Ottobre 5/2015 #15: Women’s Hoodie

Finally managed to take some photos for this post while my husband was giving our toddler his bath tonight…

Version 1: hot pink cotton/polyester sweatshirt fleece

Version 2: lightweight baby pink cotton/lycra French terry

Version 3: Bright cerulean blue cotton/polyester French terry. Heavier and less stretchy than the first two.

Background

This women’s hoodie pattern features front slash pockets, saddle sleeves, and a hood with a mostly concealed drawstring and cord locks/stops. It is slightly fitted and drafted for heavier knits with about 15% stretch. The pattern includes sizes 34-52.

What I like about this pattern is there’s no need to find a coordinating ribbing for the cuffs or bottom band, as the sleeve cuffs are self fabric and the bottom is just a simple turned up hem. (I’m sewing a lot of sweatshirts, sweatpants, and various other knit items for my son and husband as well as myself now, and finding coordinating ribbing is always a challenge.)

I also like the front pockets. Since there’s no closure I wouldn’t trust them to securely hold something for extended amount of time when I’m out and about, but they’re very convenient for warming my hands or stashing my keys/phone when I need my hands free for a moment.

Another thing I like is the hood is DEEP. My son loves to play with my my hair way too much so these days I usually have my hair in a ponytail. Most hoodies, either RTW or home sewing patterns, are drafted for wearing hair down. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this hood fits perfectly when I am wearing my hair up, which makes sense as they suggest using this pattern as activewear and most women with longer hair will be wearing it up while exercising. The drawstring helps with making sure everything stays in place when the hood is worn. Ottobre doesn’t produce the sexiest patterns out there (for that you need to look at Marfy or Burda) but they do excel at offering comfortable, thoughtful, well designed basics for everyday life in a wide range of sizes.

Materials

For my first version I used a paradise pink cotton/polyester sweatshirt fleece I purchased last year from Fabric Mart. I would call it a mid weight fleece.

For my second version I used a light to medium weight baby pink cotton/lycra french terry I purchased ten years ago from Fabric Mart.

For my third version I used a heavier weight cotton/polyester French terry purchased recently from Fabric Mart. It has just a little mechanical stretch and while it is comfortable to wear, it is not as easy as the other two to get on and off.

For the drawstring for my first version I used cotton cording from Wawak. The grommets are also from Wawak.

The clear cord locks/stops were purchased on Amazon. I originally planned on picking them up from JoAnns but when I got there the price was $5 for two cord locks, and they only had navy in stock! Meanwhile I got a package of 30 on Amazon for only $7.19. They are not the strongest cord locks/stops but they are ok for this particular project.

For the blue version I used drawstring cord and cord stopper locks from Amazon. The drawstring cord is way nicer quality than the cording I used for my first version, and while bulkier the cord stopper locks are far more robust.

Alterations

Part of why I kept putting off sewing for myself is because I’m starting from scratch with sizing and alterations. I am about 25 pounds heavier than I was before having my son nearly 1.5 years ago. Based on my current measurements I picked size 44 and made the following alterations:

Added 1/2” to the body length. I also deepened the hem, making it 1.5” wide instead of the originally drafted 1/2”.
Removed 1/2” in width from the back waist
Added 2” to the hips. For my second version I added another 2”, to make it a total of 4”. This does correspond more closely to what my hip measurement is now.

I actually feel like I had to do less in the way of alterations than when I was size 38 or 40. The sleeves are a great length out of the envelope, the body felt like a good length, and I didn’t feel like the sleeves were too tight either around the bicep. The shoulders and neck seemed to fit fine too. I can comfortably layer a lightweight tshirt or tank top under it.

Construction

Pocket Tutorial

For the pocket opening Ottobre recommends making a template to help with stitching the pocket opening. I ended up using Sulky iron-on tear-away stabilizer on the side of the pocket piece with the opening. It made life so much easier, as it prevented stretching when being sewn and I had a precise pencil line to follow instead of a fuzzy chalk line.

When I made the pockets for my first version I decided I wanted the fleece side of my fabric to face my hands and not the inside of the shirt, as it is so soft and cozy. So when I constructed the pockets I made sure to have the fleece side against the right side of the front, and ironed the stabilizer to the smooth side. For my baby pink French terry version I ironed the stabilizer to the looped side (wrong side), and had the smooth side against the right side of the front.

You want to interface the wrong side of the front pocket slash. I used Design Plus superfine straight fusible stay tape, letting it extend about 3/8” beyond the dot of the slash marking.

One you have your stabilized pocket, position it so the templated side faces towards the center front, lining up the pocket template with the slash line of the front.

