The Urban Hoodie (and Raincoat)

My ball and chain (ie the MacBook) finally returned from her date with a Mac Genius (Apple's ego-stroking term for tech support personnel).  WOWSERS.  The last time I was away from the internet for this long (excluding the first 16 years of my life), I was working for Uepi Island Resort in the Solomon Islands.  Oh, my dear blog, how I've missed you!!

Circa 2005 - man....what a summer.

Ohhhh - that picture makes me feel cold.  Ohhhh - if I don't stop looking at it, I'm never going to get this post finished. *Insert self-inflicted face slap here*

I was very happy to be introduced to The Boy Trifecta; a blog by a mum of - you guessed it - three boys.  It's were I discovered the Urban Hoodie pattern from Heidi and Finn.  

The timing was perfect for it to be bumped to the top of my must-sew list; Rowan was growing out of his snowsuit, but he still needed something cozy to wear.  Spring in Southern Ontario = mild and sunny one day and snow the next. Sadly, I'm not exaggerating.  The photos of R-man in the hoodie/raincoat were taken on Friday afternoon.  Today at noon, there remains evidence of yesterday's snowfall.

I decided to use Emily's tutorial and add a zipper instead of buttons.  Mine didn't turn out quite as nice as hers (zippers and I have only recently come to an amiable understanding), but I certainly don't lose sleep over it.

 At the end of a long, cold, rainy day I decided that Rowan needed a raincoat too.  While the blue hoodie is made of a light sweatshirt (knit) fabric, the raincoat is nylon with a flannel lining.  I realize the design is not the most waterproof, but it doesn't really have to be.  I couldn't come up with a realistic scenario that would require him to endure pouring rain for more than 2 minutes.

Same pattern, just tweaked it a little by lengthening the body and foregoing the bottom trim.  I wish I had cut the material before purchasing the zipper, because it (the zip) ended up being too short.  To make up for that oversight, I added a snap closure.  Yes, I know I could have postponed finishing it in order to purchase a longer zipper, but....it was 11pm and I didn't want to stop on account of a technicality!

Besides, he'll grow out of it in two months and I'll have a chance to do it all over again!