3 free patterns + 1 for fun

Mood Fabric's free pattern archive is impressively large and I thought I'd test a few out! I'm in the opinion that you get what you pay for, and you should expect to do some extra work if the cost is nothing, but I was willing to take the plunge. I'm real bad at drafting with negative ease in mind. Giving up and relying on a professional to do it for me would yield better results, I figured. Simple tanks and tees should be impossible for someone to screw up, given that they aren't me.

(All following garments were constructed using an overlocker, all hems were zig-zagged and all bindings were topstitched on a regular sewing machine).

 

Here's the June Bralette in a rayon jersey from Minerva and a synthetic mesh from my local fabric store. It was the perfect base for me to copy the "Frisky top" from the brand MDNT:45 after I saw Erika Ishii wear it on an episode of Critical Role. I liked it so much that I stole some design elements, like the wide strap and the way the inner tank is sewn to the shell's armhole.

This is an alright pattern and design. It's nice to have something a little "more" than your average tank top that still wears as easy as one. I made some notable adjustments.

See the top of my bra peeking out? That's after I already raised the neckline a bit, and it turns out I should have raised it some more. As a sports bra(lette) you're not really meant to wear anything underneath but I still think the original design should have provided more coverage. I added 1.5 inches downward so consider adding length in both directions if you have to accommodate for a bigger bust. Of the Mood patterns I've seen, none have lengthen/shorten lines, so you'll have to draw your own manually.

I dislike how the instructions say to finish certain raw edges with a rolled hem. It looks sloppy to me and it would look even worse in my transparent mesh fabric. Instead, I did a narrow binding using June's spaghetti strap pattern piece, lengthened.

Anyone who wants to sew this, I recommend you install something like a zipper, or in my case, a keyhole and button closure at the back of the neckband. The construction establishes that it's supposed to comfortably pull over your head. I tried it and I don't think it's a good idea. The band would not fit over my skull even though I was using a fairly stretchy material and stitch. I knew instantly that it was too small, because I always break out into an awful sweat trying to get undersized clothes on, and boy did I feel it then. I consider it a good thing that I didn't succeed, because putting something that's difficult to put on, on, is always an even sweatier ordeal to take off again. ANYWAY, try fitting the band over your head before you do any other part of construction. It might work out for you, and if it doesn't then you won't end up needing to improvise like I did.

Another word of advice: pay attention to what size you're cutting out. The way Mood distinguishes sizes is visually frustrating. A few of the different size lines look identical from a glance. Even if they aren't right next to each other, I still found it annoying because I did cut the 18 line instead of the intended 10 once or twice.

 

 

And then sometimes you'll run into a crazy cluster of lines all bunched up together, and you'll have to really squint to figure out where you should be cutting. Not the end of the world with this piece in particular, because fit isn't crucial here, but it's also not ideal. It would have helped immensely if the PDF were layered and I could hide the sizes I didn't need. Yeah, yeah, it's a free pattern, but Fabrics-store.com also has a wealth of free patterns with layered PDFs while being, I'd imagine, a smaller operation.

I've turned the bralette into a full-length tank so, while I have the option in the future, I don't have to commit to the crop in the current moment. I admit it looks cooler cropped but I also enjoy having a warm, protected abdomen.

Summary of notes and modifications:

• Cut size 10
  
• Lengthened bodice pattern pieces by 1.5 inches
• Exchanged waistband for a full-length hem (10 inches)
  
• Raised neckline 0.5 inches
  
• Changed inner camisole to a wide-strap one-shoulder tank top
  
• Anchored inner tank to the mesh shell at the right underarm
  
• Keyhole + button on the back as a neck fastener
• Exchanged all rolled hems for bindings

Next, Mood's Felicia Sweater, a simple fitted tee-silhouette with a mock neck collar. It's a good  project that you can bang out in an afternoon. I used a ribbed sweater knit of some mystery fiber from my local fabric store.

My biggest hope was that the armhole at the shoulders would fit me without adjustments. Previous attempts at drafting simple tees always yielded a weird fit, either because of excess or too little fabric specifically at the back armhole, near my shoulder blades. I'm really happy that Felicia fits my shoulders just fine. And even if it didn't, at least I would have a professionally drafted base to adapt instead of cluelessly drafting my own (again).

I noticed a small mistake in that the front and back pieces are uneven at the shoulders. And yes I double-checked if I had perhaps cut one of the pieces in the wrong size, but I had not. This is easily correctable by removing a bit from the back neckline. It's not a big deal, but thought I'd note it to reassure anyone else who makes Felicia that they didn't screw up somewhere.

This is another pattern where you should check if your head will fit through the neck and collar beforehand. Before I sewed the sweater, I used Felicia's neckline as it was originally drafted on another top. (It's the next project on the list, just scroll down). I again had trouble getting my head through, but at least this time I managed to do it at all. Learning my lesson for the sweater, I cut the neckline slightly bigger to make it easier to put on. I also cut the collar shorter so it ends lower on my neck.

Maybe it's too loose? Eh.

