HOODIE TOWEL TWO: HOOD & BODY

To begin: I had two pieces of fabric, each approximately two yards squared.

I started out by folding each color fabric in half and cutting off the top 14", and setting the larger portions aside.  The person this robe is for is 6' tall, so I wanted to allow plenty of fabric for the main body of the robe.

I now had two 14" x 72" pieces to use for my hood, sleeves, and pockets.

HOOD
I started out by measuring the sweatshirt hoodie.  The base of the hood was 26" in diameter when zipped, and the roomy hood was 15 1/2" high when folded in half.  Now, when wearing a zipped hoodie, your head does not need to fit through the neck hole.  I wanted the hood to be a little wider at the base, so that my friend could fit his head through the neck hole.  I decided to leave a little extra space at the front of the neck to allow for this.

I started out by cutting two 13" x 14" rectangles, one of each color.

 I pinned two adjoining sides together to create the hood shape, and stitched my pinned sides together.

Now, I want to point out here that I made everything much more complicated by using two colors.   If I were making a hoodie robe out of one color, I could have cut out one rectangle for the head, two rectangles for the body, and an additional two rectangles for sleeve extensions (which are optional).  For example, I could have taken a 26" x 14" rectangle, folded it in half, and pinned the top to create the hood:

Not Used: A rectangle, folded into a single-color hood.

Once my hood was stitched together, I had to decide if I wanted a cone-shaped hood.  Many of the tutorials I had read recommended cutting off the corner of the hood, to create a more rounded fit.

 

I found that the hood still had a very boxy shape when worn, so I ended up using the sweatshirt hoodie to trace a more rounded hood.

At this point, most tutorials I read suggest trimming the front edge of the hood with a piece of bias fabric (an accent fabric with all edges folded under that creates a pretty, presentable edge), so that you can sew it onto the body of the garment as a finished piece.   I was not sure how I wanted to finish the hood, so I decided not to finish the outer edge at this point.

BODY
To make the body more interesting, I cut out four panels of fabric.  The body would be comprised of four alternating colors, sort of like a harlequin costume.  Each panel was approximately 18" x 58".

I pinned two panels together lengthwise, and rolled my joined fabrics up into a nice log, with the pinned edge on the outside.  I have found that this facilitates moving and sewing large pieces of fabric.

 All you need to do is position your roll of fabric next to your sewing machine.  The bottom half of the fabric sits in your lap.  Be aware that having so much fabric in one place creates a lot of weight, so your fabric will try to pull away from the machine.  This makes maintaining an even seam allowance more difficult.  I find that it's helpful to stick my right hand through the center area of the sewing machine and tug the already-stitched fabric lightly to the right, while feeding the unsewn portion of the pinned fabric into the sewing zone with my left.  Sew slowly, taking care to maintain a straight seam, and pause every few inches to readjust your roll of fabric. 

I  pinned and sewed my second pair of panels together in the exact same way.  I then pinned these larger panels to each other on one side, taking care to keep all stitched seams on the same side.

I needed to tack my unsewn shoulder seams together, to facilitate construction, so before sewing my new, larger panels together, I sewed the last inch of each shoulder corner.  I then sewed my two side seams, together, from the bottom up, taking care to eave the final 12" unstitched (this is where the arms will need to come out.
I then pinned and stitched the second side seam to create a tube, again keeping the arm opening unstitched.
My stitched body now looked like this:

ATTACHING THE HOOD
I then pinned just over half of my hood (approximately 8 inches) to the back panel, starting at the middle seam.


Pinned hood.

I pinned the shoulders together up to the hoodie, and then I pinned the remainder of the hoodie base to the now-adjoined front panel.  In this way, I was able to ensure a centered neck hole with enough diameter to be slipped over a head.

I

Pinned hood, front view.

Congratulations!
You now have a robe!
Next week: Finishing the edges, and adding sleeves.

