Warm Navy Zip-up Hoodie

My fourth Make Nine project for this year - a zip-up hoodie for husband. 

The fabric is warm sweater knit in dark navy and the pattern is Apollo hoodie by Sinclair Patterns - a pattern that had been in my Make Nine list for a couple of years and which i finally decided to try.

Like my own Lotte by Sinclair Patters, which  I made previously this year, I changed so much the visuals of the pattern, that I wouldn't be surprised, if the designers couldn't recognize it themselves :)

The major mods I introduced are the solid color of the front and the sleeves and the zipper at the front. I also added outer pockets, which are copied from a Burda men's hoodie I made last year and I also tweaked a bit the size of the hood, as husband dislikes big and heavy hoods.

 

Pattern:  Apollo Hoodie by Sinclair patterns

Size: Regular 173-180 cm; 50; modified

Fabric: sweatshirt knit fabric, rib knit, cotton knit

Time to make: two weeks

Although this is not my first rodeo with men's hoodies, with this particular one I found myself going back to basics - I took notes from  my first hoodie for husband and used some of the techniques I had applied then, three years and ten hoodies ago :). I added pieces of fabric, where the hem rib meets the front zipper, I enclosed the end of the zipper in the hood and hid the seam of the hood inside the lining of the hood - small touches, which give more professional look to the garment, IMHO.

I had thought that the piece of fabric was big enough for a hoodie and a pair of joggers, but I was wrong. I do plan to buy more of the fabric and make husband the joggers, as he asked for them, but later in the autumn, as the season for warm lounge clothes is already over here.

A pair of green wood-peckers we saw in the park yesterday, where we took these pictures.

Pink Sweater with Half-Zipper

 I am finally ready with my third project of the Make Nine plans for the 2025 - the pink sweater.

Last year I made a pink hoodie for Gaby out of a big piece of sweatshirt fabric and I had quite a significant amount of it left - and I hate wasting fabric. My plan for it was to make another hoodie for myself, using the same iconic Burda pattern. 

Once I took out the pattern pieces, it became obvious, that if i didn't want colorblocking and insisted on having a solid color sweater out of this piece of fabric, I had to make quite a lot of changes and compromises. I could not have a hood and the cuffs and hem had to be cut out of ribbed fabric. I also had to shorten the sweater a bit and then also narrow it a bit - this was not a big problem for me, as I am petite and the pattern is quite wide. Finally, either the front or the back had to be cut in two separate pieces. I decided to make it a simple sweater with ribbed cuffs and neck, so I cut the front on fold and made the back with a seam. Luckily, I had some ribbed fabric, which was almost perfect match to the main fabric. 

Then, when I was almost ready with the sweater and was debating with myself whether to add the kangaroo pocket or not, I googled cropped sweaters and came upon plenty with half-zippers. At this point I had only cuts of fabric left, but the idea of adding a collar and half-zipper kept gnawing at me. I abandoned the project for a while and let it stew.

Meanwhile I bought three more or less suitable zippers, watched probably a dozen of videos on sweaters with half-zippers and in the end constructed my own collar and lining. I was able to cut four pieces of the collar and two triangular shaped pieces of lining for the zipper out of the fabric remnants. Thus the inside of the zipper and the collar came out very neat. I am really pleased with the result and plan to make more half-zipper sweaters in the future, as I quite like the style.

Pattern: Hoodie 102 Burdastyle 03/2022 plus elements of Burdastyle 113 09/2020

Fabric: sweatshirt knit

Size: 36, - 6 in width, -3 cm in length

Time to make: one month

The collar can be worn turned, opened or fully closed, but I think I like it best half open and up. I made the collar curved, wider at the base than at the top, using the collar from Burda 113 09/2020 as a model. However, most of the video tutorials I watched used simple rectangular collars, so next time I make this type of zipper, I might try it that way, to test the difference.

The kangaroo pocket is also from the Burda 113 09/2020 hoodie, which I've already made twice. However, because my sweater is cropped, I had serious doubts about adding it, as in its full size it went almost up to my bust. In the end I decided to cut off 5 cm from its height and add it anyway and I am pretty pleased that I did it, as it brings the ribbed cuffs and the body together and adds some interest and sports vibe, which I like.

