Purple Sinclair Lotte Blouse

Sinclair Lotte is a hoodie pattern, which I've once made as a hoodie and already twice as a longsleeve blouse. I like the hoodie, but I find that the fit lacks enough easе for a sweater, designed to be worn over other blouses, although I did cut my size according to the sizing table. 

On the other hand, the fit is just perfect for a blouse and my previous color-block viscose Lotte longsleeve is one of my favourite blouses. I especially appreciate its thumb-hole cuffs - they are perfect for hiking in spring and autumn, when my hands get a bit cold when I'm holding a hiking stick. 

Last year I came to the conclusion, that I needed another hiking staple, both with cuffs and a hood. Initially I planned to add some hood and the cuffs to my basic Burda long-sleeve pattern, but then I decided that it would be an interesting experiment instead to make the Sinclair Lotte, but in solid color.

I had to create the front of the blouse out of the four separate color-block pieces, that the original pattern consists of, but apart from that, I followed the pattern without much modifications, I only shortened the sleeves by 2.5 cm

Pattern: Sinclair Lotte Hoodie

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

Fabric: stable cotton knit

Time to make: 5 days

The snow from the previous week has almost melted and I hope spring will be here soon,
probably a bit later than last year.

Apart from the hood and the cuffs, the pattern is a simple longsleeve. The hood is very unusual, its two parts completely overlap at the front, covering the neck and creating a polo-shirt effect. When up, the hood reminds me a bit of a headscarf Grace Kelly-style.

The thumb-hole cuffs are very cleverly designed and super-comfy and they can also be "unhooked" from the thumb and folded back, to turn into normal cuffs.

The hood is deep enough, but not too big and it doesn't drag down, as some hoods tend to do.

I plan to test the blouse on our next hike and if it proves to be comfortable, there might be more of these.

Sinclair Lotte Blouse

 And just like that I made myself another Sinclair Lotte :)

Alex's and husband's recent blouses left me with substantial pieces of soft cotton viscose knit fabric in colors, that go just perfectly together - black and brick, and besides, I had just the pattern for a colorblock blouse - the Sinclair Lotte Hoodie.

For this iteration of the pattern I chose to use two of the elements I discarded in my first Sinclair Lotte - the thumbhole cuff and the double color cowl.

The thumbhole cuff was actually probably the first element that truly attracted me to this pattern - my hands are constantly cold in winter and I love long sleeves and long cuffs, which I can pull over my hands. In this regard I am funnily the opposite of my husband who is invariably annoyed with long sleeves.

Initially, while I was planning the blouse, I thought of adding just a simple neckpiece around the neck, but then I found that I would have sufficient fabric remnants to make a cowl. Mine is not as high as the pattern's cowl goes, as I didn't have enough brick fabric, but I think it is long enough to give a nice drape around the neck.

Pattern: Sinclair Lotte Hoodie

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

Fabric: cotton viscose knit, brick and black

Time to make: 3 days

I didn't have a piece, long enough for the entire back, so I had to think of colorblocking it too. I'm still not sure whether my decision to cut the back horizontally at the shoulder blades level, like in most blouses with yokes, was correct or should I have kept the tilted colorblock line of the front. Either way, I am sure it would have looked good and I like the simplicity of the back the way I made it. I might try the tilted line some other time.

I am really very, very pleased with my blouse, I adore the color combination and the only thing that I might do differently the next time is to add 2 cm to the length of the body. I used to hate long blouses, but I am strangely making mine longer and longer lately. Maybe it's just a phase :))

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!