Zander’s Hoodie (EYMM)

Welcome to my first ever Blog Tour!   Today I’ll be reviewing Zander’s Hoodie & Hooded Vest from Everything Your Mama Made.

I own several of her patterns but have only made Riley’s Nightgown and sleepshirt, which we’ve gotten a ton of use out of! I even cut off the long sleeves so my daughter could wear it this summer, as she had no short sleeved PJs…Oh and the Dolman top has been on my ‘to do’ list for almost a year now!

Anyhow, when I saw Zander’s Hoodie as part of the Boys Bundle Up sale (keep your eye on out for the next bundle!), it was definitely one that was on my must-have list. It just looked ‘cool.’   As a bonus, this summer I had bought a few separating, very long zippers on clearance at Joanns, so I was very happy I would finally get to use them!

This pattern is rated as Intermediate, but don’t let that scare you!

I’ve found that with most things I make, the first time I sew something, I think ‘Huh? How will that work out?’ at some of the steps.  And yet, when it’s finished, I say ‘Wow!’  And then the second one is much easier!   The directions walk you through everything, I promise.

For my 5-year old son, I made the vest (at his insistence) in nice, soft, fleece (NOT any type from Joanns..I have cursed that stuff after one wash on more than one occasion!) and lined it in cream minky.  I have a ton of minky because of the hooded towels I make, so while I am used to working with its slippery and stretchy texture, it wasn’t the best choice for my first hoodie! I wanted to see that everything I was doing was correct, and the minky just wasn’t conducive to that!

I love that the vest is fully lined!  And my favorite part of lining is when you turn it inside out and see the magic!  The only thing I changed was the pocket; I wanted to outline the pocket in burgundy to match the zipper (it happened to be the PERFECT length for a size 4/5 hoodie, which matched his chest size perfectly!), so I cut 1/2″ off the top and curved part of the pocket and sewed the bias tape on.  He also wanted an airplane. I tried, I really tried to do the reverse applique, but it just wasn’t working out!  So I just did a regular applique..it’s not perfect, but next summer I should have my embroidery machine back out and can have everything be perfect again!!

My son often loves ‘matching’ someone in the family when he gets dressed – his dad, me or his sister. So I decided to make a matching one for his 2 year old sister!

Now, just to make it a TAD bit girlier, I added a very simple flutter sleeve.  I made her the 12-24M (according to her chest measurement) and used a soft bamboo interlock for her lining instead of the minky.

Next up? One for me!  The adult (men/women) version hasn’t been released yet (keep an eye on FB for that), but I discovered that I can wear the larger kid’s size that is included in the pattern.  I was never a vest person before moving to Maine, but sometimes they are JUST what I need to get warmed up.

Kymy is offering a 25’% discount on the hoodie, the applique pack  (that includes the airplane on my son’s vest plus TONS of other great shapes – a zombie even!) and the men’s/women’s asymmetrical hoodie pre-order. Use code hoodiesrock on the website through 09/23 at 11:59PM!

Don’t forget to check out the others on the tour!

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