I’d picked up a few yards of an adorable chicken fabric last fall (2019) and a yard of a grey ribbed knit from JoAnn online when I was first trying to get a feel for all these not-quilting-cotton textiles. When I ordered the fabric for my mom’s cardigan from Nature’s Fabric I added some of their Ginger colored Bamboo stretch fleece to try a hoodie for myself.
I wanted to sew up the Made for Mermaids (M4M) Hudson Hoodie with a side panel pocket hack I saw on Argyle and Pearls. Facebook is awful, but in the M4M pattern group, there are so many amazing & inspiring posts from people of all shapes and sizes making their own beautiful clothes, and TBH, I wanna be part of that tribe.
This was the first sweatshirt I’ve ever sewn up and the first time working with sweatshirt fleece. I used my serger for almost all of it and made a size green. M4M uses colors instead of size, it’s one of the ways they force people to not make their standard RTW (ready to wear) size which often leads to disappointment; a large is not a standard size, when sewing for yourself you need to measure and see what pattern size that translates to.
According to my phone, I was sewing on that cuff way back in May; it was an early “stay at home order” project and I didn’t get around to photographing myself in it till now. 2020…amirite? 🥴
The fleece was tricky to work with; the direction of greatest stretch (DOGS) was the grainline, so I had to keep in mind the rule that you want the stretch to wrap around the body as I cut the pieces.
I did not use clear elastic to reinforce the shoulders, but I wish I had. I also feel like the weight of the fabric & length kinda pulls the princess seam when with stuff in the pockets. I might consider lining part of the interior next time for stability & warmth, but I’d also definitely make the next size down since I now know the M4M indigo size fits me better.
PS. Let’s not talk about how….silver…the crown of my head looks in these pictures.
The chicken fabric is a cotton interlock so it’s got more body so it was a great choice to line the pockets. Good for holding eggs 🥚 🐓
I’d lined both the pockets & the hood with the chicken fabric. I really like the size and shape of the hood, it doesn’t fall too far forward. It’s also not so heavy that the neck pulls back when it’s down.
I’m pretty jazzed about how this came out! Some of the pics got oversaturated when I took them from the GoPro, I could fix it, but y’all get the point.
Next time I’d made a size smaller but this one is warm and quite cozy. It also makes me smile when I wear it. I’m pleased with how my princess seams came out and I’d be interested to see how they come out in a more proper size.
I really liked how the hack came out too. The pockets are perfect to toss in your cellphone (or 6-8 medium brown egg) and things don’t fall out as easily as they do from the kangaroo pocket. I also like how it doesn’t add interior bulk like side seam pockets.
Sizing Cut: Green
Alterations: Pocket hack (linked & described above)
My Measurements: 39½” bust, 31″ waist, 39½” hip