I finally found the time to finish the Laura Comfy Hoodie for my 9-year-old. We are both in love with the final product. It really is comfy and cute and she doesn't want to take it off! I used a deep purple organic cotton jersey and mod floral organic cotton jersey from the shop.
I would recommend this pattern for those with intermediate to advanced sewing skills. It isn't that there is anything complicated about the construction of the garment (no zippers or buttons, for example) but the instructions aren't very detailed. I would say that you should have made at least one shirt with sleeves before attempting this.
Here's a little breakdown of the challenging and the easy:
Challenging:
- Squaring up and cutting knit fabrics: they like to move around a lot. It is best not to stretch & pull the fabric too much.
- Adding seam allowances. This was my first experience with it. I used Kwik Trace pattern tracing cloth and added a 1/2" seam allowance. The instructions did not say how much of a seam allowance to add, so I looked for advice from other places & settled on 1/2" because I thought it would be easy to remember. I used this method for adding seam allowances.
- Reading German: the pattern pieces are only written in German. There are English instructions available, but there is no pattern layout or translation of pattern pieces. I used Babelfish to help me out :)
- The instructions expect that you know how to put together a garment. They do not have a lot of details or extensive pictures and diagrams.
Easy:
- Sewing with knits! They're forgiving! Everything matches up! Honestly, I never used the seam ripper - not once! It was a dream :) I used a straight stitch (I do not have a serger) and stretched the fabric slightly ahead and behind the foot.
- The garment was super easy to put together. Everything made sense.
- The garment is easily customizable. The back has 3 pieces, the front has 4 (including pocket) and you can use different fabrics on any pieces to create a new look. You can choose not to line the hood. You can choose to add ribbing to the hood and pocket. You can use decorative stitching for the top-stitching.
Additional information:
- The pattern runs a bit small. I made my daughter's a size that I thought would have a little room, but it actually fits perfectly. She's really skinny, so I would recommend a size up for children with an average build.
- Cut 2 pocket pieces, even though the pattern says one.
- I marked the front side of each cut out piece with masking tape & labeled which piece it was.
- I added the decorative cuffs myself. I cut them the same length as the bottom of the sleeves and 4 inches wide. I followed the instructions for adding ribbing to the hood.
