Thanks so much to all those who left comments on yesterday’s post.  I suspect that those of us who sew for ourselves are generally interested in exploring style.  It’s also interesting to me to watch my daughters exploring their own style.

Clare attends an all-girls school. Although they wear uniform to school, I always like seeing what they wear on their rare out-of-uniform days, or what they wear when they get together on the weekends. Clare’s group of friends seem to have some variety in their clothing style. Other groups seem to be dressed pretty much identically, with maybe some variation in the colour of their tops. Fifteen is an interesting age. Wanting to fit in, wanting to be yourself, figuring out who you are!

It seems that hoodies are always in fashion. The pattern that I used for this one is from the 80s, I suspect, found at an op shop. I sewed the kids size 14 I think, the largest size in the pattern. It’s very roomy, as expected from that time period.

Clare has input into the clothes that I sew for her (as does Stella). Nothing more frustrating that putting time into sewing something for someone to have them never wear it! She really liked this printed french terry from Crafty Mamas Fabrics. We decided to pair it with a solid yoke to break it up a little. The solid (also french terry) was a remnant from Rathdowne Fabrics I think (could have been from GJs). I used it for the yoke, lined the hood with it, and used it for the bands.

We decided not to include the drawstring in the hood – as Clare said, it’s never used and just gets in the way! I topstitched the yoke and the hood seam allowance for stability. Otherwise most of the construction was on the overlocker.

So this hoodie fits in to current casual fashions, but the print definitely keeps it individual! Clare isn’t particularly interested in ‘branded’ clothing. Most of her friends know that I sew for her, and it seems to be a point of interest in the group. I’m really glad that Clare has found her tribe.