Husband Hoodie

 I've had black sweatshirt fleece sitting in my fabric bins for nearly two years, waiting for a chance to be made into a hooded sweater for my husband. That sweater has been on my to-sew list for over two years... but it finally got done last week, in perfect time for his birthday!

  It's just one layer, and most of the seams are serged, pressed open, and topstitched.

   I drafted it using a shirt that I thought fit Joshua well, but that turned out to be one that was too small. I made a muslin, and had to widen the upper back, sides, sleeves, and add length. The muslin was only worn for about 40 seconds while seated, so I failed to notice that the neck is too small to be comfortable, but as long as the zipper remains partially unzipped it is still wearable.

  It's pretty loose, and the hood is over-sized, but those were requested alterations, and the end result is husband-approved. I left a space for a drawstring in the hood, but I haven't been able to get to a sewing store and buy some small grommets to thread it through yet. I could do buttonholes, since that function now works on my machine, but I want this hoodie to be as durable as possible, and grommets are better that way.

   The pockets were the most frustrating part of this project.... I cut the first pair too small, then cut a second pair with the intention of adding width while cutting so I didn't have to draw a new pattern piece, and (of course) forgot to add width. Then I cut one properly, and cut a second one to match it, when I intended to mirror it! Quite a bit of fabric was wasted on pocket iterations, which goes to show that I should not try to cut things properly while on the phone. I'd hoped to have enough fabric left for a sweater for me, but there's only a child-sized portion left.

  There is also a smaller pocket hiding on the inside behind the main pockets, another husband request. I had to be really careful in placing it so the stitching for it doesn't show on the outside, but is hidden beneath the front pockets.

  It was also at Joshua's request that I left of the classic ribbed hem and cuffs, and did a basic serged and folded hem on both.

  Other than the too-small neckline, there is only one thing I'd really change, and that is the zipper. I chose a heavy-duty separating metal zipper, but it's just so blingy! I'd probably create an overlap that snaps down over the zipper so it isn't as in-your-face, and maybe an under-lap so it isn't as scratchy inside.

  I don't know if the photos are showing up as terribly on your screen as on mine, but if they are, blame Blogger. They look fine on my computer, and I even tried uploading them in facebook with no problems, but in this post they are all kinds of awful.

Thanks for stopping by,