Don't Sweat It

As an inherently lazy person, I have been loving the recent "athleisure" style. Any fashion trend that makes it socially acceptable to wear sweatshirts in public is alright by me! This thrifted grey 4XL sweatshirt, however, was simply beyond my tolerance for frump. So comfy though!

My first step was to pick out the top-stitching around the bottom band and cuffs, and then the pick out the serging as well to separate the ribbing from the body.

Once the edges were un-cinched, I was able to flatten out the body and use my self-drafted tunic pattern to cut the new shape.

There was enough fabric left over at each shoulder that was the perfect size for pockets!

Next, I used my tunic sleeve pattern to cut the top edge of the sleeves down the size, then cut a straight taper down to the cuff.

I pinned each pocket piece to the side edges and serged them together.

Then I pinned and serged each sleeve to body.

The side seams were then serged all the way from the cuff, down the side, around the pocket, and down to the bottom edge. To finish off the pockets a little more, I flipped them right-side-out and top-stitched the front edge with my regular sewing machine.

Then it was time to reattach the bottom band and cuffs. Since I had cut down the width of the shirt, the original length of the bottom band would no longer cause as much puckering around the hips - exactly as I wanted! I pinned each pocket lining in place along the bottom edge, then I pinned and serged the ribbing back on, being sure to snag the bottom edge of the pockets on the inside as I went. This will keep the linings in place so they won't hang down below the bottom band and be visible from the outside.

Rinse and repeat for cuffs, and I was finished!

I loved it so much, I did it again to another thrifted sweatshirt!

This one was a little longer and not quite so wide as the first. The sleeves were set in further than the dark grey one, so I didn't have enough extra fabric at the shoulders for the pockets. However, since the sleeves were so long, I decided to sacrifice some of that length and cut the pockets from the top of each sleeves.