Completed: A Black "Collegiate" Style Hoodie

Another hoodie! Yay!

I originally bought this amazing silver and black ribbing with a Rigel Bomber in mind. It’s fantastic quality, by the way! I ordered it from Pacific Trimming in NYC.

I got the sweatshirt knit from Girl Charlee, and it’s 70” wide. I ordered only 1 yard but barely eeked out what I needed. Next time I’ll go for a tad more.

I originally thought that I’d fold the edges of the pockets under so they were a better finish but the fabric just ended up being too thick. I extended the pocket pieces by 1/2” all around to account for the potential change, so the pockets on this version are larger.

I used the same cording from my first hoodie, and a standard black zip.

After the changes I made to my last version, this pattern is definitely on the TNT list for me; it’s a quick make and looks great!

Completed: Baby Hacci Floral Cardigan

Another finished item! I've been on a tear lately, and I'd definitely say the inspiration is coming from a lot of my favorite blogs.

This is McCall's 6084, which is a pretty basic cardigan. Let's get one thing straight, though. I'm lazy. If I'm sewing with a knit, I surely don't want to be bothered to include finicky details like a dart. This pattern calls for darts at the shoulders, and I could not be bothered to execute those in such a drapey, fluid fabric. This is a baby hacci sweater knit from Girl Charlee's January KnitFix. (I may or may not have ordered two of those. HI BOYFRIEND, YEP JUST ORDERIN' MOAR FABRIC!)


This pattern has a self-facing collar that you simply turn in on itself. I tacked it down at the back neck to keep it from rolling forward. I also didn't hem or finish any seams. Remember: Lazy. We covered this!


Very pretty drape from the back. I love this floral!


I needed to do something with the excess where the dart *should* have been. I instead just made an inverted box pleat, which seems to be my go-to for dealing with fabric I don't want to ease or dart or generally deal with. #Lazy4Life


In the same vein, I also attached the sleeves flat, and inverted-box-pleated out that excess. One day I'll read about how to remove sleep cap ease so I can stop doing that. It's still a fun feminine touch, so it doesn't bother me any. Oh! I also shortened it by 10 inches, since I didn't want something to hit me at my knees. I have some more sweater knits, but I'm not sure if I like this pattern enough to make it again, so I'm still on the hunt for a good one!

Completed: Modern Cross-Back Tank

We've been experiencing a wonderful deluge of sunny weather here in Seattle lately, and it means that summer really *is* on the way!

In honor of the weather, I completed a fun, basic tank top for the summer. I used this great cotton knit from GirlCharlee. It's described as a "mustard" triangle on mint, but in person it's really more of a gold. It's a wonderful color combination that I personally wouldn't have thought to put together!


I used McCall’s 6751. This is meant to be a wearable muslin, and I did end up having to make some changes to get this to fit correctly. I ended up scooping out the neckline by about 1", including rounding it a bit more. It's a pretty boxy fit out of the package. I also reduced the front piece width by about 1.5". I did this by redrawing the CF line, and I angled it in near the neck to reduce gaping, probably by about 1/4". I reduced the back pieces by 2" each, just slashing partway from the edge and overlapping. That change isn't shown on this version, so I hope to sew up another and that the fit will be a little closer.




Overall, this is a super quick make with some other really cute views. Definitely going to make this again!

Completed: Southwestern Hoodie

I've been wanting to make a hoodie for some time. This summer, I found this fabric at my local store (Stitches!) for something silly like $3.00 a yard. I think at that point I had never sewn with non-wovens of any kind, but I bought three yards anyway. It's a great sweatshirt knit, with a soft fleece-y inside and a great screen printed pattern on the right side.



I made this hoodie with McCall's 4261 view A, heavily modified.
The pattern originally calls for a shoulder yoke and the self facing to be turned to the wrong side. Nope nope nope.
I cut the XS and made the following changes:
-Added topstitching throughout. (cuffs, hem band, shoulders, sleeves, hood/neck, extra row on the pockets.) I essentially made a mock flat felled seam with the seam allowance and then trimmed it down after.
-Set the sleeves in flat, and pinched out the excess at the sleeve head with an inverted box pleat. A fun feminine touch!
-Sewed the side and sleeve seams at 1/4"
-No shoulder yoke!
-Added a button hole opening on either side of the hood for an added drawstring
-Folded those self facings to the interior
-Cut the hem band on the fold. (The pattern calls for cutting two. It's just a rectangle and this fabric was thick, so cutting down on uneccessary seams was a plus)

And a little "this might be a hoodie?" selfie!


You can really see the colors on this WIP shot:


I'd like to make at least one more in black. I had a black hoodie that I loved which has disappeared. For the next go-round I'll turn the edges of the pockets before topstitching. Right now they're just sewn right on with rough edges, and I think it looks a little becky-home-ecky.

Here are some detail shots!

Zipper topstitching, hem band. This is the best topstitching I've ever produced!

Dem buttonholes tho
 

Loads of topstitching, adorable tiny inverted box pleat the sleeve head

Cuff topstitching
 

And that's pretty much it! Look for more soon!