The Hoodie How-To

I blogged a long, long time ago about the hoodie that I made over, a project that I had Sara repeat in the book. I promised pictures and instructions...

And let's face it. Follow-through is not my spiritual gift, and anything that involves pictures takes longer because's a multi-step process (I don't snap and share; it's not in my nature. There's always editing, even if it's just fixing the levels).

No more excuses - here's the hoodie in better detail:

1. I picked up the hoodie itself at Ross after looking about everywhere. Somehow, finding one with long enough sleeves became hard. It's BCBG; I got it for $30. Maybe even $20 - I don't remember anymore. I wasn't wild about the color, but the price was right, the fit was good, and it had a two-way zipper.

2. Went to 27th street fabrics for black chiffon. We played around a lot to find the right kind of look. I had a general idea of what I wanted to do, from a cardigan I'd seen on J.Crew.com. I was able to look closely enough to figure out the way they'd stitched theirs.

3. Was having a hard time figuring out what to do, was being swayed by black velvet ribbon, when the gal at the store ripped off a strip of chiffon for us to play with. The torn edge was perfect! I bought 1/4 yard, which was more than plenty.

4. I went to Harlequin Beads to figure out what I wanted for the center of the bow. I knew I wanted something a bit glitzy without being overdone (the concept was "an evening hoodie"). I settled on some slightly smoky-looking Swarovski crystals, as well as three Swarovski pearls to keep it toned down.

5. The hoodie had bright silver-toned accents. I colored over them with a black sharpie. Also pulled out the string in the hood. Played around with threading a narrower chiffon strip (actually, a couple tied/glued together, but liked it best without.

6. So. The stitching. I started off with fabric glue - total no go. Moved to black thread. Tacked and tied off every one or two places, generally about every 1-2 inches. The giant cluster in the picture is where I sewed the center and the beads.

7. I should also note that there was a BCGG label on the front, with the same little silver stud-things as the hood. I picked them off with my thumbnail and placed the bow over it so you couldn't see the residue.

8. On top of the bow, around the beads I did little mini flowers. Not that you can much tell, but they added texture. Basically, I just cut a couple small squares off of the strips, pinched them into a blossom shape, stuck a couple stitches through the base and sewed three or four onto the center of the bow.

9. I continued the motif around the back, not that you see it much with the hood down, but I liked how it connected to the ribbons on the other side. I kinda twisted the ribbons at the ends, so that it was less obvious when I joined new ones.

10. I tried to take a picture of me with it on, but it didn't go so well. Danny's now home - could probably try again, but I'm feeling kind of wired and wondering if the coffee I drank earlier wasn't decaf (I drink so little caffeine that Danny can tell if I've had half-caf four hours after the fact. Now

I avoid it altogether).

So there it is! Sara makes and wears this hoodie for a big event in the book. She pairs it with a green wool skirt I'd hoped to make. Maybe the skirt will happen after the book is done - just don't expect a timely blog about it!

Back in the Land of the Living

...though Danny's down for the count, fever and all. Not good. October's flying by, and partially because time flies when you're blowing your nose.

Some updates:

1. This bulleted format's really working for me these days. Helps me stay organized.

2. The Superhero Symposium - only missed one panel discussion, due to the fact that I really, really liked the idea of a nap on Saturday afternoon (I've been napping a lot, lately). The Symposium, overall, was helpful, but less about Superheroes than about Superheroes in comic books. Now, I'm fairly indifferent to comic books. Not my thing. I was impressed by some of David Mack's work that was shown, which was far more progressively artistic than the pen & ink drawings we associate with the genre. A lot of comic books reminds me of Kabuki theater - heightened expression and emotion. Not so much with the realism, but David Mack's work is more...still. More organic than most, which is probably why I liked it.

For those who are wondering why I'm interested in a Superhero Symposium anyway - I'd like to write a Superhero book. Not sure when. But I came up with a really great concept a while ago, and I've been slowly mulling it over since. I love The Incredibles and appreciated Watchmen; I liked that both pieces took the idea of the superhero and pushed the concept a bit further.

So we'll see what happens. Even though the conference wasn't quite what I wanted it to be about, it was still good for me to get a feel for that particular audience and the history of that medium. I'll probably anger fewer people, knowing what I know now.

3. I met with the fantastic Harvest Marketing team last week; they convinced me to join Twitter. I know. Shocker. But as long as I think of it as "micro-blogging", things are good. Actually, especially good since I commented (or replied? still working it out) to one of Hester Browne's posts (Hester Browne, author of the delightful Little Lady Agency books), and she totally replied back!

For those of you who follow this blog on Blogspot rather than facebook, none of this is a huge surprise, since I now have the fetching Twitter utility thing on the page, cataloging my every "tweet." (Seriously? "Tweet"? Let's go with "Micro-blog". Honestly).

Feel free to follow. Content thus far is different from my facebook status updates. At some point I may run a "follow on Twitter, win a book" contest. Since I don't have books yet, it's still in the future, though.

4. Just had a very successful trip to TJ Maxx. Super long BCBG gray slacks - yes! Herb-scented neck warmer - yes! Cashmere hoodie - yes! All ridiculously cheap - YES!! Especially excited about the pants. I've been looking for a while...good things come to those who wait. And know where to look.

5. I really am going to start making that skirt for Simply Sara. Especially since she's going to start sewing soon, and I have no idea how the thing's going together. Did I blog about her skirt earlier? I can't remember. If I didn't, I'm making a green wool pencil skirt that will figure into the book, and educate me all at the same time. The fact that it will go with my black tall boots is a side benefit.

6. The new Swell Season CD released yesterday, picked it up at Starbucks this afternoon (one of my increasingly frequent hot-water-only trips). Really enjoying it!

Running out of steam. In all honesty, while I feel better overall, my throat is killing me. But I have gray pants and homemade macaroni in the fridge, so life is good.