Pattern hack – Cowl/hood top

I like to look at CAbi for inspiration on new pieces to make.  I like the details, in general, and they tend to have nice finishes.  I have a friend that invites me to her parties, and I usually end up buying a few pieces that fit into my wardrobe.

This casual top caught my eye this time:

It is a deep cowl (about 12″) that transitions into a hood.  It is a nice piece, but I knew I could make it much cheaper than the price they were charging.  It was a pretty simple hack, too.

The top pattern I used here for the base is the Wardrobe by Me Builder T-shirt, which I sized up by one size to make it a looser fit.

The first top I did, I learned a good lesson with it.  Don’t use a poly knit that has a definite right side and wrong side.  You need a knit that is hard to differentiate the front from the back, or where you don’t mind the wrong side color.

After making this first one, I realized my pattern was too shallow for the hood part.  I also didn’t do the thumb-holes or tie waist.  I just wanted to get a muslin completed.  It was wearable, at least.

I do like how this second one turned out.

Here is the add on I made to the basic pattern.  The neckline I used was the medium scoop boatneck.  Here are my hand-drawn pattern pieces for the hood and cuffs.  I wrote on the main hood piece the hood binding measurements, so don’t miss that piece.

Fabric is from Joann’s. I uploaded my Silhouette Studio file for the shirt design to my Google Drive folder.

1.  Sew your shirt up (shoulder seams, attach sleeves, sew up the side seams), leaving the neckline edge raw.
2.  Sew the front and back cowl/hood pieces together.

3.  Top-stitch the seams.  I just used a long straight stitch and pull it while I stitch it, so it has some stretch to it.

4.  Sew the ends of the binding together and attach to the hood, with the seam in the middle top of the hood.

5. Press the stitching down towards the inside of the hood and topstitch.

6.  Turn the binding inward in half and then over the seam.  Pin and topstitch.

7.  Mark the midde front and middle back of the shirt neckline and cowl.  Clip together at these spots and pin the rest together.  They should match fairly close.  Sew together.

8.  Pin the bottom hem 1.5″, sew up the hem, leaving an opening to add elastic.  Put in the elastic, and close up the hole.  I measured the elastic on my high hip to determine a comfortable length.

9.  The thumbhole cuffs are hard to explain, so see this tutorial if the pictures don’t make sense.  First you sew up the side seams on the cuffs.

10.  Have one cuff edge inside out and one right side out and fit the corners together.  You can use a needle and thread to sew in the corners and pull them together.  Baste them down, so they won’t move.  Sew just inside the seam to catch the edge, and stitch a few lines 0.5″ down.

11.  Place the side seams together, matching them carefully, and pin.  Sew down from the hem, along the seamline for 1.5″ (I did 2″ here and it was a little tight). Make sure to back-tack and secure the seams.

12.   Turn right side out.  One side will generally look better, so choose that one for the outside. Pin the cuffs to the ends of the sleeves and attach.

All done!