Despite all the compromises I had to make, I am really pleased with how this sweater turned out and I expect to wear it a lot, especially with ashes of roses being one of my favourite colors ever since I read Thorn Birds at the age of 14 :)

We took these pictures today in the yard of the local monastery - yes, we have a small monastery in the area. Our residential quarter was once a village right at the outskirts of the capital, with its own church, school, market place, community center, a monastery and even its own graveyard. Most of the houses are long gone, replaced by apartment buildings, but the focal points of communal life are still preserved, snuggled between the tall buildings. In some respects, despite the wide boulevards and subway station, it still has the vibe of living in a village and we love that.

Blue Hoodie for Gaby's Boyfriend

Two years ago I sewed a hoodie for Vali - Gaby's boyfriend, and that is still his favourite hoodie. Two years is a long period of time, so it was time for a new hoodie. Gaby and I chose the fabric - double sweatshirt fabric and the color - light milky blue. The pattern is the same I used last time for him - Brad by Vikisews

 Last time I had made some minor modifications to the pattern - I extended the width by 1 cm, a total of 4 cm, lowered the neck by 1 cm and shortened the body and the sleeves. Although Vali liked the hoodie as it was, I thought it needed some lengthening, so this time I returned the pattern to its original length. As it turned out, it came out a bit too long, so the third time should probably be the charm lengthwise :) 

I don't remember whether I made any mods to the hood last time, however now I decided to use a completely different hood, which I know fits men's heads well - from a Burda hoodie I made for husband last year. I bought a thick cord for the hood and installed my biggest grommets - I think they look nice.

Pattern:  Hoodie Brad by Vikisews

Size: 178-184 cm; 40; modified

Fabric: sweatshirt knit fabric, rib knit, cotton knit

Time to make: five days

I also added the kangaroo pocket I had designed for this sweatshirt last time, as this hoodie comes without a pocket.

I hope the new hoodie would be as much loved and worn as the green one:)

This was actually the last finished project for 2024, but I still have to show you the blouse I made for Gaby before that, so there will be more 2024 FO pictures soon.

Pink Hoodie

In February I made another sweater for Gaby. This is a pattern I had already made twice, once for myself and one for Gaby, but both sweaters were lightweight. And in February all of a sudden I became obsessed with the idea to sew the same sweater for Gaby in solid color and out of warm sweatshirt knit.

I browsed through all sweatshirt knits in my favourite fabric store, but none of the colors caught my eye. And then I found the new section they had added to the shop - fabric scraps and remains and it turned to be a real treasury! There I came upon this rose-ash sweatshirt fabric and I knew I had finally found it - the dreamy fabric for this girly pattern.

By Gaby's request I elongated the body a bit and I also added a kangaroo pocket. From experience I knew that the original hood of the sweater is on the rather large side, so I modeled a new hood, based on a Grasser sweater I made her a couple of years ago. I also borrowed the pocket pattern from that Grasser sweater.

I am especially happy with the coordinating lining and other notions I was able to find for the hoodie. Initially I had added a cord with tassels, but Gaby asked for a simpler outlook, so I cut the tassels and replaced them with small wooden balls.

Pattern: Hoodie 102 Burdastyle 03/2022

Fabric: sweatshirt knit

Size: 36, - 4 in width, +4 cm in length

Time to make: 8 days  

Since the completion of the hoodie I visited the fabric shop a couple more times, always returning with new treasures from the remnants section, so there will be much more sewing content here soon :)

Grey Hoodie

I am finally finding a moment to show a couple of pictures of my husband's hoodie, we took during our hike to Cherny Vruh on Vitosha.

The fabric is the large piece of French Terry I bought for him, and on these photos he is posing with the hoodie in combination with the joggers out of the same fabric.

As a color accent, I specifically bought a piece of yellow cotton jersey with lycra, I really like the color combo of light grey with lemon yellow. 

The pattern I chose is an old purchase from Burda.ru I wanted to try. It is a pullover hoodie, but adding a zipper to the front was elementary and could hardly count as a modification. The only alterations I made are to the length - I added 2.5 cm, as husband wants his hoodies long. However I regret it and if I make this hoodie again, I'm removing the added length. Although I did narrow the hood - Burda's hoods are notoriously enormous, it is still big and needs some pruning (again for future reference).

