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.

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.

Gaby's Andean Jacket

Gaby was with us for almost two weeks and I wanted to use the time and sew something for her, that I could measure directly on her and she could take with herself when leaving back for Vienna. She immediately chose an Andean jacket for herself. 

Originally I had about 2 m of the fabric, in two 1 m cuts and I had quite significant leftovers after I made my own jacket. It was clear that the fabric itself wouldn't suffice, so I went downtown and found some suitable complimentary knit fabric, and also more of the same purple polyester lining, which I liked so much for my jacket.

As Gaby is taller than me, I made her jacket a bit longer than mine - as much as the fabric allowed and I also added length to the sleeves. Cutting the pieces, matching the stripes, fitting everything within limited fabric, with some fabric defects at that, which I had to work around, was one of the biggest challenges I have faced sewing. But I love these Tetris games with fabric, so I might say I had fun with this project.

 

Pattern: Sinclair Journey Zip Up Raglan Hoodie

Size: Regular , shortened -4 cm, 4 S with added 2.5 cm to the sleeve length

Fabric: French Terry / double knit; lining - polyester jersey

Time to make: 6 days

The jacket is almost identical to mine, with the exception of the back, which has a dark navy insertion. I actually like that solid piece a lot and find it more a feature than a bug of the jacket. Some other compromises had to me made too, but they are not significant and noticeable - the collar is not a single piece, like in my jacket, but is made of one front layer and two pieces, making the back layer. The bottom band is also made out of two pieces - the outer one is striped, the inner one is solid color.

Still, despite the patched up work here and there, I think it turned out perfect and hope she will enjoy wearing it.

Gaby's Fleece Jacket

One of the two jackets I made this winter for Gaby - the fleece jacket. I had promised her a fleece jacket a long time ago and in my head it had to be very close to one she already has had for many years and adores - raglan, zippered, with a high collar and welt pockets. 

I explored a number of patterns, mostly in my mind, some with muslins, and in the end I decided on the Journey Zip Up Raglan Hoodie by Sinclair Patterns. Halfway through sewing Gaby's jackets I hit a rock at the zipper - the layers of fleece fabric around the pockets were becoming too thick and I was debating various options. To clear my head, I took out my piece of Andean striped knit fabric and made my Andean Jacket.

Having finished it successfully, I returned to Gaby's fleece jacket and completed it. Looking back, I might have done a few things differently, but it fits her well, she likes it and it is unbelievably warm, so I am pretty happy.

Pattern: Sinclair Journey Zip Up Raglan Hoodie

Size: Regular shortened -3 cm, 4 S

Fabric: Fleece

Time to make: 2 weeks

 

As in my own version of the pattern, I modified the pattern collar, adding height and some gathering at the front, otherwise I believe I kept the pattern more or less as it is.

 

Although this is the same pattern as my Andean jacket, it has a completely different vibe in its solid color and fleece fabric. Now I think of making one for myself as well :)

My Make Nine in 2024

My third in a row Make Nine Challenge. I love this game at the beginning of the year, as it allows me to get out of the rut of sewing easy and easily wearable everyday t-shirts, hoodies and pants and to plan for different types of makes and different fabrics. Even if I don't make these 9, I would still like to have them in my head as a possibility. 

All of the patterns I have chosen this year are ones I already own and a couple of them have been on my list every year. I seem to want to make them, but never get to them. Maybe 2024 will be the year I finally do.

Of last year's Make Nine list, I made 4 - an improvement, I think, in 2022 it was only three of nine :) So, I sewed the Sinclair Lotte Hoodie, twice, once as a sweatshirt knit hoodie and once as a viscose blouse with thumbhole cuffs, which turned one of my favourite blouses last year. 

Then I made the Nightwear from Love Notions for my mother and I believe she loved it. 

I also sewed the Fleece Jacket Burda 6337 from their 2019 catalogue. To test the pattern, I made it from a fleece sweater of my husband, which was too big on him. I did not appreciate the design and didn't repeat it for Gaby, as I had initially intended. Nevertheless, I should acknowledge, that I've worn it a lot at home, as it is comfy and warm. 

And finally I made the Flared Jeans, which I am still to photograph and blog these coming days.

My new Make Nine for 2024 try to reflect my desire to make dresses, coats and jeans.

1. Sinclair Apollo Hoodie. This one I transfer from last year, mostly because I printed and cut the pattern, but never sewed it. I'm not so fond of it as of now, but I'll give it a try, it might surprise me.

2. Boyfriend Cardigan by Love Notions. I want to make this for Gaby, though I did make her two new layer pieces last December. But she claims she always needs layer pieces and her laboratory is quite cold.

3. Willow Wrap Dress by Love Notions. I'm definitely making this for myself, I have a feeling this could be a great summer dress just in my style.