Carefully sew along the pocket opening marking. I turned the wheel by hand when it came time to making my way around the curved ends. precision is key here!

Now slash open the pocket, making sure to clip the markings at the curved ends. You want to get very close to the stitching (about 1mm away).

Now gently tear away the stabilizer.

Pull the pocket bag to the wrong side.

Serge/sew the pocket bag edges together.

Now go back to your sewing machine and understitch the seam allowances to the pocket bag. For my pink version I chose to stitch about 1/8” away from the edge with a 4mm stitch.

Now give it a good press. Sew a straight stitch just below the curved edge, making sure to go over the section a couple of times. This helps reinforce the curved ends and also helps keep the pocket bag in place.

And you’re done!

Other Construction Notes

I don’t have a coverstitch machine that can do the five thread double sided coverstitch that Ottobre recommends, so instead I topstitched all serged seams with the help of my stitch in a ditch foot, using a 4mm length straight stitch with the needle moved all the way over to the left. I’ve seen this finish done with plenty of RTW. It looks clean and helps manage the bulk of the seam.

The hardest part of this hoodie is sewing the pockets. Once that’s done it is pretty straightforward construction.

Ottobre 1/2020 #4 & 5: Baby/Toddler Sweatsuit

Second version:

First version:

Materials

For the first version I used a heathered powder blue cotton French terry from Fabric Mart for the main fabric, and a baby rib knit from Nature’s Fabrics for the ribbing.

I really disliked working with this French terry. It was stiff and bulky and tightly woven, and at some point during the project my Janome 1100D serger got knocked out of time and required a trip to the dealer. Fortunately I have an old Janome MyLock 204D serger my parents gave to me way back when I was still in college and just learning to sew. I hadn’t used it in years, but after giving it a thorough cleaning, a couple of squirts of WD-40 in some strategic areas, and then more cleaning and a good oiling it was up and running. Even though it’s more difficult to thread and more work getting the tension correct, it did a better job handling this fabric than the 1100D.

Despite my dislike for working with this fabric my son has no issues wearing it! I can tell it will wear like iron too. He’s still not walking yet and the drier fall air is making the skin on his knees more sensitive, so I like him to wear pants out of sturdy fabrics.

For my second version I used a much softer and flexible rayon/poly/lycra sweatshirt fleece from Fabric Mart for the main fabric. For the rib trim I used a cotton rib knit purchased years ago, likely from Fabric Mart. Since the stretch was greater along the selvage I cut it cross grain. I used the reverse side for the cat appliqué.

#4: Sweatshirt

This pattern is a simple crewneck sweatshirt pattern, with set-in sleeves and ribbing finishing off the cuffs and bottom band as well as the neckline. the pattern has placement markings for if you want to add a ribbon trim going down the sleeve.

I didn’t make any alterations. I was able to construct this entirely on the serger aside from cover stitching the neck band in place and securing the end of the ribbing once the right shoulder seam had been sewn. Ottobre has you usually attach bindings flat vs in the round and I much prefer it this way. I can adjust on the fly vs trying to guess how long the binding strip should be before attaching it. Once you sew the other shoulder seam you tack the binding/seam allowance in place with a small straight stitch.

After attaching the neckline ribbing to the gray version I felt like it would be nice to do something extra, so I decided to do my first ever appliqué. I chose a cat because my son likes cats and the design was simple. I first copied the cat from Kwik Sew’s Sewing for Baby book. I then cut out the piece of paper, traced it onto a scrap piece of fabric interfaced with Pro-Sheer Elegance with a Frixon marker, then traced the outline of the pattern again onto Sulky Solvy. I didn’t have any fusible web so I attached it to the fabric with a glue stick. Then I put another piece of Solvy on top of the one I glued in place to prevent it from sticking to my presser foot. I used some Magnifico thread from Superior Threads I had in my stash for the outline. For most of the appliqué I used a 4mm wide and 0.75 length zigzag stitch. For the smaller details, like the tip of ear, eyes, and mouth I changed to a 1.5mm width. The nose was tricky, I ended up starting with a 4mm width stitch and kept decreasing as I went further down towards the mouth. The workmanship isn’t as fine as I would have liked and I should have used a dark gray or black for the eyes and mouth, but I do think it helps add more visual appeal without requiring an embroidery machine.

#5: Sweatpants

The sweatpants pattern has a two panel back with a horizontal seam and a drawstring at the elastic waist. There’s no crotch seam, instead all the shaping is done using that back horizontal seam. The back horizontal seam and the side seams are topstitched with a double sided cover stitch.

I chose to omit the drawstring because it was more materials to procure with little benefit, IMO.

For fit I did my usual alteration of adding 3/8” height at the center back. I find it makes pants fit better when he’s wearing cloth diapers.

