A new sewing magazine appeared in the sewing community a while ago and it took me up to issue 5 to pay attention! Have you heard of Fibre Mood? No? Well, now’s your chance to find out more, so read on, as I promise it’s worth it!
I was vaguely aware of some of their patterns, but I did not associate the name Fibre Mood with a physical magazine until I saw it on the shelves at WH Smith a few weeks ago. I had gone in to browse through the current Burda issue, to see if I fancy anything. The answer was no, but as I had a bit of time to kill, I kept looking. And came across the big yellow cover of Fibre Mood, so I picked it up to see what they were about.
I started flipping through and saw one pattern that I fancied, then another, then another, and one more and I was only halfway through. My rule is that I only buy a magazine if I like at least three patterns, to make it worth the cost. So, my mind was made up from the first three options. This magazine had to go home with me.
I was positively obsessed with it and I made a pattern right away, which doesn’t happen very often. As this was issue 5, I even went and ordered two back issues that I also liked the look of.
It’s official, I was totally hooked with Fibre Mood, so I thought it might be worth telling you more about it. Btw, this is not sponsored, I am just that in love with it!
What is Fibre Mood?
Fibre Mood is a Belgium-based fashion-forward sewing magazine that publishes in English, Dutch, German and French. They have 6 issues/ year (every two months). Patterns are also available to download individually from their own website. To note this is a patterns magazine, similar to Burda and La Maison Victor, not a content/editorial magazine like Simply Sew or Love Sewing.
Vision (in their words)
Inspiring young women and men, based on a sustainable, committed view of Western civilisation, to be creative and make trendy garments for themselves and others around them.
Mission Statement
Make it Yours! Create, Share, Inspire
It is available in a printed version which can be bought individually in the UK from the regular places. I got mine from WH Smith. It’s £9.90 in the UK. You can also order the paper versions online on their websites. Issue 2 is sold out, btw. I paid €12.95 each plus postage for issues 1 and 4.
You can also subscribe for the paper version, which offers a discount on each individual issue, but I always prefer to check out if I like enough patterns before getting a magazine.
It might seem a bit expensive, but if you like enough patterns and you know you will make them, it’s really good value, as each individual pattern would be €7.50 each to download or €12.95 to buy in paper version.
SAVE THIS FOR LATER ON PINTEREST
The Sewista Fibre Mood community
Fibre Mood was designed to be more than just a pattern magazine, they also wanted to build a community of like-minded fashion-forward home sewers that want to share their creations and tips and inspire others.
In their own words:
The sewista is an enthusiastic sewist who loves fabulous fabrics and is fashion-forward. Passionate about sewing, the sewista turns every piece of fabric into a gorgeous garment. She likes to inspire others by sharing all kinds of sewing tips & tricks with the world and she is profoundly proud of her homemade clothes. The sewista is all about creating, sharing, and inspiring!
You can join the conversation, see loads more versions of their patterns made by the community, as well as other inspiration, digital versions of all the previous patterns and free ones on their website, plus styling tips, pattern adjustments and much more.
So what can you find in a Fibre Mood magazine?
In each issue, you can find a number of sewing patterns for women, men and kids, as well as knitting and crochet ones. All patterns are styled in a magazine shoot style (like Burda) and also offer line drawings and diagrams (unlike Burda). The actual step by step instructions can be found on the website (as well as the PDF and paper version of the individual patterns).
The magazine contains very little copy, except for the description of the patterns themselves and the technical information. This may also be because it’s published in 4 languages, so they want to keep complications to a minimum.
Fibre Mood magazine Look & Feel
I won’t lie, this is probably my least favourite thing about Fibre Mood. While the imagery and technical drawings are great, I really don’t like the paper it’s printed on. I’m used to the glossy quality of Burda and this just feels really newspaper-like. It really does not do justice to the awesome fashion imagery of the product shots. I guess it’s similar to La Maison Victor, but I didn’t like that too much either. You can read my review of the first UK issue in a past post. Also, sometimes the printing is not great as the text is blue and it gets a bit blurry as the off-set printing went a bit awry.
Speaking of images, no white background studio photos here! The styling is edgy and modern, with cool combinations and artsy poses. Case in point: the silk slip dress from Issue 5, paired with chunky trainers. What I also liked is the diversity of the models, also including curvier versions for some of the patterns.
The patterns in Fibre Mood issue 5
As I was saying, the patterns really sold this issue for me. There are 7 women’s patterns and I LOVED five of them. One I didn’t like and one I was so so. As an aside, the one I was so so about was the one I actually ended up making first. And now I love it too.
The pattern sheets come in a tear-away booklet, and they need to be traced out, but they do include seam allowances. If you are used to the Burda spaghetti junction, this will be easy peasy, as there are only two patterns on each sheet, so much easier to trace. The system is a bit different from Burda, as they have a diagram on the edge of the pattern pieces that you need to look out for. The instructions also tell you which pattern sheet to go to. The sheets are smaller (A1 as opposed to A0 Burda), so they are easier to manipulate. However, because they are so small, some larger pattern pieces need to be joined up (and some of them might be split between two sheets). So pay attention if you see A and B plus a number, these are the parts that need to be assembled for the full pattern piece.
I will do a full review of the first pattern I made from issue 5, with more impressions on the pattern quality and drafting etc.
In the meantime, here is the pattern list and my top picks.
Robin dress
Jutta skirt
Rosalie dress
I have already made the Rosalie dress (below) and also the Mira dress from Issue 4. I can’t wait to share it all with you in the next few weeks.
HAVE YOU TRIED FIBRE MOOD? WHAT DO YOU THINK? WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE PATTERN MAGAZINES?
ENJOYED THIS POST?
I love the robin dress . . Im very tempted. Thanks for posting.
Author
I would have bought it just for that dress! I made 3 pattern from Fibre Mood so far and I found the construction quite clever with some nice details, even if they were fairly simple. But I tend to stay away from subscriptions as you never know what the next issue will be like.
Thank you so much. I live in Belgium yet I completely missed this! Nice to see something refreshing. x
Author
Yes, I love them loads! Hope you find something you like in it too!
Thanks for sharing tour thoughts on Fibre Mood. I bought the Fall issue (no 6) because the dress on the cover really caught my eye. I plan to sew it up soon. Having made a few garments from this magazine, can you characterize its block at all? Do things fit true to size, with the ease you’d expect? Anything else worth knowing? Thanks.
Author
It was true to size for me, but having said that, I made quite loose garments that are meant to have a lot of ease. I’m size 10/12, 38/40 European. In my Mira dress review, I’m sharing my measurements for reference. They have a few that are S-XL, I cut a size S in those and it came out ok, but could have easily gone down, loads of ease. I would say just measure the pattern pieces minus SA for final measurements. Some patterns have them as well. Hope this helps.