The Sewing Place
The Emporia => In the wardrobe => Patterns Discussion => Topic started by: Lemon Syllabub on April 01, 2021, 14:42:02 PM
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I’m in the mood for dancing, romancing oooh I’m giving it all tonight :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance:
( I am really sorry I just can’t help it…but you can’t beat a bit of The Nolans!)
I was just wondering what you think of Fibre Mood patterns.
I like the idea of a pattern magazine and I saw a Burda one in Tescos the other month. I didn’t buy it because the pattern sheets looked too crowded for my eyesight.
Then I saw some posts on here about Ottobre Design so I looked at those online and then I saw this!!! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkFamTrrIjY)
Yes I know the models are all super slim and would probably look great wearing a paper bag but I really liked the style of some of these patterns. There are 12 in this edition (9 women’s, 3 children’s), and I can see myself making at least 4 of them… if the first one turns out OK.
I ordered it and it came the other day. The first thing I’m going to try is this
oversized cardy (https://www.fibremood.com/en/patterns/650-luz-cardigan)
I’ve just finished tracing it off. Some of the pieces are too large for the pattern sheet so they are in two parts and have to be joined together. One of the joins is in the armscye and the two pieces don’t appear to line up! I’ll check my tracing again as it could be me. :rolleyes:
Anyway, I was just wondering what experiences people have had using these patterns and whether there are any pitfalls I should prepare for.
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Not used those but have used Ottobre which I like.
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I have made up a Fibremood pattern but I used a download PDF rather than trace it. They sometimes have special offers.
I think I posted a picture in my garments made thread, it was the Daniella dress and I was pleased with the pattern.
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I like that cardigan. It'd look great in a mesh or voile or lace over a swimsuit or summer dress too - or inserting a voile panel in the back as a contrast fabric texture.
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Have you looked for them on Instagram @Lemon Syllabub? I have an account but don't post only follow or 'save' things that I like. I thnk that was where I first saw their patterns made up. It's a timewaster but you can just look. :)
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@Efemera I keep hearing good things about Ottobre Design. That could be next on my shopping list. :)
@Helen M Just popped over to your diary. Your Daniella dress looks lovely. That's one of the patterns in this magazine edition that I'd like to sew (I may shorten it to make it into a top?). I looked on Instagram. There are some amazing things on there.
@Catllar 'lace over a swimsuit' sounds heavenly, it also sounds like some lucky person lives in a hot country! I hadn't thought about making it for a Summer holiday, but now you've given me the idea it does have lots of summery possibilities.
I'm making my current cardy from a blue, fluffy boucle knit. Definitely more care bear than sun kissed goddess! :o
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I also like Ottobre patterns. Well worth the time investment tracing them off :thumbsup:
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@Helen M Just popped over to your diary. Your Daniella dress looks lovely. That's one of the patterns in this magazine edition that I'd like to sew (I may shorten it to make it into a top?). I looked on Instagram. There are some amazing things on there.
It's a good issue! I like both of the dresses.
@Lemon Syllabub I've almost finished a top in a much finer viscose jersey of the Daniella and I'm pleased with it.
I have changed the neck piece (I had already taken 1" off it on my dress and you are still able to fold it over if you want to). I shaped it by drawing making it > < at the halfway point where you would turn over the fabric to make the neck piece. I wanted it closer to my neck when it stands up. It works fine but I over compensated on the width so I'll unpick and also make it slightly lower as well as it's more like a T shirt weight so flops.
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@annieeg
I also like Ottobre patterns. Well worth the time investment tracing them off :thumbsup:
I'll definitely give them at try. :)
@Helen M It's good to know the Daniella works as a top in a thinner fabric. I must practice & improve my machine hemming skills for knits.... or I could just wear it tucked in. :rolleyes:
I've almost finished my cardy. It came together really quickly once I'd sorted out my armscye discrepancy.
I'll hand stitch the hems tomorrow. :)
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Good news on the cardi @Lemon Syllabub!
Re the neck on the Daniella. I'd say it would also work with just a 3/4" deep neckband, like on a T shirt, if you were using a finer fabric. I'm toying with the idea of doing that so I can wear in spring and summer. I hadn't done a gathered sleeve either at the shoulder or into a cuff before and I'd say you need a bit more length than you would for an ordinary sleeve, hence my initial faux pas, as I have short arms and shorten sleeves on everything!
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I think sleeve length seems to be a bit of a theme with Fibre Mood. Looking at the photos from my magazine lots of the patterns seem to have bracelet length sleeves. I know these can look lovely on some people but usually I prefer something a little longer. I added 5cm to the sleeves of my cardy. I also added 12 cm to the length of the back and front pieces as I wanted it to be really long!
Here’s my finished care bear costume cardy. :)
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Love your cardi @Lemon Syllabub and the fabric! How did you find the sizing, was it how you expected?
I think you could be right about the sleeve lengths, when I looked at the photo of the Daniella dress the cuff finished higher than I'd wanted mine to be.
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@Helen M It's such an oversized cardy I just looked at the finished garment measurement chart and guessed really! :rolleyes:
I'm going to trace off a Daniella today to make into a top so I think that will give me a clearer idea of where I fit into their sizing.
