That Hoodie

For Christmas I made my granddaughter a new coat. She had been over to my house wearing a coat I made several years ago for her, only the sleeves are now barely 3/4 sleeves and it is rapidly becoming a shrug.

The pattern is from this issue of Octobre. In fact, it is on one of the two covers:

As you may know, Octobre is a European (Finnish?) subscription magazine that includes the patterns in each issue. I have loved having some of these for making clothes for the grandchildren. It requires tracing the pattern from a page like this and then adding seam allowances:

Always a little daunting!

The instructions are brief but fine as it is a pretty straight-forward make. The hoodie attaches with an inset corner but otherwise it is a very easy pattern to put together.

My corner on the inset was a little wonky so I covered it with a label.

The fabric is a cotton-linen blend I purchased at Sewing Workshop this past summer. Because it is a jacket, I quilted it, using cotton flannel as the batting and a rayon lining as the back side. Then I assembled it as a single layer.

I used a separating zipper that I've worried is a little stiff. It was a bit fussy to install but not terrible. I inserted elastic in the sleeve hems and a draw string in the hoodie, as well as the coat hem. I used a cotton batik (light blue graphic batik) to finish edges on the inside. It was really quite fun to make.

And here is where the story takes a sad turn. It is not her style. And I get that. I really do. I like to select my clothing too. So, lesson learned. I need to engage her in the selection of pattern and fabric, and even the sewing next time.

Maybe she should just keep it a while. By the time it fits her, she might like it. Or not.