New Hoodie for Gaby's Boyfriend

I am being a "good girl" this year and continuing with my Make Nine pledge through the second month of the year! 

My newest make is a hoodie for Gaby’s boyfriend (Fabrics #2 and #3). The pattern is the tried-and-true Brad hoodie by Vikisews. I’ve already made this for him twice—once in green and once in blue sweatshirt knit.

I made a few modifications to the pattern; some are my usual tweaks, while others are new. We’ll see how they influence the final fit when Vali tries it on. As for the usual mods, I added a total of 4 cm to the width of the body. Although Vali is quite athletic and slim, he prefers his hoodies on the looser end of the spectrum. I also swapped in a different hood pattern from Burda, as the original Vikisews hood is a bit too large.

Pattern:  Hoodie Brad by Vikisews

Size: 178-184 cm; 40; modified

Fabric: sweatshirt knit, rib knit, cotton jersey

Time to make: five days

The Brad hoodie comes without a pocket, so I added a kangaroo pocket that I designed specifically for this pattern the first time I made it for Vali about three years ago.

I also adjusted the length again. The first version was a bit too short, and the second was a bit too long; I’m hoping this "middle ground" is the charm!

To finish the inside, I covered the neckline seam with twill tape to give the garment a sleeker, more professional look.

Winter was back in town this weekend. The weather was miserable, so we decided to skip our weekly hike. However, the temperatures for the coming week look promising — I’m hoping for a warm, sunny weekend and a satisfying hike soon!

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.

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.

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!

Hoodie for Gaby's Boyfriend

I can hardly believe it myself, but this is my eighth hoodie this year - 2022 was definitely the year of hoodies :)

This one is my Christmas present for Gaby's boyfriend, who is much taller and broader than her, so no wonder the hoodie is big on her. Still, I think the photos give a good idea of the pattern and the final result and I am happy to have them on my blog.

Although I have a couple of Burda men's hoodies, none of them was exactly what I was looking for - average volume, kangaroo pocket, roomy hood and set-in sleeves. After going through the catalogues of other pattern companies, I chose this one from Vikisews - Hoodie Brad.

Gaby's friend likes green and I was lucky to find a very nice quality warm sweatshirt knit fabric, suitable ribbing and even matching cotton knit for the lining of the hood.

 

Pattern:  Hoodie Brad by Vikisews

Size: 178-184 cm; 40; modified

Fabric: sweatshirt knit fabric, rib knit, cotton knit

Time to make: one week  

My modifications:

Although I bought size 40 and I believe the recipient is size 38, the body of the hoodie looked too narrow, compared to Alex's RTW hoodies, so I added 2 cm width to the front and the back, a total of 4 cm in the round. I also widened a bit the neckline opening, as it was much too narrow for comfort and respectively widened the neck circumference of the hood. I shortened the length of the hoodie, as the pattern looked much longer that the RTW hoodies I was comparing it to and I also shortened the sleeves (which on second thought I should not have done, better longer than shorter sleeves, now I cross my fingers the sleeves would not be short on him).
The original pattern does not have a pocket, so I made one, based on other hoodies we have at home.
 

All in all, I am happy with the final result, Gaby found the hoodie warm and soft. However the pattern did not turn out exactly what I was looking for, so I'm still in search of a good men's hoodie pattern with set-in sleeves.

Navy Blue Hoodie

When we went out today to take a few photos of my new hoodie, husband asked me "Didn't we already take photos of it a few days ago?" I know, I've been making a lot of hoodies lately, but this one is  brand-new and it is for me!

It is actually kind of a bonus-hoodie, as the fabric is the lighter weight sweater fabric I bought as a lining fabric for Gaby's navy hoodie and joggers, the rib fabric is a remnant from Gaby's hoodie also, the pink lining of the hood is a remnant from a couple of T-shirts I made for Gaby and myself this summer and the cord of the hoodie is also some remnant cord I had in my stash - so no new fabric or notion, total stash-busting, win-win!

The pattern is another Burda pattern from my stash, Burda 6315B, with the hood from Burda 6315A. As far as fit and comfort go, this is actually the best hoodie pattern I've made and I've made a few. However, I find the hood too roomy even for myself, and I love roomy hoods. Next time, and I'm sure I'll be repeating this pattern, I would modify it to be more like the hood from Burda #103 01/2017, which I made earlier this year. What I've found is, that the best fitting hoods are those, that have a broad overlapping at the front - it prevents them from pulling too much backwards.

Pattern: Burda 6315

Size: 36 with corrections for height

Fabric: two-thread sweater knit fabric, rib knit, pink jersey knit

Time to make: 5 days

I added two pink elements to the hoodie to pull in the pink of the hood lining - a pink label from an old blouse and pink wooden balls at the end of the hood string. My initial idea was to make a small machine embroidery of a pink flower at the corner of the kangaroo pocket, but all of my attempts at doing embroidery on my machine looked so pathetic that I finally abandoned the idea and settled for the pink label.

The pink wooden balls are also custom-made. I had basic white wooden balls I had bought in bulk for my crocheted necklaces and earrings and I painted six of the balls pink, using one of my nail polishes. It actually worked like a charm and the color came out very close to that of the hood lining. So, never despair if you can't find the right color buttons or balls, sometimes nail polish can be your best friend :)

I have at least three more hoodies to sew this season, two men's and one women's, so stay tuned, there'll be more of these here in the coming weeks :)