HOODIE TOWEL ONE: GETTING STARTED

THE HOODIE TOWEL CRAZE




Three common types of hoodie towel:
Hooded Cape, Hooded Robe, and Hooded Poncho

There's been a huge craze for children's hoodie towels lately.  There are hoodie capes for infants and toddlers, hoodie bathrobes, and hoodie ponchos--the latter is usually a rectangular towel that has a hole in the middle for your head.  A lot of these towels are super cute, with faces and even teeth on the hoods, and colorful embellishments that turn the towels into animal costumes.

Now, I love how simple it is to turn a functional item like a towel into a shark or a tiger.  Add some eyes and ears and some spikey terry cloth teeth, maybe some paws!  I think this would be a lot of fun.

If you would like to try a couple fun, simple projects of your own, it looks like you basically only need some cheap towels, scissors, some pins, a ruler, and a sewing machine.  I looked at a lot of online tutorials when developing my own towel hoodie (just Google "hoodie towel" for lots of tutorials and images), and it looks like most of the basics are the same.  For a kid's cape, all you have to do is turn half of a hand towel into a hood, sew it onto the full-size towel, and embellish!

These two websites were my favorites: This link shows you links to 25 neat do-it-yourself beach accessories that you can make out of towels.  This link shows how a mom used the elements of a favorite sweatshirt to create a unique towel poncho design.

In this particular instance, I was asked to create a hoodie towel for a grown up.  A friend of mine surfs a lot, and he does not always have access to a place where he can change back into his clothes.  He has a few friends who wear hoodie towels that they got in Japan, and he wanted something similar.  He described the hoodie towel to me as a wide tubular robe with a hood, that was warm on a cold day and was roomy enough to change inside of.

In the following blog series, I will show you how I worked, step by step, to create my first hoodie towel robe.


Brainstorming options for combining color panels

GETTING STARTED
As I said, I started out by looking at lots of DIY tutorials and images online.  Most of the images were of cute animal capes and striped ponchos that were designed for children, and only required a towel and a hand towel.

My hoodie needed to fit an adult man, so I was going to need a lot more fabric.  I will start out by saying that I bought my terry cloth at a fabric store.  In retrospect, I think that I might have saved more money and found more fun designs if I had bought cheap towels.  See what is available near you and decide what works best for you.

The fabric store I went to only had terry cloth in solid colors, so I ended up buying 2 yards of light green fabric and 2 yards of brown.  The green and brown were fun, natural colors that would show fewer stains than the lighter color options, and having two colors would make a giant robe look more interesting.

My materials:

Sewing Machine, Pre-Washed Terry Cloth,
Matching/Complimentary Thread Options, Pins, Scissors,
Ruler & Measuring Tape

I made sure to pre-wash and dry the terry cloth so I wouldn't get uneven shrinkage in future.  Be forewarned: the edges of the fabric shed a lot!  My work table had a steadily-growing collection of terry-cloth-nubbins.

SEWING
With this project, I sewed all seams with straight-stitch first, with a 1/2" seam allowance.

When I was certain that my piecing and fit were correct, I went back over those seams with a zig-zag stitch, with a 1/4" seam allowance (closer to the edge of the fabric).  This is a much more secure stitch.

This method was recommended in a lot of the tutorials I looked at, which recommended a hand towel and a bath towel or beach towel as base materials.  And I would say that these stitches do in general produce a lovely, sturdy, functional item of clothing.   However, since I was not using finished towels for my project, I had a lot of rough edges and cut threads along the inside seams of my robe.  This was especially noticeable on the inside of the hood, which is visible whenever the hood is not being worn.   For a more professional look, if I were to do this project again, I would have given myself a larger seam allowance, at minimum in the hood and neck (maybe 3/4"?).  I would have then folded all edges under and stitched them down, for a cleaner, more presentable seam.

Next week: Creating the hood and body of the robe

Sock Creatures!

Remember making sock puppets?