For my first version I topstitched the center back seam with an ordinary straight stitch close to the edge. For my second version I skipped on topstitching the horizontal back seam entirely. I own the Janome Coverpro 2000CPX, which just does normal two and three thread cover stitches, not the double-sided cover stitch Ottobre recommends. I tried experimenting with the honeycomb stitch on my Janome 6500P and wasn’t impressed with the look, so I chose to just press it in place. It seems fine this way. Same for the side seams.

After making the Green Bean Baby pants and now these, I much prefer the Ottobre version. The back horizontal seam gives a lot of shaping over the butt area and the fact that the elastic is sewn in directly to the pants then folded over and topstitched instead of being inserted into a casing makes it much more secure (no rolling!) and easier to construct. The back seam also makes it more husband-friendly, as he struggles knowing the back from the front in home sewn clothes. The Green Bean Baby required more effort to fit and even so I feel like it still doesn’t fit as well as the Ottobre one does. The Green Bean Baby pattern seems short in the torso, long in the legs, and, if you’re making the full length pajamas, also seemed to run large in the neck. It often falls down over my son’s shoulder when he’s crawling around on the rug. Meanwhile the Ottobre patterns seemed to fit more consistently all over. I know Ottobre has a clothing industry background and even designed their own children’s collection at one point, so maybe that’s part of why the drafting seems to be better quality than the Green Bean Baby.

Ottobre Family 7/2018, #14: Maternity Tee

Background

This pattern is a basic fitted maternity t-shirt top, with 3/4 sleeves and gathering at the front side seams. The scoop neckline is finished with 5/8″ width binding.

Ottobre suggests this top for the the third trimester, but I am still in my second trimester and found that it was just what I needed. Maternity clothes just feel more comfortable at this point, even if I’m not completely filling them out yet.

Alterations

I first started off with a size 42, with the following alterations:

3/8″ sloped shoulder alteration
3/8″ forward shoulder alteration
Lengthened 1″
Shortened the sleeves to short sleeve length (the underarm seam is about 2″ long)
Added about 1/2″ width to each sleeve
Added 4″ to the hips

After making it up I found out that despite my pear shaped figure the hips were far too wide and the hem was flaring out. Overall it just seemed too big everywhere. Even the gathering was too low because it wasn’t properly snugging against my figure.

So for my next try I sized down to 40, which is probably close to what my pre-pregnancy size was. I cut a straight size 40, with no extra room at the hips, and left the length the same as my size 42 pattern. While I had to snug up the sleeves where they attach to the bodice at the side seam, I did my best to maintain the extra 1/2″ I had added with my first version. The fit this time was far better. This is one of the few instances where going with my pre-pregnancy size actually worked!

Materials

Both of my tops were made out of jerseys with four-way stretch, though the striped fabric has less stretch than the seafoam green one. Both of the fabrics used for the tops photographed are from the Etsy seller Koshtex. Each length of fabric was about 60″ and with careful layout, each top took about a yard of fabric.

My first version was a modal/lycra jersey. Even though the description calls it aqua and shows a bright blue, the fabric I actually received was closer to a seafoam green.

My second version was a 1/4″ black and off-white striped tencel/poly/lycra jersey. This one had the least amount of stretch out of all the fabrics I used, and the fabric feels slightly less delicate due to the polyester content. It was wonderful to work with!

To stabilize the shoulder seams I used superfine straight Design Plus stay tape. (I can never seem to get 1/4″ clear elastic to work on my serger.) For gathering the front side seams I used 3/8″ clear elastic.

Pattern and Construction Notes

The instructions tell you to use clear elastic to gather the front side seams between the notches to 12cm (about 4.75″). I found when making my size 42 top that this wasn’t quite enough. On the back pattern piece there’s a couple of notches at the side seam. Gather the side seams to match this length instead (which for my size 40 I think was closer to around 3.5″).

When gathering with the clear elastic, I stretch it before even cutting it off the spool. I then cut a length longer than I need so that there is a “tail” to hold onto when starting and ending the gathering and mark the length needed for the pattern with a Sharpie pen. I use a Teflon foot on my sewing machine and put the elastic on top of the fabric so it is against the Teflon foot and not the feed dogs. I set my machine to a 4.0mm width and 3.5mm length zigzag stitch and carefully match the edge of the elastic to the edge of the fabric, stretching it as I sew along. I try to sew closer to the edge, without actually hitting the cut edge of the fabric and edge of the elastic. When I sew the front to the back I always sew with the clear elastic facing up and not against the feed dogs. Doing all this gives me perfect gathering with no tunneling, and the zigzag is hidden within the serged edge of the fabric.

