I had wanted to sew myself a vest for cool evenings for a while... and I had spotted the vest called Monceau from Cozy Little World... So when the Mind the Maker jersey collection arrived, I gave in and sewed myself this much-desired vest.
I invite you to discover the Monceau pattern and my little thoughts on this sewing project where we work with knit fabric 😊
Focus on the pattern
The Monceau vest is a creation of Cozy Little World pattern; and it actually comes from a combination of patterns sold together: the Courcelles sweatshirt and the Monceau vest
It's quite nice because when you buy your pattern, you actually receive 2.
The patterns are available from size 34 to 52 for the women's version, which corresponds to:
- bust circumference between 80 and 122cm
- waist circumference between 60 and 102cm
- hip circumference between 86 and 128cm
I advise you to carefully check your measurements, especially the bust but also the hip circumference.
For your information, there is also a children's version from 3 months to 14 years for those who like to make duos.
The price is €8 in PDF format and €15.9 in printed format on the brand's website.
Who is Monceau for?
Monceau is quite accessible even for beginners. It can even be a good piece to start sewing jersey as long as you are methodical and carefully follow the assembly instructions.
In the seamstress's basket
- comfortable knit fabric (between 150 and 200cm depending on your size)
For my part, I chose a super soft, organic chevron quilted jersey from the Danish brand Mind the Maker. You will find 6 trendy colors of this wonder in the shop
- coordinated threads
- fusible interfacing
- special jersey snaps if desired
- Your machine and/or serger equipped with a jersey needle
Technical points
Note before starting: seam allowances are not included in the pattern.
Monceau itself isn’t very complicated to sew with its 8 pieces in total 😊 and you can choose to sew it with a serger or a sewing machine.
For my part, I chose to assemble it with the serger, which speeds up the process.
The technical points are:
- assembling the sleeves
- sewing the facing and positioning it
- making the hems with a twin needle
- stitching the facing to hold it in place (be careful to sew straight, I recommend pinning or even basting at this stage for a nicer result)
- attaching the snap buttons (if desired)
My version
I chose to cut it in size 36 and I’m glad I did because size 34 would have been a bit too tight for the hips.
I also had to cut the sleeves quite a bit: 10cm nonetheless! So be sure to try on your cardigan along the way and especially before hemming the sleeves.
I also chose to make a wider hem at the bottom of the garment (3cm) and stitched it with a twin needle at 2cm.
In the end, I didn't put on any snaps or buttons even though I initially intended to use the special pearly jersey snaps that I like... I thought I would prefer to wrap myself in it like I do with my kimonos (folding one side over the other).
I loved sewing this super soft Mind the Maker knit. The red is also catching my eye... I have to resist, but I'm weak!
And you, what color or material would you see it in?
