Denim Love - Fibremood Drea Review
It has been so long since I sewed with heavyweight fabric that I almost forgot how enjoyable it can be. I thoroughly enjoyed working on this denim jacket and I think my new heavy duty machine was also a positive factor. No shifting of fabric occurred, not a single needle was broken this time, and even the hand-stitching was relaxing ha! Ok let’s get into the details of this jacket.
Pattern: Fibremood Drea. The Drea pattern is a trench coat with storm flaps, belted waist, collar and lapel, and patch pockets.
Pattern Range: 29.9” to 57.5” bust (XS to XXXL)
Size made: The pattern chart put me in a size L but after looking at the finished garment measurements, I decided to make a size M. For reference, my measurements are: 41” bust, 34.5” waist, 44.5” hips.
Fabric: Denim from Polytex Stoffen.
As usual, I made quite a few changes to fit my personal style.
Pattern Adjustments:
Shortened pattern to my desired length - I think I’ll get more wear out of a short denim version. I used just over 2 metres of fabric.
Sizing - Although I made a size M, if I were to ever make a longer version, I’d grade the hips to a size L
Hand-stitching - Not an adjustment but wanted to note that I stitched along the whole facing (back and front pieces), not just the back as indicated.
Shortened sleeve by 1 inch.
Eliminated front and back storm flaps.
Eliminated belt and patch pockets - Instead, I sewed one to the inside of the front facing.
There are quite a few things I love about this jacket - I cannot get over how cute the cuffs are. My favorite thing has got to be the top-stitching. I think it adds a very beautiful and elevated look to the jacket. If I’m being totally honest, I didn’t start out loving it. I initially wanted to use a contrasting thread for top-stitching but realized pretty quickly it was going to be quite a hassle for me. I decided to stick to using the same thread for that and I think I made the right choice. If you look close enough, you can see the initial contrasting thread on the center back. It looks like quite intentional but it is not. I just couldn’t be bothered to remove the stitches haha!
It is no secret that my number 1 frustrating thing with Fibremood patterns is the lack of labels on the pattern pieces beyond just numbers. It doesn’t bother me much when it’s a pattern with a few pieces but projects with a lot of pieces always bring back this frustration. I took my time to label all 17 pattern pieces because I wanted to make sure I was keeping track of what pieces I needed and which ones I was setting aside. That is time I think Fibremood can save sewists. Am I the only one who thinks so?
Happy Sewing,
Sylvia XOXO
