fall has arrived in portland.  one day it’ll be pouring rain, the next it’s sunny and 75.  it even changes minute by minute.  right before i took these photos, there was a downpour.  once it stopped, the sun came out and some major puddle splashing was in order!

i made Em a new cozy sweater using a j.crew sweater of my husband’s that had lost its shape.  it’s cotton, lighter than sweatshirt material, and extreeeeemely soft.  the fabric i’ve “harvested” from my husband’s clothes always seem to be higher quality than i can get at a fabric store.  i love raiding his closet.  😉

the lining is scandi chirp by michael miller.  i had been saving it for a hopscotch dress, but it coordinated so perfectly with the green on the outside, i just had to use it.  it’s a nice, thick knit.  the sweater ended up pretty much the coziest ever.

the pattern is the urban unisex hoodie by heidi & finn.  i made it in a 3T but cut the width of the arms at a 4/5T, because gail told me that they fit a little snugly.  that was a good idea.  the pattern is great and especially fun to sew if you have a serger (i serged everything except the buttonholes and topstitching!)  i would recommend fusing some interfacing to the wrong side of the main fabric where the buttonholes will be, though – i had a little trouble with stretching when i sewed those.

check out the elbow patches!  i added them for an extra little detail, which i thought would be no big deal but in fact is a bit tricky. it’s hard to determine proper placement when your child is sleeping and the sleeve isn’t complete or sewn onto a garment yet (i may or may not have snuck up to her room at 10pm to lay the pattern piece on her arm to mark where the patch should go – she’s a deep sleeper).

i actually didn’t get the placement quite right on this one, but i made another super cozy sweater (for O this time) out of another of my husband’s hand-me-downs and nailed it.  i’m working on a little tutorial for how to get it right, so keep your eyes open for a guest post on that  elsewhere in the sewing blogosphere very soon (i’m so excited)!

hope you have a lovely weekend.  i’m sure ours will be filled with plenty of sweater-wearing and puddle-jumping.