Since I’ve been doing much more from home, such as teleworking or taking a Japanese class(!), I have been meaning to make myself some nicer loungewear than my old college sweatpants. Said sweatpants have been worn for at least 15 years, are fraying at the cuffs and seams, are of a muddled grey color, and are now so baggy and the elastic so shot that it makes my lower half look especially sloppy (and my dear partner despair).

I was immediately inspired to not only make a new, more stylish replacement for my sad sweatpants, but also a matching hoodie when I saw the Minerva Core Range polycotton fleece back sweatshirt stretch knit fabric in grey-blue. I couldn’t be happier with this fabric – it is the perfect weight, lovely and soft on one side, and easy to work with. I used a size 90 stretch needle, polyester thread, a lightning-bolt stretch stitch, and a walking foot. The only difficulty is that because this sort of fabric is a bit spongy, it gets squeezed under the presser foot and it was sometimes difficult to control the stitching line and respect the seam allowances, but a walking foot quickly remedied that.

This fabric also takes steam quite well and presses easily. I used a pressing cloth for the right side and the 70% cotton content in the fabric really made it easy to press nicely.

I first made the Interstellar Hoodie by Bella Loves Patterns in the size 6 (based on my full bust measurement as recommended in the pattern), with a fabric hem band rather than ribbing, and without the drawstring and toggles along the edge of the hood. This pattern was a bit complicated, but the instructions are fully illustrated with step-by-step photos which helped me figure out the steps.

In the end, I am proud of my first handmade hoodie, but I think that the shape of the hoodie just isn’t for me. The interfaced fabric cuffs are not very stretchy, so I’m not able to push up the sleeves when cleaning or cooking, for example, and that’s a bit of a nuisance. Also, I really dislike having fabric against my throat, and the hood of this hoodie pulls the neckline backward so that the weight of the hoodie is against my throat and I’m constantly pulling it away from my neck.

So, in the end, I don’t wear this hoodie as much as I anticipated. This is my own personal preference though; I highly recommend Bella Loves Patterns otherwise – I learned so much in the construction of this garment and there are such little, interesting details that give these patterns’ garments a professional feel that they are entirely worth it.

The star of this loungewear project are these Plateau Joggers, a pattern by Closet Core Patterns. I made a straight size 6 (based on my hip measurement) with a size 2 elastic length in the waistband because my waist measurement corresponds to a size 2, back pockets, and elastic cuffs. I choose the elastic cuffs so I can use these joggers as ballet warm-ups and sized the elastic length a bit large, so they’d fit over my calves easily. The wide elastic (4cm) at the waistband makes it very comfortable, and I love the tapered overall fit. And they were very easy to make! They came together in almost just a day – a very satisfying sewing project for a weekend!

All in all, I’m happy with this project, I feel much more stylish in my loungewear, and I can finally retire my old college sweatpants, much to my dear partner’s delight!

Thanks for reading,
Sarah
IG: sarah__naomi_

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