Great alternative to the traditional 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!