Being a big fan of hoodies in general (I wear one every other day in winter!!), I naturally started my pattern designing adventure with this garment, with my kiddos in mind.
For this first sewing pattern for kids, I chose simplicity: a straight silhouette, a loose fit, an easy unlined 2-piece hood, a kangaroo pocket, ribbing to finish the waist and cuffs, and a cord slipped in the hood. TITUS is a unisex pattern covering sizes 2 to 16 years (this larger size will fit a small women French size 38 – US size 6 – UK size 10 – a word to the wise!).
To make your own, you’ll need from 65cm to 2.5m of stretchy fabric, depending on size and fabric width, about 15cm of knit ribbing and a cord from 100 to 130cm.
For a warmer hoodie, go for some nice stretchy polar fleece, for a spring sweatshirt, chose a thick cotton knit, and for anything in between, pick a cotton fleece. If you want a water repellant hoodie, why not try soft shell? Whatever you pick, make sure the fabric is stretchy (elasticity at least 40%).
One of my priorities is to make my patterns accessible to beginners. That’s why I got nice and personal in the TITUS tutorial, and included any necessary explanation for anyone who knows how to sew a straight stitch with a sewing machine. Each step, from choice of size to sliding the cord in the hood, including printing out the pattern, cutting the pieces and assembly steps, is clearly explained and illustrated.
I know that sewing stretch fabric implies a few precautions and can be scary for someone who’s never done it, so I also included useful tips to get started with stretch fabric sewing. Lack of experience is no longer an excuse!
The TITUS hoodie for kids was such a hit among parents and bigger friends that I just could not leave them hanging! That’s how the Maxi-TITUS was born, covering adult sizes XS to XXXL. I used this opportunity to add a few options to the sweatshirt: the adult version will allow you to replace the hood with a simple crew neck or a turtle neck (pretty cool to keep your neck warm or your germs to yourself during the pandemic). As for the kangaroo pocket, the Maxi-TITUS pattern allows you to replace it with a chest pocket or round side pockets.
The Maxi-TITUS tutorial is just as detailed and suited for beginners as the TITUS tutorial, and also includes useful tips to pick your size right depending on the fit you’re seeking. The fabric yardage will vary from 1.40 to 3 meters, depending on size, chosen options and fabric width.
Finally, to complete the TITUS hoodie picture, I had to draw these pocket and neckline options for children. The pattern for these options is available separately, as an extension of the TITUS pattern, and to ice the cake, I’ve added a stylish overlapped collar as a neckline option to this kids extension pattern.
It’ll take between 1 and 3 hours to sew a TITUS hoodie, depending on size, options, your sewing level and if you’ve already printed and assembled the pattern for a previous make (because that is definitely the longest part of the process!).
Please use the comment section to tell me what you think or if you have any questions. Ready, set, SEW!!
