Hey June Handmade Halifax Hoodie

I came cross the Halifax Hoodie pattern at the first SewBeds Sewing Day last year. One of the sewists was wearing her version in a structured sweatshirt jersey and I really liked the funnel collar option as opposed to the traditional hoodie style. When I found this super-soft knit in The Textile Centre in Luton I knew it had to become a Halifax Hoodie and some joggers for me made loungewear. A burn test revealed it's made with natural fibres, and it's so soft I'm convinced there must be some modal content.

I made view D, in Large. I used cotton ribbing for the cuffs and waistband rather than jersey, and made the ties from the same fabric as the  hoodie. I also omitted sewing buttonholes, or using interfacing and opted for using bondaweb to bond a layer of the jersey underneath the section of the collar where the buttonholes are marked. I then used a buttonhole chisel to cut the buttonholes, and left them raw as the fabric does not fray. The finish is much cleaner this way.

The pattern comes together very quickly, and is drafted well. The collar is cut on the double fold, and the sleeve, front and back on the fold. I chose to cut these pieces on the flat, laying the pattern piece out to ensure I accurately pattern matched the grid design as not doing so would have jarred the eye too much for my taste. I chose not to have a pocket but then later added the kangaroo pocket (not pictured) as I found that I kept reaching for it, and it wasn't there!

The fabric is so stretchy, the finished hoodie covers my bottom and the sleeves are slouchy and long. I love it, it's so cosy. I think in a more structured sweatshirt fabric it would look entirely different, and I'm looking forward to trying it out in a slightly different fabric. A really great pattern!

This sweater pattern gives you a lot for your money. The views are very different and are really interesting. The fit is great and the details are very similar to RTW sweaters. I lined the hood and use bias tape to cover the zipper and the whole look of this sweater is so professional! I am wearing it all week end long.

You can find my full review here : https://youtu.be/vTOY9T7j1gk

This was a really fast make. I was after a hooded sweatshirt that I could sew quite quickly so I omitted the kangaroo pocket and drawstrings. I used a french terry from Girl Charlee that was under £10 a metre, which is light rather than heavy and thick like some sweatshirting can be. The only thing I wasn't massively keen on was the size of the hood - it's huge! I've been living in this over the winter as it's so easy to pull on over t-shirts. The instructions were very clear and I like how many variations you can have out of one pattern too.

This is one of those patterns when you’ve sewn your first, you instantly start your second. And start thinking about what fabric you’ll use for your third etc! It’s an instant TNT for me! Make it in a great fabric and, for me, it gets pattern ‘Holy grail’ status. It’s incredibly easy to fit and sew yet produces a garment I want to wear over and over again. Can you tell I really like it yet yet!?

I used French Terry for both my versions; the Lillie Lils one was from Girl Charlee and the other is the ‘Twinkle’ fabric from the Night range by Atelier Brunette. They are both so soft and snuggly and instantly cheer me up on these drab winter days!

You can read the full blog list over at www.sewsarahsmith.com

Sarah x