Fibre Mood Magazine Versus Burda: Norma Blouse

Greetings One and All. Since my last post, I have had a flurry of new readers and subscribers thanks to the lovely shout out from Alex Judge. Thanks Alex! So welcome new readers, I hope you enjoy the blog and care to stick around. Its lovely to have you. Please don't be shy, please comment, say hi and, of course, I have an Instagram account @the_hammy-dressmaker so you can have a good old nosy at past makes, if you feel so inclined.

I have been having a bit of experiment this week by trying a new pattern magazine (new to me at least) Fibre Mood. I bought the magazine off The Foldline and it arrived in my mail a couple of days after purchase. I didn't buy the latest magazine but I feel in love with a couple of the patterns and, in particular, the Norma Blouse.

If you haven't come across either Burda magazine or Fibre Mood, they are a way of collecting for the latest fashionable shapes and a huge amount of patterns very economically. Burda magazine is emperor and the oldest, having been around for decades. It is priced about the £8.00 mark and you get around 45+ patterns per issue and its printed monthly. However, it is showing its age and is not keeping up with the times. In terms of ease of use, its horrific.

First, lets talk sizing. Its split into two sections small (size 32 to 44 typically) and plus sized from 46 to 54 (I think, from memory) You do not get the same type of patterns in plus sized to small sized. So if you dare to have some curves you have to flick passed all these gorgeous patterns, photographed with models of about the age of 25 in exotic locals looking impossibly smug, patterns that are not for you, to get to the back pages with patterns that are about 3-4 patterns, usually sacks of some kind, but, occasionally, you can get something nice. There is a Burda Plus magazine but these are in Russain and available on E-bay but these are not a cheap undertaking to import. Once in a while, I will on onto the Burdastyle website and have a look at the PDFs available for download which means you have a little more choice and it saves you from having to trace. Those PDFs are £4.49 each. So there is a plus for Burda there. For those thinking 'Hammy, I like tracing". Do you? Do you really? Well, good luck with Burda because its erm, well its like the demon Crowley, after he finished the M25, decided to join the Burda team.

You have to imagine all these many, many patterns all crammed onto 6 sheets of small pattern paper, with very very small writing that they drop in there with vital instructions on the hellscape maze that can easily be missed, and not all the patterns are complete. Tracing is not so much a task with this magazine but an indicator of determination and masochism. After you have done that ring of fire, you have to add seam allowances and actually sew the bloody thing. The instructions give you one very specific type of fabric to use. You know, the rare kind spun from the hairs farmed from Angelia Jolie's hairbrush and just as expensive. They use fabric types that I have often not even heard of. If you haven't guessed by now, this is not a magazine that embraces beginners, this is not even a magazine for intermediate sewers, this magazine is for the hardcore fabric nut. Instructions are sparse, there are no diagrams and there are no official video tutorials. This is sewing on the seat of your couture pants. If you enjoy this magazine, I admire you but I just do not have the fortitude. I tried, I really did but life is too short for that sort of stress for me and I dismissed all pattern magazines with the same brush, until recently. The wonderful, the colurful and the amazing Jay from the Camden Stitch did some critiques of Fibre Mood and it roused new interest for me. Ottobre, Fibre Mood and others are the new daring kids of the block trying to knock off some of market dominance that Burda as enjoyed for so long.

Now, Fibre Mood is not perfect, but, by Chris Hemsworth biceps , they are SOOO much better. So what makes them different from our omega-level, evil Overlord?

Well, take every one of the criticisms above and they have tried to built themselves a product to do the exact opposite. Now I am going to get the price out of the way. £15.00 for 10 adult women patterns with a number of variations with some children and knitting patterns. To buy a single pdf, they are £8.00 each. Come back, come back. Listen, I know that if you compare by price alone the temptation is to go with the Overlord. I must admit my sphincter did squeak. However, I challenge you to find 10 patterns for £1.50 each, that are styled beautifully, have such a good size range, diverse models of different ethnicity and age and video tutorials to go allow with them. They name each of the patterns, like Norma, so you can easily find reviews, community response, hacks and tips. With less a focus on more, more, more, they concentrate on giving the customer a well packaged product. The pattern book, as they call it, is printed every two months but let's be honest, exactly how much sewing can people do every month? Even if you don't like every pattern thats still a pretty good deal. Patterns are still overlaid but its 2-3 patterns per sheet with a helpful and clear legend beside it. The patterns are encased in a nice cardboard file, which also contains outlines of the pattern and a clear indications which sheets the pattern pieces are on. They make fabric recommendations that are sensible, easy to find and affordable. Tracing patterns still suck but it is distinctly as easy as they can feasibly make it. The only criticisms I can level is that the size guide is not included, its is on the website, although finished garment measurements are. The website, you have to create an account, which is in Dutch although the rest of website has an english option.

So for my first go with this magazine I had two attempts. The first attempt went a bit askew to say the least, as I forgot to put on the seam allowances and I hacked at the bottom to 'straighten' it but it turned into a crop top. Nevermind, says I, I will stick a ruffle on it, but alas I stuck it through the serger and things happened which wreaked it. However it fit pretty nicely.

So for version 2, I added the seam allowances. For clarity I have graded it quite a lot, with a size 48 on the bust, grading out to the waist notch and then size 54 on the hips. For the sleeves, I graded out to a size 50, which is a standard adjustment for me

And here we are. For both of these versions I used fabric from the market, £2.50 a metre each. With 2 metres being used. So nothing particularly fancy. However, this picture is a bit of a lie, so lets take a look from the side

This version is constantly moving and gets dragged up. I think the seam allowance addition pulled it out of proportion. So next time Im going to down grade the shoulders to size 46, keep the 48 at the bust and then increase the hem length by 2 inches and add 1inch to the sides. So thinking may a FBA would improve this. Yes, my nemesis the FBA, Le sigh. Also, despite the grade up, the cuffs are a bit tight. I think next time I would swap this out for an elastic casing for extra comfort. However, Im pretty impressed. The instructions in the pattern book are not so much instructions but diagrams which I found to be really clear. Its a bit early for me to say this magazine is perfect for me as the fit is a bit of a concern but I like it it enough to give it another whirl with another patterns.

So, what do you think? Have I tempted you? Love to know your thoughts. Have you given this magazine a whirl yourself, what did you think?