Ziggy Hoodie Secret Sewing

Sewing for the fella today!

 After a rather unsuccessful attempt at the Arlo Track Jacket as a present for the husband, I needed to look at patterns that I knew would be a good fit. Or at least fit.

We'd had a lot of success with Wardrobe By Me patterns for men in the past so that seemed an ideal place to start. Low and behold, they had the perfect hoodie!

This is the Ziggy Zipper Hoodie and it fit all the criteria for a good pattern - easy fit style, zip up the front, roomy pockets.... oh yeah, and your wife can wear it if cold. 

 As with all Wardrobe by Me patterns I have tried, the drafting is excellent and the instructions wonderful. I even discovered that they come with a full video sew-along on YouTube.

 

 

The construction of this is really different to other hoodies that I have made. The facing and hem band are put together in such a way that it ensures the zip lines in perfectly. I did have to watch the tutorial to do this but it was actually quite straight forward once you could see what was happening. It also makes for a very clean finish.

The fabric I used for these hoodies is a fleece back sweatshirt from Minerva (that comes in a LOT of different colours). The green one is Dark Olive and the blue version below is Dark Blue. 

Yes I made two. 

 The blue version actually came first as a Christmas gift and as it got worn nearly everyday I realized a second version would be useful and well worn too!

The details on the pattern are lovely, even the pocket construction gives a nice stitch pattern

I couldn't resist adding a bit of personalisation to the hoodies and cracked out the ol' Cricut machine.A geometric wolf and alligator seemed a good choice at the time so went with that. It's cut from Happy Flock so has a fuzzy feel to it and bonds really well to fabric. 

So much have these already been worn during winter that there is a bit of bobbling on the green one already however I'm taking that as a sign of a successful make. There's even talk of a grey version... now what to Cricut for that one?! Hmmm.....

If you're looking for a lovely relaxed fit hoodie, great sizing and construction I would highly recommend this pattern. 

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Lockdown Loungewear

Lockdown + Snow = Comfort Clothes

 

Today's post is all about the sewing equivalent of soup for the soul. In the most part this is due to the BEST FABRIC I HAVE EVER HAD NEXT TO MY SKIN.

Yes the capitals are warranted. If I was going to sew something basic again that would get a lot of use, I figured that some super fabric was in order to make it special. This lounge suit is made from.....Bamboo Cotton Fleece. ::swoon::

Pic from Sister Mintaka

Purchased from Sister Mintaka, this fabric is a mix of bamboo, cotton and a bit of spandex for stretch. It's basically fluffy silk on the skin. I would highly recommend it. Although it should come with a warning that you may never want to wear anything else again.  

My lounge suit is a little pick 'n' mix situation made from the new Helen's Closet - Jackson Pullover and also the classic True Bias - Hudson Pants

 Jackson Pullover 

I cut this in a size  16/18 and the fit is great. It's a unisex relaxed fit pattern with dropped shoulders and it's a class act. (I have also made the Jackson Tee versions but will post about those another time.)

Always a pleasure when you find that the neckband, cuffs and hem band actually fit the main body. 

These colourful accents were cut from some scraps of stripe jersey fabric. They are just a regular cotton t-shirt weight but went with the bamboo fleece surprisingly well. 

(Update - a lot of people on Insta asked about this - I've just found the rainbow stripe jersey on sale here at Flamingo Fabrics!)

Hudson Pants

I do love these now I have my pattern fixed but these were not easy in fitting! I'd tried the Hudson Pants last year and they were an absolute disaster as the rise on them was just a bit obscene on me. It wasn't until Marie (A Stitching Odyssey) shared her 'high rise' versions that I was tempted to give them another try. 

 These are based on a 14 waist and 18 hip (the highest the pattern goes to - whhhaaaat) but in all fairness I've altered them so much they probably no longer resemble that at all. 

I used the crotch curve from some Parker Ponte Pants that fit really well and just traced that over the Hudsons. True Bias had also given a tutorial for a high-rise hack on them aswell which gave the same effect.

 I love the waistband on these as it's thick elastic, top-stitched and drawstring so size adjustable! Same jersey scraps for the cuffs and waistband on these. 

There we have it - Lockdown Loungewear - colour pop style.

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This Sh*t was a Sheep

Today's title comes to you courtesy of my sister who had this first reaction to me showing her my latest attempt at knitting.

Whilst listing the many things that had gone wrong she fantastically just replied with 'Yeah but man... that shit was a sheep!' Instant perspective. 

It was a sheep - and frankly it feels like I'm wearing the entire sheep, such is the sheer weight of this thing!

A little foray into jumper knitting led me to a nice 'easy' pattern by Sewrella excellently named 'Simple Knit Sweater'. 

I had also picked up some amazing chunky wool from We Are Knitters in the sale last year as I fell for it's painterly charm, without actually having a clue or any ability on what to do with it. Small details.  

Pic from We Are Knitters

 For the most part, the sweater was in fact quite easy to make. If you can knit and purl you can do this essentially. 

I knitted away happily for several weeks and felt pretty pleased that I'd even managed the collar, but clearly the sizing had gone astray at some point. I tried it on and it was pretty big, however not unwearable, and the oversize style was quite nice.

It was then I tried to block it, without really knowing much about anything. Wash, squeeze, pin dry? I even measured the sleeves/length for pinning so I'm not sure what's happened.

It took a good 4 days to dry (wet sheep) and then I tried it on again and... oh the arms!!!!! I can't even roll the sleeves as the cuff then becomes about a kilometer thick.

 

 Hmm....to wait and seek help post-lockdown? To unravel and turn it into a blanket? Or attempt some kind of ill-thought-out rescue attempt. 

And that is where this blog posted ended until several days later....

Of course I messed with it. I have no self control. What I do have though is a group of lovely sewing/knitting friends who kindly talked me through how to fix it!

The Great Unravel

To my amazement it actually worked and now I have a jumper that fits! (Kind of - it's still massive but I think that's the style).

Finished just before the snow came and the temperatures dropped! I've been wearing it ever since like a duvet.

The tortoises are all still tucked up sleeping - just as well for now!

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