Hoodie Re-mix




I have a love for hoodies. I know they are not cute or trendy or girlie on most occasions, but you can't tell me that there is anything better than a hoodie on a cold, grey day. Plus, if you know me at all, you know that girlie is not the first word you would use to describe me... I'm not sure it's even the second word. If it hadn't been for hoodies (and oversized sweaters), I'm not sure I would have had anything to wear through a good part of college. As you can tell from this rambling... I love hoodies, and this love of hoodies led me to slightly love this pin.



You all should already know about my sewing issues so this scared me - a lot. I pinned it and thought that way way way way down the road when God granted me the ability to sew like Project Runway, I would give this a shot - but then it happen. Target had men's hoodies on clearance for cheap. Super cheap. Suddenly I felt as though I had to try to this. I'm not sure why a clearance hoodie has that kind of power on me - but it does - and because of that, you get to hear about this adventure.


 It's giant. I know, don't be jealous.


First things first - Grab your stitch ripper and take the front pockets off as well as the zipper.  This can be tricky if the pockets are double stitched. I had to maneuver a little bit to get the stitches loose on the corners of the pockets. If the pockets are stitched into the bottom ribbing (like mine), cute the pockets off... very carefully. Once the pockets and zipper are off the hoodie, I put the hoodie on so that I could see how much of the arms I wanted to take in. Once I found the amount, I put a pin in the hoodie and turned the hoodie inside out in order to taper the sleeves. 


After turning the hoodie inside out and lined the seams of the sleeves up, I marked the area of the arm hole and the sleeve off with fabric chalk and pins to show where I needed to sew. I know it's hard to see in the picture, I'm sorry!

I sewed right along that line and then cut the excess off, leaving about a 1/4 inch seam. Once that's done - go get some coffee - then do the other sleeve. 


Because the shoulders hung way low off my shoulders, I darted the fabric at each shoulder. I gathered about an inch on each shoulder seam to be taken in.  I put my marking pencil next to the sewed seam so it would be easier to see - I'm not sure if it worked as well as I planned.

Here is where I had to get creative. I had every intention of telling you to put that hoodie on and mark where you want the buttons and button holes and get to work but, I hit a snag. My sewing machine decided to refuse to make button holes. Full protest. I tried and tried. After finally conceding to the sewing machine, I got creative. 


I took the tie out of the hood and cut it into four pieces. After marking where I wanted the buttons, I marked the corresponding places on the opposite side so that I could add a "loop." I'm sure that there is a more professional word for it, but I have no clue what it is. I marked each place and then used some heat and bond tape to attach the loop to the hoodie with a scrap of the pocket. I only did this because I don't trust my own sewing. Once the loops were secured, I reinforced them by sewing them down. 

Last step!! Sew your buttons on and make sure that they line up with your loops and ...


TA-DA!

I need to tell you, I HATE having my picture taken. After a day of errands, a pediatrician appointment and a failed attempt at Christmas shopping, my hair was ... awesome. Try to pretend it looks cute. I think I tortured Allen the whole time he tried to take my picture... I kept trying to run away. 

Of course there was this moment...

I didn't realize embarrassment could start so young.

Sorry this is SO LONG! I think I even beat my own record from the Nook Cover Tutorial. Thanks for your patience with my poor instructions. If you want better instructions, please go over to See Kate Sew and read hers. She knows fancy sewing words.

Happy Friday!