 

I've recently noticed a craze on Etsy for sock animals.  I guess a sock is already a convenient shape for a creature--when you stuff one you've already got a head and body to work with...

These artists really take sock creatures to another level.  Check out their fun shops for inspiration!

Sock Puppets:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SockDrawerPuppets

https://www.etsy.com/shop/martystuff

Sock Stuffed Animals:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/supersockmonkeys

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Squigglymonkeys

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Toyapartment

The "BEASTIE"

Check out this fun stuffed animal--the "Beastie!"

http://www.stuffed-art.com/index.html

Beasties are made in the Netherlands, by an artist named Wendy Wezendonk, a graduate of ArtEZ academy of visual arts Arnhem.

She creates a couple kinds of plush animals, but I think this design in particular is very free and fun.  As she says on her website:

Beastie is a soft, huggable and cute friend for everybody.
He is available in different sizes and different colors.
        His fur is always changing color, so stay tuned to keep up with new colors!

For a gallery of her work, check out her two shops:

http://www.stuffed-art.com/Shop.html

https://www.etsy.com/shop/StuffedArtHandmade

HOME ORGANIZATION TWO: PORTABLE WORK STATIONS

How do I make my ongoing projects more portable?

AT HOME (The Macro-Tote)

Before I add stuffing to the mix, plushie construction is very compact and amenable to being folded up and tucked out of the way (my looms and bins of supplies on the other hand, will always expand beyond their designated sections of floor and shelf space...)

What I usually do is this: I have a large portable work station  that I can cart around the house (it's a BIN DRAWER--so convenient!).  This box of items contains all of the smaller odds and ends that I would need to work on a plushie: a few pieces of fleece and felt, my boxes of thread, my bag of scraps, my bag of patchwork eyes, my idea notebook, my sewing notions, extra scissors and pens.  I should note that I have several boxes of colored thread and several bins of fleece, so I only include the colors that are relevant to my current projects in "THE BIN."

All smaller scraps of fabric and my numerous tiny items (like my ever-growing piles of hand-sewn eyes, my thread, and my sewing notions) are kept in clear Ziploc bags, to facilitate organization and sorting.


Current Brainstorm: Mini-Ornaments or Keychain Fobs

I usually keep my sewing machine and my gigantic bag of stuffing tucked away in the corner until I need them, although they are technically also portable.

The sewing machine usually lives on a worktable or tucked away in a corner.

Only need a little stuffing? I'll just unclamp the bag and grab a handful!

OUT AND ABOUT (The Mini-Tote)
When I go out and want to bring a craft project with me, I of course cannot take quite so much in the way of supplies.  That is when these Ziploc bags perform their second function--I can take a couple of these small, categorized baggies with me in a crafting tote, and know that I have everything I'll need to work on that specific sub-project if I find myself with extra time on my hands.


. 



All of this fit into two baggies?!

HOME ORGANIZATION ONE: SORTING AND STACKING!

You have sooo many craft supplies!  You pack them away in boxes and then you can't find anything!  Someone needs to borrow your scrapbooking supplies and you can't find them!

Now, I'll readily admit that I have more craft supplies than I can handle.  But I have found a couple home-organization techniques to be very helpful.

 

ONE: CLEAR, STACKABLE DRAWERS

Must have more stacking!

No, this is not the most elegant storage solution.  Yes, it is plastic.  But I can see what is in each drawer, and I can even unsnap the drawers and re-order them if I need to.  And I can add SMALLER drawer bins on top!  The small, three-drawer bin in the upper left holds most of my sewing equipment, so in a pinch I can just take it with me to my craft table or out to a crafting party.



 

TWO: CLEAR, STACKABLE BINS

An otherwise empty corner of my closet:
Wrapping paper, fabric, and my misc. bin.

