Fibre Mood Moira Jumpsuit
There is always space for another me-made jumpsuit in my closet, especially when it’s the Moira Jumpsuit by Fibre Mood. This PDF pattern is fresh off the press and is one of the patterns in their newly released Fibre Mood Magazine #18:
I had the privilege of a preview of all of the patterns and my eyes quickly landed on the jumpsuit. It was an easy decision to make this mainly because of the unusual winged sleeve trim. It harks back to a nostalgic time in my teens, and I imagine I could have been cast in a Depeche Mode music video if I was wearing this.
This was not a difficult pattern to make at all, although it might eat up some of your time with all the topstitching that has to be done. But it is worth the trouble, for sure. I cut the pattern pieces in half a day and sewed it up in another. There’s nothing complicated in terms of technical skills for putting this together. Most of it is just joining seams, and then topstitching them. I would label this pattern as confident-beginner friendly. It’s cleverly drafted, and the sewing instructions are easy to follow, and I made mine in a size 6 with zero modifications. I only have some additional suggestions for interfacing with fusibles, which I will detail about later below. Sizes for this pattern go from size 4-32. The smallest size accommodates a 86cm hip measurement, and the largest size accommodates a 145cm hip measurement.
For a garment that is relatively easy to sew, the results have a high-end feel, and the design is truly unique. The aforementioned sleeve trim is optional but I think it really elevates the jumpsuit into something extraordinary. There’s also a strong geometric interest with the bodice divided into different sections. The play with bodice style lines continues to the trousers of the jumpsuit where both front and back legs are divided in the centre. The trousers have a balloon shape with cuff facings to close up the hems. And the 2 roomy pockets attached to the side front legs lend a huge practical YES! To a stylised jumpsuit.
One genius detail in the construction is how the centre front panel of the bodice includes its own facing. It’s a simple but elegant way of constructing the neckline which looks great closed or open.
The only thing I recommend is to strengthen more seams with fusible interfacing so that the construction will be fool-proof. This may be a really boring thing to talk about, and do – adding more fusible interfacing – but I have realised that this step after cutting and before sewing can make or break the making of a garment. When there are seams that I would like to strengthen, I usually use fusible interfacing that comes 1-inch wide and it comes in a big roll like this:
This is really helpful for seams that need some backing especially when installing zippers. In this particular instance, since I was using 3 denims that had some stretch in the fabric, I took the time to strengthen curved seams, and seams that were cut on the crossgrain or on the bias. Below, I am going to list the additional pieces that I interfaced for your consideration. And I think it is an effective thing to do even when working with fabrics that have no stretch in them.
The only pattern piece that is specified to be fully interfaced in the sewing instructions is pattern piece 13, which is the back neckline facing. In addition, I fully interfaced pattern pieces 14 and 15 which are the front and back hem cuff facings for the trousers. In my opinion, this gives more definition to the cuff hems.
The only pattern piece that is partially interfaced in the sewing instructions is the front bodice, where the locations for each individual snap is reinforced separately. Instead, I interfaced the entire strip for the lines of snaps. You can see below the 1-inch strips of interfacing that I applied. This also has the dual function as the edge of the interfacing reinforces the fold line which divides the front from the facing.
From the picture above, you can see that I had also interfaced the entire curve of the neckline so that it doesn’t stretch out. And I make sure that whatever interfacing I am using, the grainline of the interfacing is utilized for strengthening purposes. I also interfaced the shoulder seams and the curves of the seams that join one bodice piece to another. I did the same to the neckline of the back bodice as well:
The other important pattern piece to interface is the pocket, which is a slanted pocket attached to the front side of the trousers. The top is cut at an angle and will sustain quite a bit of wear, so the fold line of the top edge can be interfaced or reinforced with stay tape.
While sewing, I also felt it was necessary to interface the bottom edge of the pocket edge as well but forgot to take a picture of it. Basically, I just cut a 1cm wide strip of interfacing and ironed it onto the bottom edge.
The above are just some suggestions to fortify the key areas of the garment that are continually placed under stress. It’s not a must to do it, but it’s my preference to insert this step into the sewing order when I see that the instructions don’t have these considerations in mind.
The lime green and orange denims were purchased online from Minerva, and there’s a small waffle texture on them. The Barbie Pink denim is leftover from previous makes and was gifted as part of the Minerva Brand Ambassador program. I tried finding these fabrics on the website but I don’t think they are available anymore. My deepest apologies if you were hoping to get some for yourself. To be honest, I wasn’t completely a hundred percent sure of my fabric choices when I started off working on the jumpsuit. I had a completely different idea in my head to make it in a white denim or a cotton canvas, and hand paint all the seams with a 1cm border. This artsy and avant garde idea took hold, and it was difficult to pivot. So you’re asking why didn’t I just go ahead and make this idea into reality? Well, I couldn’t justify spending more money on buying more fabric when there’s a huge stash that I have waiting to be used. I picked out these 3 fabrics and decided to do a colour-blocking experiment to accentuate the style lines in the Moira Jumpsuit.
Halfway through working on it, I started to have major doubts about these fabric choices. Have I gone mad? What concoction am I coming up with? Is this colour-blocked garment going to turn out looking like a clown costume? That was my biggest worry. I began half-hating the project and that’s when I made a major mistake of attaching the front bodice to the back trousers. I had even serged the seam before realising what I had done. So I took out the seam-ripper and continued in a half-hearted mood. Usually when I finish making a new garment, I always try it on and check it out in the mirror. But I was so convinced that it was a failure that I didn’t even do that. The next morning, I put it on because my husband said that I’d think of it differently in the morning light. And he’s a total genius because… my perspective on this took a 180 degree turn. Was it the morning light, or was I just being prematurely judgey? 100% – I love it now! I guess it’s on the border of looking over-the-top, but I’m OK living on the edge like that. One thing for sure is that there’s no doubt that something like this will not be mistaken for RTW that you can buy off the racks. This is custom-made, quirky, fun, joyful, and definitely reflects my style to a T.
Here’s a reminder that all the Fibre Mood links in this blog are affiliate links, and if you purchase the magazine or patterns from Fibre Mood, I get a small percentage at no extra cost to you. I didn’t plan it at all but my project from the previous Fibre Mood Link Party – the Carmen Coat – completely matches my Moira Jumpsuit.
This is my first blog for 2022, and I know that makes me a late starter. I didn’t lose my sew-jo, but I did lose my blog-jo. For a while, I lost my direction on what I should do to continue writing. But I am BACK! Thank you for sticking around and being patient. I really appreciate it. In the meantime, happy sewing!