I'm currently looking at two pieces of freshly laundered jersey; one I really like and one that looked better on my computer screen! I'll have a practice with the fabric I'm not too fussed about first and if all goes well, I'll make it with the nicer one. :)
Fingers crossed.
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@Lemon Syllabub
That's a very nice looking cosy cardigan and a lovely colour.
Look forward to your feedback on the next Fibre Mood project.
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Love your cardi @Lemon Syllabub and the fabric! How did you find the sizing, was it how you expected?
I think you could be right about the sleeve lengths, when I looked at the photo of the Daniella dress the cuff finished higher than I'd wanted mine to be.
@Lemon Syllabub the Daniella is supposed to be close fitting over the bust, I think. I wasn't sure of sizing either so I cut 36 instead of 34 (EUR sizing). I used the smaller size lower down but it depends how loose you want it to be. I think I should have narrowed the shoulder (I'm very narrow shouldered) but as it seems to sit further in for the gathers on the sleeve it ended up being okay for me. Hope all of that makes sense!
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I’ve almost finished my Daniella. I decided to make it as a dress first. It went together really easily. So far I’ve found Fibre Mood pattern drafting to be very good. As the pattern has negative ease at the bust I decided to be guided by the size chart and not worry about finished measurements. I’m really pleased with the fit and I love the style of the sleeves. <3 (I added 2cm to the sleeve length).
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I’ve stopped at the point of sewing the hem as I know I’m on the precipice of snatching defeat from the the jaws of victory!
I have very limited experience of sewing knits. The first knit I ever sewed was a sweatshirt type thing at the beginning of this year. The machine sewn hem is so HORRIBLE I won’t even wear it for bed! The next stretchy little number was my blue velvet top which I hand stitched. Super happy with this top and the hand stitching just melts into the velvet nap. Then there’s my blue fluffy care bear cardy, which is soo cosy I’ve worn constantly since I made it!!! Again my hems were hand stitched. I’m not sure what to do about my Daniella dress hem as the jersey is relatively thin and curls. :(
I’ve spent ages playing around with scraps of this fabric but nothing looks vaguely nice. A zig zag stitch isn’t controlling the folded hem, a straight stitch is giving a frilly lettuce leaf undulation, a twin needle produces tunnelling and my hand stitching isn’t giving a nice finish. :facepalm:
I’ll try again tomorrow!
Next time I make this pattern I’ll either make it in something with more weight so I can easily hand stitch the hem or I’ll make it as a top and tuck it in. :thumbsup:
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It's lovely, well done. The fabric is pretty and I like the pattern very much. Is the dress fitted or loose? I am never completely happy with any hemming method when sewing the thinner jerseys.
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Looks fab. Very nicely made.
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Your dress is lovely @Lemon Syllabub, so glad you are pleased with it! Not sure what to suggest for hemming. Have you tried just a straight machine stitch in the lighter shade of thread?
Did you alter the neck at all and have you folded it over (or inside) ? Just curious!
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@Lemon Syllabub that looks lovely. Before I had a coverstitch machine I used to sew fusible interfacing to the edge of the hem on the wrong side, making sure the fusible side was up. Then fold the hem and fuse it in place. That stabilises the hem and you’re then able to sew in place. You can get knit interfacing which maintains some stretch. If you don’t need the hem to stretch it doesn’t matter! But check on the space you need to get the garment on. :thinking: I like a triple zig zag stitch as it lies nice and flat but still stretches. In fact it will often be fine without the interfacing.
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Have you tried double sided hem tape and then stitch hem as you like - double or single needle? The hem tape washes away and doesn't gum your needles either.
Also meant to say Love your snuggly cardigan!!
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Thank you for all your advice about the hem. <3
I’m going to have another play with my fabric scraps today. :thumbsup:
Thumbs up and fingers crossed.
@Silver Rose The dress is fitted at the bust and then flares out into an A line. The instructions say you can go up or down a size depending on how much ease you like. The one the model's wearing (https://www.fibremood.com/en/patterns/646-daniella-dress) looks like it’s a larger size than her measurements. I wanted to make one exactly as per my bust measurement with no alterations (except the sleeve length), as a guide to see whether I need/want to make other changes.
The fabric I used looked nicer online than when it arrived. It’s thinner and the pattern is larger than I thought it would be so I used it as a practice garment. To my total surprise it looks much nicer sewn up as a dress than it did on my washing line! I now wish I’d taken care with the pattern placement but hey ho if I can manage to sew a ‘respectable’ hem then I’ll still wear it. :rolleyes:
@Helen M Dorian my dummy is wearing the neck piece folded over like a polo neck. When I was prancing around trying it on yesterday I left it unfolded and it sort of crinkled down which I thought looked OK. -< perhaps.
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I've used this stuff a lot in the past - steam-a-seam tape (https://www.empressmills.co.uk/steam-a-seam-tape).
It's brilliant for controlling badly behaved curly knit hems and the sticky side of the tape means that you don't need to worry about pins for the hem, either. Just tape them, fold, iron, and they're ready for sewing.
Love the dress and the cardigan.