this for another skirt.

I LOVE this skirt - the fabric is so pretty and I love that it has Australian flora printed on it (I have Kangaroo Paws right below my lady garden - what could be better than that)? The fabric is quite drapey and has a bit of a shine to it. The fabric really works as a skirt (I wasn't sure how swimsuit fabric would work as a pierce of "dry land" clothing), but as a dress it would be sweat city. I'm liking the idea of wearing this sort of fabric as a floaty skirt with a cotton t-shirt for summer; a departure from my usual summer garb of knit dresses made from not-so-breathable fabric.

I haven't rolled the hem on this...I'm not sure if I will as it hangs so nicely left as is. I just have to be careful that the sides don't unravel as I cut the overlocker threads too short to sew back in.

I'm looking forward to wearing both of these makes over summer, but especially this second one.

Pattern: "Lady Skater Skirt" by Kitschy Coo
Size: 8, sewn with 3/8" seam allowance
Modifications: elastic waistband and skirt piece lengthened by 7.5cm
Fabric: as mentioned above
Changes for next time: nothing

Floral Lady Skater Skirt

After the success of my experimental Lady Skater Skirt I was dead keen to make myself another skirt asap, this time with the added length I think the skirt needs on me.  I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out...I finished it on Sunday morning and wore it out to Sydney Spoolettes lunch/movie outing that afternoon.

The fabric is a soft, floaty Nylon/Elastane from Parramatta Lincraft. I randomly popped in there recently after months of avoiding the place as it was always a messy, depressing pigsty. Well, I'm pleased to report that things have changed. The fabric section is tidy (not a bolt of fabric rolling around on the floor anywhere) and they have quite a few nice pieces if you poke around a bit. I picked up 1.5m of this very pretty fabric with this skirt in mind.

Like the previous version of this skirt, there's not much to report. The skirt has a rolled hem, 5cm elastic waistband and just two pieces - a front and a back. With cutting out and faffing around with the overlocker setting it probably took 90 minutes from go to finish.

I lengthened this version by 5cm and I like it much better. It definitely sits much better at the back now that it has a bit more length though it is still a bit higher at the back...due to the butt factor!

And the best part of all - this skirt looks GREAT with my new red clogs which is what sewing is all about really...making clog-worthy outfits.

Here is a little snapshot from the skirts first outing - with the Sydney Spoolettes - for lunch at Jamie's Italian in Parramatta followed by an afternoon viewing of the Australian movie, The Dressmaker. A great movie - typically Australian in many ways, and so enjoyable.

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Pattern: "Lady Skater Skirt" by Kitschy Coo
Size: 8, sewn with 3/8" seam allowance
Modifications: elastic waistband and lengthened by 7.5cm
Fabric: 80% Nylon, 20% Elastane from Lincraft Parramatta
Changes for next time: nothing

Lady Skater Circle Skirt

This skirt was actually meant to be a Lady Skater Dress but a fail with the neckband (me be sloppy in my sewing and not really caring about the dress as the material was looking a bit "too much for a dress") has resulted in a Lady Skater Skirt. I cannot say that I'm unhappy.

This is a pretty simple make....the skirt portion of the pattern, a 5cm elastic waistband and an overlocker rolled-hem.

I don't think there's an easier skirt I could've made. That said I did spend quite a bit of time adjusting the settings on the overlocker to get the rolled hem looking as good as I could -- it's still not 100%, with a bit of pulling/gathering down there that I hope will work itself out ASAP.  I'm paranoid about elastic waistbands being too loose...or too tight so I faffed with this for a while too.

Because I had shortened the bodice of the Lady Skater Dress previously I had already added 2.5cm to the skirt to compensate for the loss of length. I will be making this skirt again and I'm going to add more length - perhaps 5cm. As you can see from the side shot my well-sized bum is making the skirt ride up at the back...more than I find acceptable.

I thought this skirt would give "good twirl" but nope...

There's not much more to say about this make other than I'm pretty chuffed. I really like circle skirts and I've wanted to make one ever since I started sewing but my waist is pretty big so patterns didn't tend to fit me. I'm so terrible at maths I my brain melted when I had to figure out the numbers to make my own pattern, and yes, even the By Hand London circle skirt app failed me (waist too big Miss Jane)!

Pattern: "Lady Skater Skirt" by Kitschy Coo
Size: 8, sewn with 3/8" seam allowance
Modifications: elastic waistband and lengthened by 2.5cm
Fabric: some sort of knit from Addicted to Fabric (Canberra)
Changes for next time: Will add some more length to the skirt, maybe 5cm?

Lady Skater - Toile and Trouble

About a year ago I made a toile of the Lady Skater Dress bodice. The result was not pretty. If we put aside that the fabric nearly broke my overlocker, my sewing machine and my spirit (plus three sewing needles) the bodice was just too small and the fabric was so un-stretchy it was like trying to get in to a top made of steel. I blanked the pattern from my memory and threw it in the bin.  However, a few weeks ago I woke up thinking that I MUST make another toile...this time of the whole dress, not just the bodice. I felt that this time it would be perfect (even though nothing about my body or machines had changed).

