How to Create Your Own Hooded Sweatshirts
- 1). Iron your sweatshirt material before you make any cuts or measurements. Once you know the fabric is free of kinks and wrinkles, lay it out flat on a hard surface. Fold your fabric in half and smooth it over several times with your hands to remove any wrinkles. Make sure the fold is perfectly in half, and that the ends of your fabric line up, otherwise you will end up wasting material and could come up short later on.
- 2). Lay the T-shirt you selected over your sweatshirt fabric, making sure that there is ample fabric on each side. The T-shirt should be about the size of the sweatshirt you want to make. Alternatively, you could use an old sweatshirt to pattern the new one. Any shirt that fits well and lays flat will work.
- 3). Cut around the T-shirt, leaving about 1 inch of extra space for your seams at the sides, and extending the length to however long you want your sweatshirt to be.
- 4). Take your remaining fabric and fold a piece in half, length-wise. You're cutting the sleeves now, so measure against your arm, or the arm of an existing long-sleeved garment, to make sure it's long enough. Line up the sleeve of your T-shirt with the fold, and cut the sleeve out at that width plus 1 inch, and to the length that you prefer plus 1 inch. Repeat for the second sleeve.
- 5). Lay your pieces out on your hard surface. You should have a front and back and two sleeves. Place the front and back pieces together, with the inside of the fabric facing out. Pin along the shoulders and sides, leaving the sleeve holes open. Prepare sleeves for sewing by folding them inside-out, and pinning the long edge.
- 6). Stitch along the sides and shoulders about 1 in from the edge of the fabric. Also stitch up the sleeves on their long side. Remove pins and iron all three pieces until the seams are flat.
- 7). Try on your sleeveless sweatshirt and check the fit. Consider cutting a wider neckline if needed, or adding a "V" shape to the front of your garment. Slide the sleeves onto your bare arms and check the fit. If they are too snug, remove seams carefully and re-stitch the sleeves only 1/2 inch from the raw edge. When you are satisfied with the fit of the sleeves, attach them to the arm holes of your sweatshirt. Line up the sides of the shirt with the seam of the sleeves and pin in place before sewing.
- 8). Measure the complete neckline of the sweatshirt. Divide that number in half and use it as the length of the bottom of the hood. You will cut the hood out of two layers of sweatshirt fabric and two layers of lining. The hood shape is a matter of preference, it can be oval, triangle or some shape in between. Look at the hoods of sweatshirts you wear and like and copy them as best you can, or trace a wide-shape of your head and cut out a custom hood for your noggin.
- 9). Place the lining and the outer-hood fabric together with insides out, and sew along all but the flat edge side. Turn it inside out and try on your unattached, lined hood.
- 10
Pin the hood to the neck first and carefully try it on again. Make sure the hood lines up properly, and that it fits your head before you sew. - 11
Finish your hoodie by adding cuffs and lining to the wrists and bottom of the sweatshirt using 4-inch strips of lining, folded in half and sewn on the inside of the sleeves and bottom of the sweatshirt.
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