HOODIE TOWEL THREE: ADDING SLEEVES & FINISHING THE HOOD

As you know, I had already completed a functional hoodie.  All I really needed to do was hem all unfinished edges and send it out into the world.  But I wanted to do more!

SLEEVES
A poncho is simply a folded-over panel, with a neck hole.  I had stitched mine into a large square tube, making it more of a robe.  That was all I really needed.  However, I knew from the sweatshirt hoodie that I was using as a sizing reference that my friend had longer arms than the width of my robe.  For increased warmth (and privacy while changing), I decided to add narrow sleeves.

I cut out two 14" squares.  I folded each square in half and pinned and stitched it to create a 7" wide tube.

I turned the sleeves right-side-out, so that the stitched seam was on the inside and along the bottom edge when laid flat.  Then I slipped each sleeve into an armhole, and pinned it in place.  The sleeve is aligned so that the folded edge is pinned to the top corner of the shoulder seam, and the stitched edge is at the armpit.  I also pinned the unneeded open portion of the side panel closed.

 Stitching the sleeves into place is easier from the inside:

FINISHING THE HOOD EDGE:

I decided that the robe I was making had enough going on pattern-wise, so I would not edge the hood with a different fabric.  Instead, since I had left extra fabric to allow for a deep hood, I simply folded the fabric edges inward, and pinned them.  This gave me a 1/2" seam, that I tacked down with a straight stitch.

I stitched the seam on the "right" side of the fabric, for better control:

I then folded this seam inward again, and pinned it down.  I stitched two zig-zag seams (at 1/4" and 1/2") to hold the thicker roll of fabric down securely and to add a little design flair.

At this point, my friend tried on the robe, and asked for a little more neck room.  I cut the neck area to provide a slight V-neck, and pinned the fabric down for my standard 1/4" seam.

A close up:

The robe was now functional and ready for a test-run.  I should note that I zig-zagged all inner seams except for the side seams, in case I might need to rip the seams and adjust the fit or add potential inner pockets. I also left the bottom hem unfinished (for the same reasons).

Test-Run: Surfing at Sunset

 

Next week: Final Touches, Pockets, etc.