I caved.

I had absolutely no intention of making this dress. Then I had all the #monetaparty tags flooding my Instagram and I couldn’t resist it any longer!

I got the PDF pattern on a late night whim. You really shouldn’t mix late nights with Instagram and your credit card by the way. It definitely leads to bad ideas…

I spent ages trawling through my jersey fabric stash to find something I could use. I had initally planned to use a striped jersey but I’d forgotten I’d used it for something else! (Don’t you just hate it when that happens?). I ended up using a piece of maroon stretch velvet which had a subtle plaid print which was originally earmarked for some sort of velvet slip dress. I wasn’t sure if I had enough – I only had 2 yards and the patterns calls for 2 5/8. But it all worked out in the end. I even had some leftover!

Despite not being sure I had enough fabric, I chose to make version C – the 3/4 length sleeves. Though in my opinion I think they’re a bit short to be truly 3/4 length.

I cut a medium. I didn’t want it to be particularly fitted and my measurements were coming up on the large end of the small. I didn’t want to risk it being too tight!

Alterations-wise, I loped  3″ off the hem length. In retrospect I should have taken a little out of the bodice length too but I think it’s just about workable as it is. I probably won’t bother changing this one but any future Monetas would probably get that treatment.

I opted to make a neck binding rather than follow the instruction to turn and hem. I just think it looks better!

I also missed out the ‘shirring’ technique they used for the skirt. I didn’t have any clear elastic (and didn’t have time to buy any) for starters. Or the belief that that was the best method to use… I ended up sewing 2 rows of basting stitches to the skirt and pulled to gather them by hand. From there I attached it to the bodice with a zigzag stitch on the machine and finished it with an overlocker. Worked perfectly well for me!

So what do you think? It’s a bit of a winter dress I think so I’m not sure I will get much use out of it at the moment. It looks best with boots!

I’m not 100% convinced it’s for me either way. It’s a cute and casual skater style dress. It definitely appeals to a younger version of me though, rather than something I would pick out now…