Finished Project: HotPatterns Weekender Daytona Hoodie

Some professions seem like they have a certain type of garment that people automatically associate with them. Farmer? Overalls.  Business executive? Suit and tie. Golfer? Dockers and a polo shirt. For people who work in software development, that iconic garment would have to be The Hoodie. Even though I've worked in software for...longer than I care to state, as I've gotten older, I've been trying to get away from the super casual hoodie (but they're so easy to just throw on!) At some age, I felt that it became inappropriate to wear a hoodie with a Russian River Brewing logo into the office, but I have missed these more-functional-than-a-cardigan layering pieces.


Enter the HotPatterns Weekender Daytona Hoodie:

HP Weekender Daytona Hoodie

As Trudy describes in the video tutorial for this pattern, this is really more like a t-shirt with some fun details than a sweatshirt (although you could use it like that). The pattern includes options for a long-sleeve, elbow-length sleeve (which I used), or sleeveless with a contrast shoulder. You also have the choice of making the hoodie as a pullover or as a front-zip version. I love front-zip hoodies, but I envisioned wearing this version more like a top, so I went with the pullover version. 

Daytona Hoodie envelope

I love how my hoodie turned out; I envision this being a wear-every-wash-cycle type of top. I cut this version out a while ago, but got distracted by making my daughter's romper and participating in the HP Blouse-Back tee sewalong before getting back to my hoodie. 

Fit and sizing

I made a wearable muslin of this top before cutting my good fabric. I rarely make a muslin for knit tops, but I wanted to use a pricey rayon knit from Emma One Sock for this, so I wanted to make sure that there were no surprises in the fit or detail construction. I'm glad that I did make a (very) wearable muslin first; the sizing runs a bit large. Like the few other reviews I've found for this pattern, I would up sizing down two sizes from the size chart for the pictured version. The size chart indicates that I should make a size 22; I made my wearable muslin in a 20 because I could tell that the top would be roomy from doing a flat pattern measurement. While I've been wearing my muslin a ton (it's super comfy), I could tell that I wanted to go down one more size for my "good" version, so the version that you see pictured here is a size 18. (I typically sew an 18 for the neck/shoulders of HotPatterns, anyway.)

Note that I re-distribued the bust gathers over a longer (wider?) area. The gathers are very concentrated as drafted, and mind wanted to fold over themselves into a dart in my muslin.

Hoods up!

Fabric used

Both the main body fabric (the red print) and white contrast are rayon jerseys. The red print was a cut that I bought a while back from Emma One Sock. The white was a "Fabric of the Day" a few months back from Gorgeous Fabrics. Both are very drapey and fairly lightweight. I found the white to be more sheer than I'd like for something unlayered, so I thought that using it as contrast would be a good use for it.

Poorly-lit fabric close-up on the ruching above the bust

This pattern would be perfect for those super cute, somewhat whimsical knits that you've been stashing from Girl Charlee.  I think that the zippered views provide a fun alternative to a cardigan when you just want to throw on another casual layer but not wear a jacket.

A few notes that I took while constructing my wearable muslin

Here are a few things that I jotted down while in the process of constructing my muslin, in case it helps anyone...
 
Construction notes:

• Pattern envelope indicated 3 yards required for long sleeved hoodie version; I cut mine from 2.5 yards without having to squeeze or get creative with my fabric layout.
• Add a notch to the bottom CF of the pocket piece and hoodie front to make it easier to line things up.
• Add a notch to the CB neckline to make it easier to line up the hood.
• The lower notch on the front sleeve (to help act as a guide for gathering) is missing. I eyeballed it from the instructions/line drawing and added my own notch. We'll see how this turns out. 

Fabric:

Remember that huge haul of merino jersey knits that I ordered from FabricMart a while back?  While they're all lovely, color-wise, and super soft to the touch, and I've now lived with a few garments that I've made from them. I've learned that the lighter weight ones are REALLY lightweight, while still being really drapey and soft. I don't really feel like I should be making anything out of them that isn't intended to be layered from the outset. (Don't you just hate it when that happens?)

That said, as much of a waste as it feels like, I think they'll be a great option for wearable muslins. So....that's what I used for this version of the HP hoodie. I have a really cute rayon jersey that I splurged on from Emma One Sock that I think will be perfect for this pattern, but I want to make sure that I get any kinks worked out before I cut into my expensive fabric. I figure that even if I make a few goofs in my merino wool, this test run will still be a super comfortable top for lounging around the house.

Final word

If you're interested in making this pattern, I highly, highly recommend watching Trudy's construction tutorial that she posted on YouTube. The facing construction is explained much more clearly in the video than in the written instructions.

I definitely plan to make a few more of these. It's a fun, cute pattern and it fits very much with my crazy-busy working-mom-in-a-casual-work-environment lifestyle.