Today I’m sharing my review of the Fibre Mood Rya.

Do you ever have sewing projects that you kind of make against your better judgment?

Kind of expecting that perhaps it’s not really the right pattern for you, but going ahead in blind optimism anyway?

Thinking that, maybe, just maybe, when I just finish the garment and put this shape – that I fear will look terrible – on my body, my first glance in the mirror will somehow instead result in a moment of earth-shattering revelation as I realise that I was wrong about this shape all these years and that, in reality, this garment completes my life…

Well this Fibre Mood Rya is kind of like that! One of this “I should have known better” projects.

Or “I did know better, but convinced myself otherwise!”.

My rationale for sewing this project was that during winter, I really like wearing my oversized flannel shirt dresses – both as dresses and as overshirts.

I had also really liked the Fibre Mood Ryas that I had seen on other people.

And so, when I scooped up this checked pure wool for half price, the vision I was tryin to create was of a more heavyweight take on the flannel overshirts that I like so much.

But, my fear, was that, in my experience, oversized sack-like garments do not leave me looking and feeling my best.

Nonetheless, I decided to give it a try. Half-price wool will embolden me like that – the stakes feel lower!

Sewing the Fibre Mood Rya

My Fibre Mood Rya is an L. My body measurements had me between an L and an XL. Since I was scared of the sack-effect, I decided to take the L.

This turned out to be a poor choice because Fibre Mood Rya has more of a coccoon shape than I had really appreciated.

Which means that while I have oodles of room around the waist – the L is actually a squeeze for me around the thighs. So I basically cannot wear this buttoned up.

It is purely in “worn-open-overshirt” territory on my body.

There are some things I really like about the pattern – such as it’s wonderful over-abundance of very generously sized pockets!

I thick that the oversized proportions of the breast pockets, collar and cuffs are well done too.

But, there are also plenty of things I don’t really like.

Now, since this was one of those project that I wasn’t really sure about, I did read plenty of blogs and reviews before I started. Am I the only one who, when experiencing sewing project doubts, obsessively reads everything they can about a pattern?

A number of people had indicated that they disliked the use of bias binding at the hem and suggested that it worked much better with a hem facing, which provides the kind of weighing down that works well with a garment such as this.

This seemed like a great idea, so I added a hem facing to my Fibre Mood Rya. I’m really glad I did. It gives a nice weight and makes for pretty insides, since I finished the inside edge of the facing with bias binding.

The other feature that I read some people complaining about is the technique for sewing the collar and the difficulty of using bias binding to tuck away potentially very thick seam allowances.

I followed the instructions for the collar and I didn’t find it too difficult, even though I was working with a thick wool. While sewing, I actually quite liked the simplicity of the technique. In general, I found the Fibre Mood Rya a straightforward and quick sew.

However, in my view, the collar does not sit particularly flat when worn, so this ended up being another of my bug bears with this sewing project.

All-in-all, I’ve tried to give this project some time and come back to it.

But it hasn’t really worked. It feels like a messy sack.

Just to be clear, I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with the pattern – I just thought that it was perhaps the kind of shape I don’t love wearing.

And this turned out to be true.

In addition, the fabric is actually more grey-toned than I had anticipated (I had thought the blue features would be more prominent) and grey is not a colour that I feel suits me best.

I would like to come up with a way to finish on a positive note, but, well, I just don’t actually like this make.

It even makes me feel that RTW has one major advantage over sewing – the capacity to try things on and test out new-to-you silhouettes in a low stakes way!

So, yes, this project has me lamenting with nostalgia about RTW, which is not a good sign. Probably means it is time to just let this one go.

For now, this Fibre Mood Rya Shacket is firmly resigned to indoor duty! Perhaps an oversized shapeless grey wool layer will be just what I need as an indoor over layer to survive the coming winter of energy deprivation!!