Last month I was in Barcelona and Nunoya kindly gifted me a piece of fabric … and I made Fibre Mood Rhonda! A match made in heaven methinks. Although clearly I was thinking more about the beauty of this lightweight linen than the weather in the Netherlands in November when I was in Barcelona. Can you tell?!
Disclaimer: I work as a freelancer and Fibre Mood is one of my clients, therefore I did not buy the pattern myself. Links to Fibre Mood are affiliates. I am not obliged to make or post this. Of course, my opinions are my own and I write because I want to share what I think is helpful information. But as you can imagine there is always going to be subconscious bias.
But first: I want to tell you about Nunoya because I had such a nice visit there meeting Sean and Nanako (the husband and wife team that own the store).
Nunoya – a must visit fabric store in Barcelona
As you might gather from the name, Nunoya is a store that specialises in Japanese fabrics. If you’re in Europe, I’m willing to bet that you won’t find a bigger selection of delectable Japanese fabrics in person anywhere else! It stocks Kokka, Nani Iro, Echino … as well as being a retail bricks and mortar store it is a wholesaler of Japanese fabrics to shops across UK and Europe. There are also some really nice bag kits too if you’re into bag-making.
I love a good story and Sean and Nanako were happy to oblige. Many years ago when they settled in Barcelona after travelling the world (Nanoko is Japanese, Sean is British) they had started a store selling Japanese goods and amongst them – clothing. At some point people began to ask where the fabric came from. Of course you can fill in yourself what happened next. These days they also stock Atelier Brunette, See you at six and some other European brands as well.
Nunoya has recently moved premises and now shares a gorgeous space with Júlian López (a large Spanish general dressmaking fabric retailer) as well as Carousel Craft (a sewing school). So if you’re keen to go fabric shopping in Barcelona I’d say start here and you might not even make it anywhere else. If you’re nowhere near Nunoya, they also ship worldwide including the US … just saying…
Here’s a reel with my top and some snippets from the store.
Fibre Mood Rhonda
OK so what I actually got and made – this is Fibre Mood Rhonda from the Special no 1 issue I had my doubts about a top I couldn’t tuck (due to the bib), but I tried on the sample and all the doubts fizzled away! The great thing about sewing – do what you want, try some new styles and you’ll often be pleasantly surprised.
Features: slight bell-shaped sleeve that flares towards the hem, bib on the front and back, side panels, button back closure, the front piece is slightly shorter than the back. No darts anywhere. I made a size S which is my normal Fibre Mood size. No modifications.
It was not difficult to sew but requires some patience with the stitching around the edges for the bib. Adding the side panels needs extra sewing time. The bib has a mitred corner at the hem for a clean finish.
Also – if you want to make it shorter or longer, I’d suggest making a toile first. Otherwise if you take the “try as I go” approach you can still adjust the hem a bit, but then you can’t use the mitred corner finish. Just a minor detail if you’re into making your insides as pretty as possible.
Nani Iro lightweight linen from Nunoya + mother-of-pearl buttons
I think linen works really well for the top. It is robust enough to get crisp edges and corners on the bib, and the edges of the bib don’t droop down. I imagine a cotton lawn would be good here for the same reasons. Whereas double gauze would have a softer less angular look. Viscose would probably work if you interface the edges of the bib well enough that the folds don’t crumple.
Mine is a very lightweight linen by Nani Iro. I think I took the last of the bolt when I was at Nunoya, but this is the cotton lawn version for a similar effect. If you’ve been following me for some time you know I love a bit of texture (makes solid colours more interesting). So this white polkadot on white fits the bill very well.
The buttons are from my stash but I remember buying them when I was with Emma in Cologne a summer or two ago. Being able to meet sewing friends are the best! I love when I have memories attached to my fabric/notions/garments, makes them feel so much more special.
Here is a picture of the fabric and the buttons. Trying to show the detail of the white dots but my phone didn’t 100% oblige so you might have to take my word for it. PS. the choice of darker pink thread for the buttons was deliberate. I wanted to try for some extra pop even if only I can really see it!
Styling Fibre Mood Rhonda
I thought initially it would be challenging to make an outfit with this top despite being white since the style is not my usual. My favourite sample picture from the magazine is shown with pencil skirt,but I can’t remember the last time I wore one of those. So I just put on my wide-leg jeans and added a necklace from my favourite Amsterdam brand Juulry (I’ve met the owner now and she’s lovely so I’m extra chuffed). Turns out that was all I needed to do. I also tried it with a thrifted denim miniskirt (see below). . Apparently I really like this shade of blue in denim! My sister knitted the grey hat last winter and it’s a family favourite amongst my kids as well who like to steal it.
Till next time
Kate x