4. Classic straight Burda Jeans, #120 04/2010. I was not very happy with the fit of the two pairs of jeans I made last year, despite testing a muslin first. I think I want to start afresh this year with a new jeans pattern.

5. Marlene Pants, Burda #104 02/2020. I've made these once for myself, now I plan a pair for Gaby. Last summer she liked one of my wide legged pants and wore it while in Bulgaria, clearly she needs a pair of her own. 

6. Coat Burda #102 10/2021. I'm not entirely sure if this is the coat pattern I want to start with, but I want to try it, as I've seen so many beautiful versions of it on the Burdastyle.ru site.

7. New cargo pants for husband. Last year I had promised him a new pair, as he lost quite a lot of weight and his old cargo pants, which he wears on almost every hike, are actually rather loose on him. I have the pattern, the fabric, the zipper and the buttons, I only need to get down to work and make it.

8. Some formal dress for Gaby out of silk, viscose or georgette. I still haven't found the perfect pattern for her, but this Burda #126 01/2015 is very feminine with interesting shoulder details, so I might try it.

9. Summer shorts for Alex. The pattern I have is Burda #137 04/2016 and I've been meaning to make it for him for such a long time, maybe this summer I will.

OK, the pledge is done, the list is made, now on to making some clothes :)

Andean Jacket

My latest and most favourite make - a lined zipper jacket. The outer fabric is one of the fabrics I was given by a friend a couple of years ago, when she decided to quit sewing and destashed. I fell immediately in love with its pattern and was saving it for something special. A few times I was just about to cut into it - for a long skirt or a short poncho, but luckily, abandoned the idea. 

I say luckily, as I think this zipper jacket is the best use for this fabric. The pattern is Sinclair Journey, which I bought recently for another project I am making for Gaby. I was half way through with Gaby's jacket, when I hit a rock and decided to step a bit aside and make another version of the pattern for myself.

As it happened, I had the perfect fabric for the lining and the perfect zipper, even its length was the exact one I needed - it seemed the stars had aligned for this project.

The version of the jacket I used is View B - the one with zippered pockets, but I decided to make mine one-side welt pockets (my first!). The pattern pockets are designed to stay loose, but experience has shown that such pockets are not very practical, so I designed my own pockets to be attached to the zipper opening and the bottom band.

My most favourite part of jacket is the collar. Here again I took the View B half-hood, added 5 cm to its height, straightened the back seam, so that I could make it seamless and then extended the front of the collar, drawing a line at a right angle to the back - thus I added 8 cm width to the front part of the collar. The additional width goes into the folds and makes the collar one of main features of the jacket.

Pattern: Sinclair Journey Zip Up Raglan Hoodie

Size: Petite (152-160 cm) 4 S with added 2.5 cm to the sleeve length

Fabric: French Terry / double knit; lining - polyester jersey

Time to make: 5 days

This is my third lined hoodie and the first time I added the lining correctly and easily. I always knew there must be a correct way to assemble the outer part and the lining, and I think I finally found it after watching a video by Dasha Sineva, where she showed her process of sewing a lined jacket. The simple secret is to leave two openings - one big opening at the bottom back and one in one of the sleeves.

I had 2.15 m of this fabric in two pieces of about 1 m each and I have some big scraps left, which I intend to combine with some other knit fabric and make another lined jacket. Husband wants it for himself, as he also fell in love with the striped geometric pattern, but we'll see. I'm not sure the pieces are big enough for a grown man like him.

It's a pity it is already winter here and sunny days like yesterday, when we took these pictures, are a rarity, but come spring I intend to wear this jacket intensely. I was down to the fabric store today, bought the missing notions and tonight I'll back to Gaby's jacket, hopefully it will be no less successful than mine.

A short note on my preliminary work - when I bough the pattern, I determined Gaby's size as 4 S petite, printed the pattern and made a muslin out of an old bed sheet. I know you aren't supposed to make test clothes for knit garments out of weaved fabric, but I thought a muslin would still give me some idea. Well, I was wrong. The muslin felt too small and tight and made me go up a size and up a height. Once I cut Gaby's jacket out of her fleece fabric, I found it too wide, so I had to cut it back to 4 S and I knew that my initial sizing had been right. So, all that work to print two sizes and sew two muslins had been absolutely in vain. Now I know a muslin really works only when you are using a similar fabric, no going around that :(

And one further note: raglans and patterned fabric. It took me probably three days of measuring and thinking, until I cut the fabric. Initially I had drawn the pattern pieces as economically as possible and just when I was about to start cutting, it occurred to me, that the raglan connections would be clearly visible at the front and thus the pattern pieces of the body had to be aligned with the sleeves not at the bottom, but at the sleeve opening. I know that is probably pretty obvious for experienced seamstresses, but it was a revelation to me and it might help somebody (or my future self), when using such patterned fabrics and raglans. As a whole, it did take a lot of planning around the fabric, but i am really happy with the placement of the pattern :)

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 :))