The Hooded Scarf

-- Melissa

When I first saw the Hooded Scarf pattern from Jamie Christina, I knew it was the answer to my fall-birthday-giving-i'm-getting-cold sewing list.  I love hoods, but am so often drawn to coats and sweaters without them.  I love the size of this one, as well as the length down the neck in the back-- depending on the fabric of your coat, the width of the scarf can blend and tuck in seamlessly to its collar.  And because Paul would not model it, you are stuck with my face in there-- but feel free to insert a picture of your mother or your best friend. 

There are four versions of the hooded scarf in both an adult and child size:  pleated (pictured), plain, drawstring, and ruffled.  There's a fifth version with cat ears (!) in the child's size.  The instructions are clear and well written, and there are plenty of diagrams. There are some great out-takes of the other versions from the pattern photo shoot on her blog Pretty Ditty, plus a photo of Jamie's cute mama wearing a red hood.   She's also put together a quick tutorial on yarn buttons as embellishments.

(my next project is the drawstring version)

The entire project took a couple of hours to complete and I made two small modifications to the pattern: 

• I added about 8" to each end of the scarf.  I wanted it to wrap around twice.  You'll still only need a single yard of fabric for the lining and exterior if you seam on those extra inches. 


• Because I used two lightweight fabrics, I chose to add a flannel interlining to the hood.  I sandwiched the flannel to the wrong side of the exterior fabric and sewed following the instructions. 

The exterior is made from a super soft baby corduroy which Bolt stocks in several colours.  I'm always looking for a way to use fine wale cord and I love the colour plum for fall.  The interior is another favourite, Alexander Henry Fullham Road cotton lawn.  Silky lawn or voile feels great next to the skin and cuts down on hair friction.  I'm going to pick up a few more yards from this line before it's all gone. This pattern would be beautiful in some of our new french terry or organic jersey knit. 

We have weather in the 70s this week (for which I'm grateful), but I know it's going to turn soon.  This is going to be my go-to hand made gift this season-- it's easy to customize and mails in a flat rate envelope!  Perfect-o.