I used to randomly buy attractive or cheap bins and boxes whenever I needed more storage space, and I would hoard and reuse cardboard boxes that were lying around the house.  But I eventually realized that it really does make a difference if your containers A) are clear, B) are stackable, C) are relatively airtight, and D) have comfortable handles. 

You can immediately see what is stored in each bin or drawer, and you can be sure that all of your bins, new and old, will stack on each other (and you'll have the bonus of having them match). 



My main stash (8 bins of yarn, fleece and felt).

You don't have to worry about creepy bugs nesting in your yarn and waiting to surprise you, and you know that when you need to carry the filled bins around, the handles won't cut into your fingers.  It's also probably a good idea to choose bins that E) will not be too large or heavy when filled for you to lift and carry on your own, when necessary.

 

 

THREE: SMALL BOXES & BAGS



Left: Jewelry and embroidery supplies, my bag of buttons...
Right: My ribbon box; very sparkly!

I am not as super-organized with all parts of my life, but I do find it helpful to keep my crafting supplies somewhat organized.  Through accumulated headaches and experience, I eventually realized that it can be very helpful to have each bin or bag contain one category of supply, so that you can easily find or reorganize your stash.  Small, clear packaging, like food containers and sealable baggies, can help you keep your piles of beads and buttons under control.  These can even be stored in a larger bin or drawer to streamline storage and sorting even more.

FOUR: (OPTIONAL): HANGING SHELVES

Frequently-used items.

We still use a couple of these for storing everyday clothing.  But I am paranoid about leaving crafting supplies sitting out for months at a time in an open container, steadily accumulating dust and bugs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A friend's storage solution for
all those tiny craft supplies.

I ended up buying two of the clear, hanging sweater shelves that had a zip-up front for this reason.  I stored my yarn in them, and it was nice to be able to see what I had.  But one of the zippers broke early on, and I found that I had to be careful not to overload each of the little shelves.  These shelving units would probably work best for more lightweight supplies like ribbon or stuffing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIVE (OPTIONAL): HIGH SHELVES ON BOOKCASES

 

As a shorter person, I cannot actually use the top shelves of a bookcase.  This means that they either get designated as someone else's book territory, or they get commandeered as a display and storage zone.  Here, I have a difficult-to-store belt loom with an unfinished piece that becomes an instant art piece.  Throw in a few finished plushies and some framed pictures, and we have tons of personality.

SIX (OPTIONAL): DECORATIVE JARS

This storage method is nice if you have lots of a pretty and perhaps difficult to store item, like extra-long knitting needles or dozens of chopsticks and drink stirs.  It does take up counter space, if you are short on that, but it can turn your compulsive knitting-needle-buying habit into a decorative bouquet.   Simply find an attractively narrow yet sturdy jar, and voila! 

For more customization: select a narrow food jar or box that is strong enough to hold your items and has a clean lip that will not rust or scratch.  Lightly paint the container in craft glue, then wrap it in decorative paper or fabric (a friend uses hoarded scraps of wrapping paper and origami paper to great effect).  Cover a couple inches at a time, and smooth away all of the air bubbles as you wrap.  Cover the rough edges at the top with a thin strip of matching paper or ribbon, and you have an instant accent piece.

Blog Statistics!

I think blog statistics can be very interesting.

I started working on my very first blog post on May 2nd, 2013.  It has been fun to watch the number of viewers for my blog climb, and to see where my viewers are from.  Hello!  What brought you here?

Current Snapshot:

 

Total Page Views from 05/03/2013 to 02/10/2014: 843

 

Most Viewed Blog Post: "Anatomy of a Plushie" (May 8, 2013)

ENTRY	PAGEVIEWS (as of 02/10/2014)
United States	441
Malaysia	110
Russia	109
Ukraine	21
Germany	18
China	14
Canada	13
South Korea	9
United Kingdom	8
Brazil	4

FYI: I've got a two-part piece on home organization starting this Wednesday.  Maybe we can pass the 1,000 views mark by the end of my first year on Blogger!  --Jackie