Sewing Tutorial: Cosy Sweatshirt

Sarah
Apr 29, 2020
3 min read

Updated: May 15, 2020

One of my must-get items for this autumn/winter season was a cosy dusty pink sweatshirt. I wanted it to be something I could wear with just a light vest underneath, but thin enough that I could layer a jacket over it, pretty enough to wear out for dinner, but comfy enough to wear around the house (hello, lockdown!). This was my first time doing a sweatshirt, and I think it turned out pretty amazing!

If you don't want to make one yourself, you can buy a similar one from www.zando.co.za (see the links at the bottom of this post!

You will need:

1.5m of medium weight stretch fabric in the colour of your choice (I chose this pretty dusty pink that I got from AVM Fabric in Wynberg)
Matching thread (Also purchased from AVM Fabric)
Knit needle for your sewing machine

1) Use a sweatshirt or easy fitting long-sleeved shirt to create your pattern. I always pattern onto newspaper, because it's large and already folded in half! These are the pieces you will need:

Sweatshirt front
Sweatshirt back
Sleeves (x2)
Necklining piece to match the front neckline
Necklining piece to match the back neckline
Wrist bands (x2)- measure your wrist circumference to know how wide to make these pieces
Hip bands front
Hip band back- measure your hip circumference to know how wide to make these pieces

Make sure that your necklining pieces, wrist bands, and hip bands are twice as tall as you need them to be, as you will double them over.

2) Lay your pieces out on the fabric, trace, and cut out your pieces. I usually use about a 1.5cm seam allowance all around.

3) Sew the shoulders of your front and back pieces together, right sides together, with a straight stitch or overlocker. If you used a straight stitch, trim your seam allowance and finish with a zigzag.

4) Take your two neck lining pieces and sew both short ends together, right sides together, to form a loop. Fold the loop in half length wise and press the fold so it doesn't move around.

5) Attach the neck lining loop to the right side of top of the sweatshirt. The open side of your loop should be facing the top of the garment. Pin all the way around and sew up with an overlocker, or straight stitch and then trim and finish with a zigzag stitch. Flip the neck lining up and press it flat.

6) Pin in and sew on the sleeves of the sweatshirt, right sides together. Trim and finish your seam as above.

7) Sew up the sides of the sweatshirt from the bottom up to the armpit and then along to the wrist. Trim and finish your seam again. Try on your sweatshirt to check the fit, and trim the sleeve and body length if needed before you attach the wrist and hip bands.

8) Fold each wrist piece in half by width, right sides together, and sew the end together to form a loop. Fold the loop in half lengthwise, so that the right side is now visible. Pin to the right side of the end of the sleeve, with the open side of the loop facing the opening of the sleeve. Sew up with a straight stitch, finish off, flip over and press open.

9) Sew the short ends of the two hip lining pieces together, and finish off, forming a loop. Fold the loop in half lengthwise, right sides together and press closed. Attached to the bottom of the sweatshirt in the same way you attached the wrist bands- pin to the right side of the bottom of the sweatshirt, with the open side of the band facing the bottom of the shirt. Sew up, trim and finish, and press open.

Enjoy your cosy sweatshirt! If you want to buy one instead, here's a similar one that you can purchase from Zando.com