Athletic Lace Hoodie

I am SO excited about today's post! It's been so fun to be a part of The Fabric Fairy blogger team. The group is very creative and I'm always inspired. A few months back, Sarah from Sewing With Sarah posted about a new fabric, a super cool stretch mesh/lace suitable for athletic wear (it also comes in black!!). She used it as an accent to a top and leggings. I wanted to try the fabric myself, but to mix it up and not directly copy Sarah. I settled on a hoodie and I think I've got a pretty cool piece!

The texture of this fabric is great, and since it's a mesh, it allows air to flow through it. It's 80/20 poly/lycra, so a stable stretch and recovery. To make the hoodie, I used the Sloane pattern from Love Notions. It's a basic pattern that easily transforms depending on your fabric. This is View A, with a slim fit and and shirttail hem. My bust is 33" and I made the XS. I made the S once before and felt it was a little baggy for the look I wanted here.

I did a lot of test sewing before I started working with this fabric. The seam allowance is only 3/8", so my ideal choice of French seams wasn't an option. I would have used my serger but didn't have four matching cones of purple thread (it's not a color I wear often). I ended up using a zig-zag stitch and a walking foot for most of the construction. The exception was the hem, where I used a slightly longer straight stitch. There is clear elastic sewn into the shoulder seams for stability. I lightly pressed all seams with a press cloth on low heat.

I hemmed the front of the hoodie a little more narrow than the pattern suggested, which meant I had some extra length that I could transform into a crossover hood. I also took advantage of the cool pointed motif that runs along the selvedge, and created a pointed cuff on the sleeves.

This is the most accurate color depiction

To make that work, I did narrow the sleeve from the elbow to the wrist. I cut around the pointed motif, and essentially faced it with scraps of the mesh, also cut from the selvedge. I wasn't able to sew the cuff into a complete circle, so instead I butted the edges together and basted them before sewing the cuff to the sleeve.

I love the cool superhero vibe of the pointed cuff! I made sure to sew a Kylie and the Machine label into the side seam so everyone would know it's one of a kind.

Some mornings, you want to throw on a hoodie but not be too warm or sloppy-looking. This hoodie fits the bill perfectly. I also ordered a swatch of fleece-backed knit to see how well it coordinated color-wise. I wish I would've just gone ahead and ordered yardage, because it's a great match for the mesh and it's warm and luxe. I predict a matching pair of leggings in my future!

I received a credit from The Fabric Fairy in exchange for this review. Fabric and project choice were my own, I purchased the pattern. All opinions are my own.