pink velvet moneta

I've always disliked dressing for weddings. I'm not a dressy person by nature (despite wearing dresses 90% of the time) and I don't feel comfortable in the usual flesh-baring/over structured/frilly/ornate/blousey floral wedding outfits available in the shops. They're just not me.

This is why I love being able to sew. I have the power to make an appropriate outfit to my exact tastes and measurements. It makes dressing for occasions much less stressful. I know I'll still feel socially uncomfortable as I'm an awkward weirdo, but at least I'll be physically comfortable in my outfit. I can also feel happy knowing nobody else will turn up wearing the same dress!

After the storming success of all my Colette Patterns Moneta dresses last year there was no doubt what I wanted to make for my brother's wedding in February... a fancy Moneta dress!

To make the dress more Winter-wedding-approriate I used a gorgeous, deep pink stretch velvet from Tia Knights Fabrics. As you may have guessed if you're a regular visitor here, my green stretch velvet Lady Skater dress was a tester for this dress so I could see how the velvet worked with my jersey patterns.

 The elegant scoop back neckline.

For this Moneta I added the tie collar for a bit of neckline interest, since the plain-ness of my green velvet Lady Skater really bothered me, and I extended the sleeves to full length for a classy, winter look. Both the sleeves and skirt hem were catchstitched for an invisible finish and I absolutely love how it looks. It's little details like that which elevate an item to look and feel more special.

I also love how the skirt gathers look on this dress. The velvet has a gorgeous drape and the gathers make a lovely, swishy skirt.

The only thing which really bothered me about this dress was the construction of the tie collar. On my yellow polka dot moneta which has a tie collar I sandwiched the collar between the main fabric and a lining (I chose to line it as the fabric was slightly see through) so the seams were all concealed. On this version I followed the pattern instructions to sew the collar so the seam allowance sits under the collar on the right side (and no lining.) The problem with this is that when you tie you collar, perhaps especially in a slightly bulkier jersey like this stretch velvet, the seam allowance is slightly visible. Understandably this bothered me so I handstitched the top 1/4" or so of the ties from the underside to cover the seam allowance. I also understitched the neckline to keep the seam allowance lying flat.

For my shoes I picked a pair of Irregular Choice low heels. I've coveted IC shoes for many years as I love their weird and wonderful designs but have never taken the plunge. I'm not sure why, other than I hardly ever wear heels and haven't felt like I had a special enough occasion to buy a pair... Until now! My dress was plain and didn't cost much to make (under £20) so I knew I finally had an opportunity for a pair of statement shoes!

As with many Irregular Choice shoes I couldn't decide whether these were the best shoes ever or slightly creepy as the cat looks like a demonic version of Marie from Aristocats, but I went with the former. A cat, bows, a ball of wool, pink AND velvet: perfect for me! Worn with a pair on insoles (I was between shoe sizes) they proved to be comfy enough for the whole day, even for my non heel-wearing feet.

The last thing I needed for the big day was a handbag. I briefly considered buying the matching clutch bag for the shoes but couldn't justify the expense. Instead I made my own handbag, copying the style of an old, favourite, shop-bought bag. I also wanted to use existing stash fabric so I made it from a black stretch velvet originally bought to make something for my Mum at Christmas (sorry, Mum. It didn't happen!) and pink, acetate lining fabric left over from my teacup skirt.

I sewed a sparkly bow brooch onto the flap for a pretty detail and used a snap fastener inside for a hidden closure.

Although the resulting bag looks lovely my fabric choices weren't ideal. The stretch in the velvet was unnecessary and a bit annoying for a bag (although I added interfacing to give it some stability and structure) and the acetate slipped and frayed like nobody's business. In fact, they were horrendous to sew together. Never again! Haha. It's what I had though so I went with it.

Just when I thought I had finished the bag I noticed that the pink lining had already started to disintegrate at the seams so I sealed it with clear nail polish and handstitched a length of black polka dot bias binding on top. It almost looks like an intentional feature.

And finally, what you've all been waiting for... me wearing the dress! On a lit up dancefloor no less. My dress travelled well (no creasing, yay!), kept me cosy and was incredibly comfortable. It ticked all my taste and requirement boxes and even received a number of compliments. Can't ask for much better really!

lately...

Now that I've finally caught up with 2017's blog content I can finally move into this year. Hurray!

2018 has been quite a big year for me so far, mostly because... I bought a little house. All by myself! It still feels a bit surreal as I was beginning to think this day would never come. It's not that I dislike living at home with my parents as I love them to bits and they are fantastic housemates, but it has been 8 years since I moved home after university and I didn't envision staying there forever.

 My keys came with a Tetley tea keyring... It's like they knew I was a tea lady.

The house isn't big (only one bedroom) and it's a do-er upper but it has bags of charm and it's all mine. Luckily, since I still live at home, I can renovate it as and when I have the time and money... which is good as I have no money left! It's currently at the gutting stage and I'm saving up to buy a little stove and install heating. I may do a separate post on my house and renovation shenanigans if people are interested?

In February, two days after I got my house keys, my brother got married. Naturally I made my dress and handbag for the big day and I will blog about them soon. As a teaser, here's a rather spectacular panoramic bathroom selfie from the wedding venue.

Shortly after returning from the wedding I started beginner adult ballet classes! I know it sounds daft but this was a huge deal for me. Learning ballet has always been a dream of mine so I was so unbelievably excited that a class was finally being offered locally to me. However I was worried I couldn't physically manage it due to long running problems with sciatica. 

(Feel free to whizz past to baking photos at the end of the post if you have no interest in the following ramble.)

So... I've struggled with sciatica/back problems for the last 7 years and towards the end of 2016 it became so bad I could barely stand or walk for any length of time without my foot and leg going numb or feeling like somebody had severely kicked and welded my lower back. On really welded days, I struggled to bend down to put on underwear.

At the beginning of last year I finally decided enough was enough and started seeing a physio (I initially tried through the NHS years ago but had a really bad experience which put me off.) On my first visit she told me my leg was as weak as she'd seen, that it was as bad as somebody who's just had a hip replacement and my core muscles weren't supporting my body so no wonder I struggled to stand.

It has been a long year of rehabilitation, often feeling one step forward and two steps back as my sciatic nerve disagreed with many exercises, but I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere. I'm still not completely fixed, but my body is getting stronger and I'm regaining some of my long lost flexibility. I can even touch my toes again which makes me SO happy! There's no way I would have managed ballet classes this time last year without leaving the studio in severe pain. Admittedly there have been twinges, but no spasms so I'm counting it as a huge success. Looking back, I'm horrified I let my body get into such a poor state, but I guess I didn't know how much it was struggling until I started to fix things as it had been weak for so long.

Just so the end of this post isn't devoid of pictures, here are a few things I've baked over the last couple of months:

Mum's massive birthday trifle.

Very pink french fancies made with the left over sponges and fondant icing from another birthday cake.

Cheese scones I baked on Mother's Day to accompany soup.

I've actually baked quite a lot so far this year, and dare I say it, most bakes have been very successful. I'm going to blog a couple of them separately as they deserve full posts. 

So house-buying, a wedding and learning ballet have been my three big events so far this year. I wonder what April will bring? How has everyone else's year been so far?