Friday 3 March 2017

Burdastyle 01/2017 #103: Oversized Hoodie

I made this Oversized Hoodie for Pattern Review’s Serger and Coverstitch Contest. It's based on BurdaStyle Magazine 01/2017 #103.

Style and Size
After I cut out the fabric, I realised the body of hoodie was going to be HUGE. I was a bit disappointed because the hoodie on the photo in the magazine is quite slim. The model used her arms to hide all the excess fabric at the side seams. I did learn something from sewitgorgeous's review, saying it's very big and better to make it two sizes smaller. I didn't think I would mind a big hoodie so I cut my size 38. Well.. it turned out to be really big but I am OK with it now. It's actually quite comfy. I can still wear it out to the mall.



Fabric
I bought 2 meter of sweater knits from Spotlight for $7. I only used 1.5 meters of sweater knits in the project.

I used recycled rayon knit for the lining of the hood. It's my first time to recycle fabric from my unwanted clothes. I am very satisfied and I want to do that more in the future.




Construction
I have been hesitating on what project to do solely on the serger and coverstitch. I normally use my Bernina 440 to sew everything and only use those specialty machines to neaten the edges and do the hemming. 

As I started sewing my knits this year, I realised 4-thread serging is actually very good for knit seams. I used to stitch a 5/8" seam allowance on the conventional sewing machines then trim the seam allowance off on the serger. When I made my Renfrew top, I cut only 3/8" seam allowance and sewed it straight on the serger. In that process, I needed to eyeball while feeding the fabric so it cuts away 1/8" seam allowance.

I am glad I joined the contest. It forced me to practise stitching seams on the serger. I learned some tricks with my serger and coverstitch machine. For example, when starting to sew the pointy layers at the beginning, I trim away 1/8" S.A. so that I can tuck it further in under the presser foot and the fabric is fed smoothly.


With my Babylock coverstitch, I also used the bottom side of the coverstitch as a top stitch for the front pocket and the hood. It's a bit fiddly and my Babylock does not have much room on the right hand side of the needle. The top stitch turned out great, though.



Conclusion
So it turns out, the hoodie is oversized. But who cares?! It's comfy and just looks like other hoodies when I wore it out shopping. I also like the colour very much. Overall, I am quite happy with the end result despite initial doubts.


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