I think I overshot how much ease I would need because previously, I'd have abused negative ease for an extremely fitted look. A TikTok fashion influencer would probably use my current sweater as the finger wag no-no "before" example and then opt for a tighter cut, but I'm more or less pleased with what I made. And I'm just realizing there's no smaller size so whatever. It's fine and I'm fine with it being fine.

If it's black I usually don't bother with a twin needle. People can't clock the zig-zag stitch from far away. Nor do they care.

Summary of notes and modifications:

• Cut size 0/2, graded to 4/6 at the waist
• Removed 0.25 inches of depth at the center front neckline
  
• Removed total 0.75 inches from halved collar (or 1.5 inches total)
• Shortened sleeves by 2.75 inches
• Stabilized shoulder seams with strips of jersey, cut vertically

 

Rewinding a bit, here is the aforementioned top that I made prior to Felicia. It's Mood's Sylvan Tank, which includes a crop top view and a midi dress view. The houndstooth jersey is from Minerva. I used Felicia's collar and neckline to make a mock neck, cropped tank top. As I mentioned before, this is when I learned that the neckline was too narrow. It's uncomfortable around my neck because it's slightly too tight, and difficult to put on, as well as too high. It both feels and looks bad where it cuts me off. A collar of this height makes me look like I have no neck!

I don't like Sylvan's sizing at all. It calls for a fabric with at least 60% stretch and is designed with a crazy amount of negative ease. Comparing the dimensions of the finished garments to those of the June bralette, an activewear pattern, Sylvan's are smaller per size. Mood's body measurements chart would normally put me at a 4. I cut a 14 in a 55% stretch jersey and it's still more snug than I'd like. It's not as if I believe their sizing is mathematically inaccurate, it's that purposefully designing the garment to have that much negative ease in the first place is ridiculous. I get suspicious when a garment relies on a fabric's generous stretch to get a skin tight decent fit, instead of being thoughtfully designed. I feel this way because I've tried to do the exact same thing drafting knit patterns for myself and it doesn't work. It's not difficult to see and feel when something is too tight. I know your tricks because I failed at them first, dammit!

Anyway. The lesson here is that you need to size up, and by a lot. Several comments on Sylvan's blog post agree.

Summary of notes and modifications:

• Cut size 14, graded to 12 at the waist
• Crop top view, lengthened by 2.25 inches
• Raised armhole by 0.75 inches (not necessary, it's fine as is)
• Used Felicia sweater neckline and collar
• Used armhole bands, not bindings* (Sylvan's instructions identify them as bindings, but what are shown in the photographs are actually bands)
  

Some last notes on Mood patterns: they don't come with traditionally written, edited, and illustrated instructions. They come in the form of downloadable, photographed, sew-along tutorial posts on the Mood Sewciety Blog. I don't prefer this medium at all, so I'll be passing on Mood's more complex and involved designs specifically because I'd have to rely on the instructions. While I didn't need to consult the instructions for the patterns I sewed, if I did I think I would be quite bothered. They aren't that thorough or descriptive. When I look at the photos, I don't think they actually demonstrate what you should be doing well enough. They're too zoomed-in to get the full context for each corresponding step, or the garment was sewn in a dark fabric without a contrast thread, for example. Sometimes the author will write a step that doesn't include a photo example at all when it really could have used one for clarity. It's inconsistent from pattern to pattern. Also, the advice they give is questionable? The author who wrote the post for Felicia recommends you conceal the seam where the collar piece meets the neck hole with a French seam so there's no rough edge rubbing against your neck. If I'm interpreting their advice correctly, that just seems like a bad idea, to have doubly bulky seam around your neck in a sweater knit. But I can't determine what they mean with no ambiguity because there's no goddamn photo.

So, are Mood's patterns good? I would say that as a whole, no, because if they aren't well written then they don't meet the standard of a good pattern. On principle I don't recommend them. They reaffirm why I think thoroughly edited patterns are worth paying for. But do they work? Can or will I reuse them? Yes, and yes. I made wearable garments out of them which was the goal, and I'll likely make more. They can be and are a valuable resource depending on how much assistance you require. If you can and are willing to fill in the blanks yourself, then go ahead and use them.

Lastly! This top pattern is from Lima-based independent designer Reyna Herrera (@rhpatrones). It's the same black and houndstooth rayon jerseys as above. I downloaded this pattern when it was offered for free, in one size, on the designer's website. After adding additional sizes and adjusting some pattern lines, she currently has the pattern available for purchase. I was inspired by the color blocked sample and wanted to do something similar with a print and a solid.

Keep in mind, I don't know how detailed the purchasable pattern is. The free version had no written instructions, but I wouldn't have needed them as it's basically a tank top (they'd be in Spanish if they were there). Additionally, you have to cut a binding for the neckline and armholes, for which there isn't a pattern. It just tells you to cut a strip of a certain width. I'm actually okay with this omission because sometimes such simple shapes take up unnecessary pattern space and waste printer paper. The gist is that this isn't a true review because I don't have all the information. I just wanted to show off a cool, yet simple pattern from an independent designer.

I tried to pattern match the houndstooth but it turns out the print is off-grain, so I gave up entirely. Yay.

Summary of notes and modifications:

• One size ("Small")
  
• Lengthened 1 inch
• Widened neckline (the updated version has already done this)