 

Pattern: Burda 6718

Fabric: grey French Terry, yellow cotton with lycra

Size: 50, with modified hood

Time to make: two weeks

Men's Lined Hoodie

I made a new hoodie for my husband. The pattern is very similar to that of my own hoodie out of the same fabric - front zipper, big three-part hood, split kangaroo pockets, fully lined.

 

The outer fabric is a double knit in large houndstooth design in black and grey. I was gifted this fabric a couple of years ago and after I made my hoodie, which is a staple in my hiking wardrobe, I've been contemplating a similar one for husband as well. Recently, after making him a Burda longsleeve out of a nice viscose knit, I noticed that my pattern contained actually two versions - the one I made and a second version with a hood and a kangaroo pocket. And the hood was exactly the style I was looking for - with raised neckline and a central insertion.

The original pattern is actually a blouse, but there's nothing easier than adding a zipper in the center and turning a blouse into a zippered anorak. Because my outer fabric was kind of thin and prone to sticking to other fabrics, I opted for a full lining again. I've been into high quality heavy viscose knits lately, so we chose this gorgeous bright orange viscose to liven up and complement the dark color of the outer fabric.

As far as sizing - my husband is size 48 according to Burda size tables, and the long-sleeve from this pattern in size 48 fits him perfectly. For the hoodie I went a size and a half up - that is I chose size 50, but added additionally a bit of width to the body, to take into account, that this is a lined hoodie, to be worn over other blouses.

Pattern: Burda #131 from 12 / 2020

Size: 50 with with added length

Fabric: double knit; cotton viscose knit; rib knit

Time to make: two weeks

The hood is deep and wide enough, without being too roomy, I think it has a good balance.

The pockets are also deep and lined as well. I added rib knit at the pocket openings for stability. 

I also tried to do pattern matching, where possible, without being too obsessive.

We still haven't worn our similar hoodies in the mountains, I wonder how it would feel - cute or ridiculous :)

Sinclair Lotte Hoodie

My first make for 2023 - the Sinclair Lotte Hoodie.

I've been in love with this pattern for quite a while, I like its unusual construction, its original hood, its elongated cuffs with openings for the thumbs and most of all - the fact that it can be a great utilizer of big chunks of remnant fabrics.

After finishing Gaby's dark blue set of pants and hoodie and Vali's hoodie I had some pretty large pieces of thick and soft sweatpants knit in green and dark navy blue. They were not big enough for a man's hoodie, but as I am pretty small, I reckoned I should be able to squeeze a hoodie my size out of them. In the end I was even left with a few pocket sized pieces, which I might use in future projects.

The hoodie comes with a few variations - you can have regular cuffs or palm-long cuffs with thumb openings and there are also two options for the hood - the signature Sinclair hood or a cowl. And of course, the greatest variety of all comes from the endless possibilities for colorblock combinations.

As my fabric was pretty thick, I decided to skip the front pockets - they are formed by tripling the central front panel. I hike and go for walks in my hoodies, so I was positive I wanted the hood. And again, because my fabric was rather solid, I opted for rib knit cuffs and hem instead of the more fiddly thumbhole cuffs.

 

Pattern: Sinclair Lotte Hoodie

Size: Petite (152-160 cm) XS (US 2)

Fabric: three-thread sweatshirt knit, rib knit (cuffs and hem), two-thread knit (lining of hood)

Time to make: 5 days

Note: My only modification to the pattern, apart from skipping the pockets, is taking some 2 cm from the length. As my fabric is very thick and not very stretchy, there isn't much room for a thin blouse underneath and the hoodie needs to be worn over a tank top. It seems, the pattern is constructed with thinner and more stretchy knit fabrics in mind. On the other hand, I've been wearing it this week regularly and I find it pretty comfy and sufficiently warm as a first layer over lingerie. Its modern vibe even won me some compliments from a friend, when we met over coffee - it's always so nice and heartwarming to surprise people in response to a compliment with "I made this" :)

And I have already a new Sinclair Lotte on my mind, as another remnant-busting project - nothing gives me more satisfaction than using up fabric to its last pieces!