Layered-Look Hoodie {Flip This Pattern}

You know how it goes some times? You have a project you really want to do – say, a competition. And you get all excited about it and make a plan and pull the fabric and all that jazz, and then life gets in the way. And then the deadline is tomorrow and you’ve completely forgotten. Yeah… that. AGAIN.

I love Flip this Pattern, hosted by Frances Suzanne! They’ve picked the best patterns for this competition. One a month every month for a year, you take the pattern and make it all your own. Absolutely fun! Except I always forget that the deadline isn’t the end of the month – it’s in the 3rd week. I sewed along in July with my Bubble Pocket Skater Girl dress – remembering at 10am that the deadline was that very day. Quickest start-to-finish project I’ve done in a while. I’m ahead of that this time around. I actually did all my drafting with over 48 hours left, and there’s still 24 hours before the linky closes. Hey! There’s time to pull off one more!

Which is good, because I have about a million ideas for this pattern – the Hangout Hoodie from Peek-a-Boo Patterns. It’s an outfit style hoodie, which means it’s sized for thinner apparel knits rather than bulky sweatshirt material. I really like this pattern. And, Peek-a-boo has a great community on Facebook with lots of chatter, help, and inspiration. This is my second flip so far… and there will be more! The first was a fleece dress (find it here). I’m seeing one with big pockets next. But not today. Today we have this masterpiece of up-cycled beauty:

Let me break the elements down a little:

Not Flipped:

• Hood (only trimmed a little to fit on the fabric)
• Long sleeves
• Basic shape and style

Flipped:

• Split the body into an upper and a lower; the lower has extra width gathered into it to make the top looser fitting. That seam is kind of hard to see in the print – it hits the armhole and a little above the bottom of the placket
• Flutter sleeves with a lettuce edge
• Color blocking to create a layering look
• Reordered construction to accommodate existing shirt pieces

I started with one man’s white undershirt from my husband. I have a massive pile that are the wrong size or have minimal staining on them. They’re excellent for upcycling. The green butterfly print was a rib knit tank top of mine that never fit quite right but I liked too much to throw away. It looks way better on Gracie 😀

Here are all my pattern pieces in case you want to flip it this way yourself. You can see that the lower part is directly from the tank; why hem when you don’t have to? I just found the center to cut the placket and lined up the edge for the armhole. The excess was gathered when I sewed it to the upper bodice. The flutter sleeves were the last scraps of the tank after cutting everything else. I have nothing left – about a 1″ x 5″ strip. Part of my wants to incorporate it just to say I did… but I probably won’t.

I had to change the assembly order a little because of my pieces. Basically I made the whole body section (hood and all) then set the sleeves in after. Amy has you sewing the side seam and the underarm seam in one go, which is way easier but would have involved cutting those side seams open. I hemmed the flutter sleeve (this tutorial explains) and basted it onto the white sleeve, then set them into the body together. Like this:

I made a 4T. It’s big, but I like it that way and so does Grace. She’s been against anything fitted lately. And maybe with some luck it will fit next year. It’s funny seeing her in this with dark jeans; she looks so grown up. When did my baby turn into a big kid, complete with big kid clothes? Bring back the rompers!

In case you’re curious, all these pictures were taken on Grace’s bed. I prefer to do my pictures outside – except it’s November, so it’s 30 degrees and raining. Her tree is the next best thing to a real tree. With a lot of color correction in Photoshop, it’ll have to do. But I seriously don’t recommend putting a 2.5 year old on a bed and asking them to stand still. Out of nearly 100 pictures, the vast majority look like this:

I can’t wait to see the other flips! If you’re interested, you can find them here: November Sew-Along

 

Seeing Spots Fleece Dress

I know I keep saying this, but I absolutely adore fall. It’s the best. Except now we’re heading into November and it starts to get just a little cooler – coats and hats and scarves become a necessity rather than a choice. The piles of leaves get a little bigger; the trees, a little barer; and the park is a little emptier. But I wouldn’t miss it for anything! Which leaves me sewing up something that is both warm and not bulky. Something to keep Grace cozy but won’t get in her way while she plays. And as every former high schooler and college kid knows, that perfect article of clothing is a HOODIE!

Except, she’s 2 and a half, so it’s got to be a dress, too.

I used the Hangout Hoodie from Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop. Love it. Grand total construction time was less than 2 hours including printing, cutting, sewing, trying on, hemming… Everything. Of course, I didn’t do it in one sitting, mostly because I’m highly distractable.

I made a couple edits to the pattern. It’s originally sized for thin tee-shirt style knits to be worn as an outfit. I wanted it out of fleece, as a layering piece. Grace measures 18mo on the size chart. I went ahead and made a 4T out of fleece. I lengthened the sleeves in order to remove the ribbed cuff – it’s a simple narrow hem now. They ended up too long though so they’re cuffed for this season. I added 3″ to the hem (she’s so skinny and tall), reshaped the hood a little (see the picture above), and drafted rounded patch pockets.

I reshaped the sleeve cap to add some more fullness. I was worried about the fleece’s lack of stretch. I think it probably would have been ok but I really like the slight puff shape. The new sleeve looks like this:

Grace was excited by her “park dress” and loved that she didn’t need a coat. It didn’t get in her way at all and I never once heard “I’m cold!” Plus since it’s neon green, I can pick her out quickly from the orange and gray world.

Did you know that the Hangout Hoodie is the pattern this month for Flip This Pattern? I’ll probably go ahead and enter this, even though it’s barely flipped. Now that I’ve tweaked the pattern and know how it fits Grace, I have a REAL flip in mind. I think I can even pull it off, too, as quick and simple as this pattern is! Check back soon 🙂 Now, we’re off to skip some more in the great outdoors.