I love hoodies and just as with my leggings, every time I do a project I’ll find new areas to improve and try out. That could actually be one of the best parts of sewing, that there is always room for improvning the skills and try out new things in search for that “perfect” garment. This hoodie is a result of that process and is admittedly quite similar to this one that I did a few years back. But it is still different for me, because I used a different type of fabric, a different pattern draft, added a drawstring and also improved my methods for the welt pocket construction among other things.
I drafted the pattern myself using my regular raglan block pattern as a starting point, but I shaped the sleeve differently and also made the fit more tight. I did encounter one fit issue though, which is some folds above the bust, which I think is the result of a different sleeve draft. I will try to adjust that before I make another one.
Aligning stripes when sewing raglan sleeves can be tricky, but I’ve found that when I draft the raglan pattens myself using my pattern making books as a guide it’s easier to achieve a decent alignment compared to the commercial raglan patterns I’ve tried. I have no idea why that is the case!
My signature cuffs with thumb hole method. There are many ways to do this, but I think mine is one of the easier. I came up with the method after analyzing the cuffs of my husband’s ski jacket and tweaking it for us home sewists.
The back view. As you can see the waist ribbing sis the same size as the bodice. I actually prefer this way over a tight fitting ribbing as I think this style flatter my curvy upper hip area better.
The welt pockets are made of matching ribbing fabric.
Aligning stripes on knits is always hard, especially when sewing on a regular sewing machine because it feeds the upper and lower fabric unvevenly. And adding a zipper to that mix makes it even harder! This is not a perfect alignment, but it was the best I could do while still preserving my sanity. As for the ties, if the yarn is synthetic I always seal the edges with a lighter. It melts the strands and keeps the ribbon from fraying.
Close-up of the ties and eyelet.
So that’s it! It was a lot of work with the stripes, especially since there are so many pattern pieces to align. But I’m really pleased with how it turned out!
