THE COWL HOODIE

by Daughter Fish

If Snuffleupagus and a medieval nun had a love child, I think it might look something like my new cowl/hoodie shirt. I realize this sort of union is probably illegal, immoral, and just plain wrong. But really, the shirt is so comfortable, it has to be right. I wore her all last week—including to Thanksgiving dinner, and even to bed a few nights—and I’m a little sad that I have to wash her, because that means I’ve got to actually wear something else for a while.

This version is my first try at what I’m hoping will be a little more of a sophisticated looking hoodie. I think it needs tailoring in the back, so the hood will rest nicely on my head. But since the cowl/hood is just a long tube right now, it does lay nicely around the neck.

I cut the neckline in one piece with the shirt bodice (front and back), so the only seams are at the sides and where the sleeves meet the bodice. I used Maddie’s excellent How to Draft a Sleeve Sloper tutorial to adjust a sleeve block I had made last year. Sleeves are tricky, and I don’t have these ones perfected quite yet. After sewing them on, I found the underarms too snug, so I added underarm gussets for a little more ease.

With the gussets, I’m pretty sure I could stretch any which way without ripping the underarm seams.  Next I’m planning on modifying the hood and making a bit of a longer, dress version of this pattern, because, honestly, I have to wear something while this one’s in the wash.