Second Hoodie

 Many, Many, Many years ago a friend passed on some clothes for my boys. The selection included a blue hoodie, which my elder son wore until he was about 14, and then grew out of it. My younger son wouldn’t wear it. So I did! It was a great fit and I didn’t have a zip-up hoodie. Over the years I have worn it a lot, to the point where it is stained and threadbare. And not much use other than gardening and DIY.

I decided it was time to make a replacement. I decided it should be lightweight and opted for French terry in a duck egg colour rather than heavier sweatshirting. I used my pinwheel to trace around the seams, which meant I could leave the original garment intact and continue to wear it until it actually falls to bits!

Once I had traced all the pieces I checked the measurements and trued up the seamlines before adding seam allowances. I weighted my pattern pieces to prevent the fabric from curling as I cut and cut all the pieces out. 

The French terry has slightly less stretch crosswise compared with lengthwise, which meant that the zip opening really needed to be interfaced to ensure the zip went in without any puckers.
I initially used a stretch interfacing, but it was too lightweight and I ended up adding another layer of lightweight stable iron on interfacing. I should also have added this to the edge of the pocket that would also be caught in the zip as this did pucker a little.

I used a jersey needle and sewed the garment together with a narrow zig-zag, the edges were then overlocked for a neat finish. I did not have any matching ribbing for the hem band and cuffs. I originally cut these on the cross-grain at 90% width, but there was not enough stretch in the fabric for them to fit without causing puckers. I re-cut these pieces lengthwise and they went in with no issues.

The hood is self-lined and buttonholes are used to provide the exit points for the drawstring for the hood. I also decided to bind the inside neck edge to give a clean and neat finish, unfortunately, I didn’t have any cream jersey, so it ended up being white - it does give a nice neat finish though.

I hope this lasts as long as the original. It was on my back as soon as I had finished it. I’m already loving it!!!!!