The instructions have you sew one shoulder seam, then bind the neckline and then sew the other shoulder seam. I found I had a harder time doing it this way and instead sewed both shoulder seams and then bound the neckline. It just seems like it is easier to get the binding evenly stretched this way. I also sewed the sleeve caps to the top flat (ie before sewing the side seams) instead of in the round (sewing the side seams of the top, the sleeve side seams, then attaching the sleeve cap to the bodice). It seemed both quicker and easier this way, especially when I was working with the striped fabric. I didn’t get the stripes perfectly lined up at the side seams, but they’re good enough!

I used my sewing machine to gather the front side seams, but otherwise this was entirely constructed on my serger. The hems and the edge of the neckline binding were all finished using my coverstitch machine. Since the neckline binding part can be so thick with all the layers of fabric I lengthened the stitch from 3.0mm to 3.5mm so the stitching would appear normal length and not super tiny.

Overall I’m really happy with this top, and it is just what I need to get through the spring and summer. So easy in the cooler spring mornings to just pop a denim jacket over it and be on my way! I can make each one for less than $10 and it takes a max of 1.5 hours now. I find that RTW maternity clothing is either expensive ($39 for this maternity t-shirt) or the fabric is poor quality. I guess they figure they can get away with it since in the first case people just pay whatever it costs in order to have something that fits, and in the second case most people aren’t wearing maternity clothes longer than a few months so they just put up with it.

Jalie 3896: Émilie Top

A few quick photos before it snows again!

Background

Jalie 3896 is a square shaped funnel neck top with fitted sleeves. This is a free pattern, available for download from the Jalie website. This is a very quick and technically simple project – with minimal distractions you can download, print, assemble, cut, sew, and finish this top all in one evening!

Jalie patterns include a very wide range of sizes, with a lot of the patterns going from children to plus size. This pattern is also set up with the sizes as layers, so when you print it out you can print ONLY the size(s) you want. I love this feature! You just go to the left sidebar, click on the Layers icon, and then click on the eyes of all the sizes you don’t need. I wish every pattern download had this feature.

For many years now I favored more streamlined looks, with a lot of waist emphasis. I loved knee-length wrap and A-line dresses, bootcut pants with fitted tops that hit just below mid hip length, fitted jackets, etc. After 35 I gained a small amount of weight, but still kept my small waist and flat belly and only had to make minor adjustments in woven clothing styles (basically tracing halfway between my original size and the next size up). In fact I hardly sewed for several years because I was perfectly happy with my wardrobe and saw no need to change things. When you sew your own clothes they last a long time! But right now with pregnancy rapidly changing my body I have to start going in a different direction. My flat belly, defined waist, and modest bust are pretty much gone at this point and out of sheer necessity (rather than personal preference) I’m looking towards slim leg pants and the oversized/boxy shirts, dresses, and jackets that are so popular right now…you know, stuff that is comfortable and will still fit in a month. It feels very strange. I haven’t had to do a wardrobe change this significant since I was about 22 and going from college student to working a full-time white collar professional job.

That being said, while it is fine for casual loungewear I don’t love this look and won’t make it again. I think this would work better on someone smaller busted (never thought I’d say those words) and has a more straight up and down figure. There’s a reason why they picked kids and a very slim woman for their pattern envelope models! But it was very quick to make and in the meantime provides me something to wear for when I go for afternoon walks with my husband (which I am finally physically capable of again, yay!)

Fit

I started with a size W, which corresponds to my current 38″ bust measurement. From here I:

Added 4″ width to the hip. Even though this is a very roomy style, my thin, clingy knit made me want to err on the side of caution.
Lengthened 1.5″ at the hem
Added 1/2″ length to the sleeves. After making it up I saw it wasn’t necessary. The sleeves as drafted are definitely on the long side! Plus I’m still used to sewing my old size where everything was drafted shorter, plus this fabric is stretchier than what the pattern was drafted for so that alone adds some extra length.

I would say if you make this, consider sizing down, especially if you use a stretchier knit.

Materials

The fabric I used was a very lightweight poly sweater knit I purchased back in late 2020 from Fabric Mart Fabrics. I believe I originally bought this to make a wrap dress, but when I got it I felt like it was too lightweight and stretchy for this project. I set it aside, figuring I would eventually find a suitable project. Despite being polyester it is soft and isn’t prone to static (my two major complaints about a lot of polyester knits). It is also surprisingly cozy considering how thin it is.

Construction

I made this entirely on my serger, then followed up with hemming on my coverstitch machine. Everything went together smoothly! Jalie has technical drawings as well as written instructions to guide you along. This is a great project for a beginner.