What you see here is my second full toile of the dress. The first looks exactly the same (same material) but it just didn't fit well at all (though it did fit my body so hurrah)! First time around I made the straight size 8. The bodice was too long (as the weight of the skirt really pulls the bodice down a lot) and there was something funky happening with the sleeve heads - they stuck out off my shoulder in a very odd way - like the shoulders were just wanting for the insertion of shoulder pads.  I also sewed the sleeves in backwards, so whoops.

With my second toile I cut the bodice shorter by two sizes (so now it's a size 6). I think I could go a tad shorter as it's not quite sitting in the right spot and is bunching up above my butt (I think I probably have a sway back and, coupled with my large bottom, this is exacerbating the bodice length issue). I don't think the back view of this dress is all that flattering on me it shows all my lumps and bumps, but I cannot see it when I'm wearing it so...whatever!

For the second toile I cut the sleeve head and arm hole to both a size 7. I still think the top of the armhole is still sitting off my shoulder too far so I might trim the pattern back to a size 6 just at the top of the shoulder - going for a straight size 6 all around would make the armhole too tight I think. I have been obsessively looking at every picture of the Lady Skater Dress on the Internet and Instagram and it seems like the shoulders fit everybody else in the whole world perfectly. Not quite sure what the problem is with me.

The sleeve is also a bit baggy with some pooling of fabric near the bust and my arm. I had no idea the back of the sleeve was so baggy until I saw this photo. That said...I don't need (nor want) my bodice to be skin tight so I'm willing to live with it. I've been getting lazy with my sleeve hems and I finish them before sewing up the side seam of the dress - it's a lazy way to do it, but it's much easier for me. I've taken to sewing in the overlocking tail back into the seams though so that they don't start to unravel when I just snip them off - so that cancels the laziness of finishing the sleeve hems the easy way

Not much to say about the neckband. I finished it as the pattern suggests - sew up one shoulder, attach the neckband (which I like to pull nice and tight, but not too tight) and then sew up the second shoulder. I did cut the neckband longer that the pattern piece as when I made my first bodice toile there was NO WAY the neckband was going to come anywhere close to fitting the neck. Easy peasy!

I totally loved this dress until I fluffed up the hem. I couldn't get the hang of getting an even hem on such a big circle skirt. In the end I just went for it, and f**ed it. I tried to unpick the part of the hem I'd done (half the skirt) but it was impossible to unpick such narrow stitches on spongy black ponti. So I just went for it again and overlocked off the botched hem. Of course only half the skirt was hemmed, so now it's uneven and it drives me NUTS! It is hemmed however as my sewing friend Susan offered to do the hem for me - which I took her up on. It was good to see how a professional does a hem like this and I still have my unhemmed first toile that I can now practice on.

Both the bodice and skirt fabric are Pontis from Tessuti. The bodice was made from the scraps of two ruined dresses that I'd tried to make for Frocktails (I've botched SO much fabric trying to sew for Frocktails which is coming up in Melbourne next week that I don't want to add up how much it's all cost me) and the black ponti from the skirt is from my stash. I think the softness, and good stretchiness, of the fabric helped a lot in getting a dress that fits me (the ponti for my first bodice toile was quite thick and not very stretchy = fail).

So there you have...a very wearable toile if I can just get past how wonky the hem is (which I probably can't as I'm OCD about that sort of thing).

Pattern: "Lady Skater Dress" by Kitschy Coo
Size: size 8
Modifications: bodice shortened to size 6 and the sleeve head and armholes reduced to a size 7. Left of the suggested sleeve cuffs. Also finished the sleeve hems before sewing up the side seam of the dress - it's a lazy way to do it, but it's much easier.
Fabric: Ponti from Tessuti
Changes for next time: shorten the bodice by one more size, reduce the top of the armhole (at the shoulder) to a size 6

Lady Skater fail (and an overlocker betrayal)

OK, I'm not going to whinge too much in this post as I think I'm getting a reputation for being a bit of a...whingy whinger, but honestly if you'd just had the overlocker dramas I had making a toile of the Lady Skater bodice then you'd whinge too!

First things first...from the measurements of the Lady Skater it should've fit me by a country mile. From the high bust measurement I should've made a size 6, but for old time sake I went for the largest size (as I just cannot help myself) and it was TOO SNUG! WHAT???

The stunt-ponti I used didn't have much stretch to it so I think if I went with something more drapey and with more stretch I may have better luck. I'm considering if I should give this another whirl in a different fabric...I'll get back to you on this one!

I actually think my overlocker does not like this thick type of Ponti as it battled me at every turn! Have a look at this...

and this...

 

After an hour of threading and re-threading the overlocker the red looper kept unthreading...arrrgggh! I finally rang Bernina who said to make sure that I was threading the overlocker in the correct order (loopers then needles)! Rookie mistake (that I'll never make again).

So that is problem number 1 solved but then the overlocker wouldn't stitch properly....it missed a lot of stitches meaning the garment wasn't securely sewn. I went over each row of stitching twice just to be "safe".

I actually think a lot of these issues were to do with the fabric as I've since sewn a dress in a different, thinner fabric with NO problems at all (same needle and not rethreading the machine). Talk about temperamental.