The Alessa hoodie

… so called because Alessa of Farbenfreude gave this fabric to me in a recent giveaway… thank you so much Alessa!
It is very nice fabric, a largish piece of soft fluffy charcoal grey non-stretchy knit stuff with a diagonally printed black check pattern, and a smaller piece of raspberry red woven fabric with an almost chenille-y quality to it.  They went so nicely together so I decided to combine the two in one garment.

The cat should give an idea of the scale here; there was not much fabric and I had to get creative to make the most of the small pieces.  And just to clarify; that is not a whinge… I LOVE sewing challenges like this!
I made a slightly A-line tunic with plain set-in sleeves, and I cut the neckline and hoodie piece using KwikSew 3667.  I’ve used this hood piece in several garments now, and this pattern was also given to me, by Mary of biblioblog a few years ago.  I am so lucky to have such nice blogging friends!

Um, the hoodie looks quite different from my initial plan, which wasn’t a hoodie at all.  This is a recurring phenomenon, I make plans but frequently change my mind once I get cutting.  Indecisive? maybe! … but at least something will get made.  And I’m very pleased with the contrasting hood and welt pockets.
Welted pockets … woot!  I had just barely enough fabric for these!  I used the pocket piece from Vogue 1115, and the contrasting welt is not a separate piece; to save fabric I cut the upper pocket piece with an interfaced extension at the opening, which folds back on itself to the inside becoming an integrated welt…  doing this skips a seam underneath, resulting in a little less fabric bulk.  I might just stick to this method from here on out!

All the raw seam allowance edges are overlocked together, and then I applied a cheat’s version of flat-felling because the fabric is quite “bouncy” and the seams didn’t press flat very satisfactorily.  This involved just laying the overlocked seam allowance down to one side and top-stitching them to the garment.

Details:
Hoodie; self-drafted, with the hood piece from KwikSew 3667
Jeans; Burda 7863 modified, ivory stretch denim, details here
Boots; nylon, from Zomp shoes

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46 thoughts on “The Alessa hoodie

  1. a tunic in such small pieces of fabric, I can't bielive it ! Amazing. (une tunique dans de si petits morceaux de tissu, je n'arrive pas a y croire ! Merveilleux !)

  2. They Are Amazing…. I Really Ought To Try My Hand On Making A Hoodie… Lord Knows We Need Them Around Here Very Soon!

  3. love the challenge of squeezing an outfit out of small pieces of fabric. The top looks great and the colours work well. great job.

  4. love your hoodie, it looks super snuggly! great job of using such a narrow remnant of fabric. i'm a huge fan of being able to squeeze makes out of small yardage!

  5. Hi again. I went on the Ottobre website and it says…

    In which countries and languages is the magazine published?

    In addition to Scandinavia, the magazine is published in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain, the UK, the USA, Canada and Australia. The magazine is translated into Dutch, Swedish and German, as well as English (as from the 1/2003 issue). We have subscribers from all continents.
    Website is here http://www.ottobredesign.com/en/ask/index.html

    Might be worth a look at the schematic drawings to see if there is anything you fancy. Jo x

  6. Wow Carolyn you have done it again…something from (almost!) nothing, so inspiring and a very neat silhouette too. Thank you for sharing x

  7. Love it! The brick red hood complements the grey plaid so well, it's a perfect match. Love that the plaid is diagonal too. Things do not always end up the way we planned, and I guess that's part of the fun of the creative process. Love your shoes too!

  8. That is just fabulous! I love how you have put the two fabrics together as well as the gazillion patterns! Great project ๐Ÿ™‚

  9. I LOVE IT! What a beautiful color combination and a cute finished garment. Love love! Totally understand the plan changing as you cut and sew. This happens to me all the time when I'm dealing with fabric limitations and no fixed garment idea. I think that's the time great things happen!

  10. You've done a good job of this with tying the two fabrics together with the diagonal pocket band. It brings the eye from hood to mid section and makes the whole garment work.

  11. Cute! I like a short sleeve hoodie without the princess seams, nice for a change. Like you, I have a fav hoodie that I borrow from another pattern, works great. What pretty raspberry fabric!

  12. Looks wonderful and very creative use of two ends of fabric – you more than met the challenge – you owned it!! I have been admiring your fashion drawings and hope you are getting commission as I have just purchased the mini's and the same steampunk red sketchbook thank you for reviewing what looks to be a great product.

  13. You are a constant source of inspiration! I never know what to make out of the big pieces of remaining fabric. Love the shape of the hoody, and the pockets are so neat.
    Iยดve been reading about your fashionary and it is a great idea to attach a bit of the fabric to the page. Very organized!

  14. Gorgeous as usual. I actually saw your photos of this on Fashionary's facebook page before I read your post for myself! Great coverage.

  15. So beautiful! Sewing with small scraps of fabric is very rewarding, you lower the fabric stash and get new clothes with them … love this tunic, I think it has many possible combinations for your winter … Great!

  16. I'm not sure how much I would wear a short-sleeved hoodie (or a hoodie that wasn't water-proof for that matter), but 'knowing' you, I'd guess you'll find a way to layer something over or under it.

  17. Hehe, I thought the fabric pieces in your mini fashionary reminded me of something! I really like your hoodie, it looks so comfy for autumn and I really like that you used both fabrics for a bit of livening up. ๐Ÿ˜€ And pockets! I'm glad the fabrics went into such a nice make and I hope the hoodie keeps you comfy for a long time!

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