R&R Hoodie (Ravelry Link): https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rr-hoodie
R&R Hoodie (Tanis Fiber Arts Shop Pattern Download): https://www.tanisfiberarts.com/products/rr-hoodie
Yarns Used: Cascade 220: https://www.yarn.com/products/cascade-yarns-220
Lion Brand Mandala Ombre: https://www.joann.com/lion-brand-mandala-ombre-yarn/17371204.html
I love hoodies, and I have three critical requirements for them. Any hoodie that I make (or buy) has to have a zipper in front and pockets. What more could you possibly want out of an article of clothing? It is infrequent to see me without a hoodie, as I am of the constantly cold variety. So when I started a search for a hooded sweater for my son, I fell on the R&R Hoodie by Tanis Fiber Arts.
My favorite part about this pattern is how many sizes it comes in. I was able to make one for my son, my daughter, and myself. It starts bottom-up, and you work the hood last. This aspect made me a little worried. I generally work top-down, just because it’s easier to fit a garment that way. I didn’t have a single problem with the fit at all. The pattern was written wonderfully and very easy to follow.
I worked on my son’s hoodie first. I used non-superwash Cascade 220, in his favorite green color for him. It was pretty straightforward to knit and didn’t take very long. After I finished the main knitting for him and the bind-off, I put the hoodie away to work on one for my daughter.
I grabbed Lion Brand Mandala Ombre for her hoodie in color “Happy.” I knew this colorway was all about her, and I knew I was going to stripe it. So as I was knitting, I tried as hard as I could to make sure that the stripes would line up. I think I was pretty successful, and my daughter loves her hoodie. She wore it to school today and loves wearing it often.
I thought being Lion Brand, the yarn would get kind of pilly pretty fast. It isn’t, and in fact, it is super soft. It almost feels like a really soft microfiber cloth, but it’s acrylic. I enjoyed knitting with it, and the colors were incredible. The only downside was all the ends I had to weave in, but I consider it a win if that was my only complaint.
My item was also made out of non-superwash Cascade 220. The only difference between the others and mine is the size, and I really enjoyed knitting it. The Cascade 220 isn’t my favorite, but I really wanted it to be hardwearing and warm.
Once all three were knitted, I knew that I would spend an entire day sewing in zippers and a ribbon band. I am not a seamstress. In fact, I was incredibly proud that I managed to get the zippers in (and looking nice). I had some help though, I owe my success to two different places.
The first place is the zipper tutorial found here: https://www.tanisfiberarts.com/blog/2016/8/zipper-tutorial?rq=zipper, which is also linked on the Ravelry page of the R&R Hoodie pattern. This tutorial was helpful, especially for someone who has no idea what they’re doing with sewing needles and thread.
The other tutorial I used was on YouTube found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY9Z6uXQklQ by Suzanne Bryan (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg0D7UG63ONCUwPTGczonhA). Thank you, thank you, thank you for this tutorial. Using this, I was able to CONFIDENTLY finish these hoodies in a way that made me happy. I was so proud of myself when I finally managed to get those zippers in. I recommend the above resource for anyone looking for help sewing a zipper into a knitted garment.
I love this hoodie pattern, and I already have plans to make it again – and probably again and again. I can see it being a staple in my wardrobe. When you have limited mobility, pockets (and a zipper) are essential in making life a little easier. So whenever I find a pattern with them (and a zipper), it makes me incredibly happy. I can’t wait to start my next one, but I first have several other patterns in the queue. So it will have to wait. But just a bit.
