Sewn: Fibremood Cleo Dress

Second make of 2025 was the Fibremood Cleo Dress (Issue 21). It is a short, flared dress with lantern sleeves, a belt and a whole heap of top stitching.

When I initially bought the magazine, this dress didn't really appeal to me, but I bought some floral cotton (which looks a little denim like) back in the winter which I thought would look good in this style...and I think I was right.

So, there are two things that are a bit of a drawback to this pattern: a) the number of pattern pieces b) the button placket. I'm not great at buttonholes. The difficulty rating is 2/5 but I have been sewing a long time now and I still hate buttonholes, so for that reason alone I would rate it 3/5. You can see I made a bit of a mess where the placket meets the skirt.

Getting giggly in the toilets of The Ivy, Oxford

I wanted to accentuate the red in the print, so all my top stitching is in red and I also bought some red metal D rings for the belt. My buttons are from the stash - I didn't have enough of any red ones, so I used bright green, again trying to pick up the colour from the fabric. I was one short, but made do!

On location in Venice

The construction was actually pretty simple and straightforward.

For sizing, I used Small, grading out to Medium at the waist. I would say I am currently a store size 12. However, I think I could have got away with a straight Small as there is plenty of ease. However, the additional room allows for big dinners!!

I'm only 5'2" and the dress is pretty short - for me, I think, it is just on the bounds of acceptable. So if you are taller, you may want to bear this in mind. 

I love the pockets and have worn it and washed it a few times now. It feels like it will be a great Spring/Autumn addition to my wardrobe.

Love Mrs Jones x