Wanting to recreate my favourite hoodie

I'm new here, hello

I am not experienced with a needle or sewing machine, but I have some questions.

First of all, my self-introduction: My name's Cody, and I'm interested in sewing because my absolute favourite hoodie is beginning to show serious wear and tear.

I had no idea I would become so attached to it, but it has been with me during a lot of difficult challenges I had to overcome. I'm pretty sad to think that I'll need to retire it one day, when it becomes too shabby.

It is a very nice quality hoodie, designed and crafted by the same Swiss company which created the Swiss army knife, Victorinox. Sadly, Victorinox decided to stop producing clothing in 2017, so I realised today that if I don't learn how to sew, then I'll never get to wear this hoodie again once the sands of time claim it.

I do not want to feel powerless here, where I simply wait for it to fall to threads. That is quite a depressing feeling. Therefore, I made the resolve today to study the hoodie instead, because if Victorinox will not produce it, then someone else will have to, and since it the best hoodie I have worn in my whole life, I figure that person might as well be me.

Anyway.

I am fairly certain that I can figure out how it is constructed, at least in terms of how the pieces of fabric are cut.

Some things I do not know about, however. For instance, while the texture of the material is wonderful and looks like a kind of needlepoint string, it could be very finely spun wool or something. I am not really certain from a glance, which is why I thought I might track down some answers here in your community.

To that end, I have taken some photographs of the material up close. The garment is a bit frayed but may I upload them and, if anyone here is familiar with the sewing technique or the textile pattern, would I be able to have my ignorance replaced with some knowledge?

I do not want anyone to feel the need to explain basics to me; I am capable of putting in the necessary leg work to acquire the fundamental skill, so I won't bring up any banal questions like "How do I get started sewing?"

I am really just already mourning the fact that I will have to retire my sweater someday, because in this chaotic world my clothes are one thing which feels consistent and reliable. It has that quality which is ideal for me, but I have to analyse it thoroughly on my own to understand it inside and out.

During my analysis, however, I am sure to encounter questions which I cannot resolve on my own, because I do not understand how to even pose them, and so I won't understand what to ask Google. The information on the tag says that the garment is 100% polyester for example, although to me it looks like a kind of finely textured olive green cotton layer on top of a black under-layer. Can polyester threads be dyed olive green, and then knit together tightly enough to appear like finely woven cotton or wool? (See, I am having questions already!)

I can upload the photographs and provide some links. Would this be admissible here? Thank you for building up such an interesting community, as well; during these difficult times, I am generally interested in self-sustainability too, and to that end I think I will have some ideas and thoughts to chip in, as well.

Friendly regards,

Cody Tyler Rutland

Welcome to permies, Cody! I completely understand the mourning of a favorite garment! Pictures, including some close-up ones of both the inside and outside, with really good lighting and an object for size reference (we're international, so a ruler or soda can,  etc works better than coins) would be great!

My daughter has amazed me at some of the things she does, like using a piece of clothing as a pattern.

It is easy to do if you take the clothing apart. That is not what she has done.  Some how she lays it on the new material and allow for the seem allowance and then cuts it out.

If I were doing this I would look for a pattern that was as close as possible and then modify the pattern.

Best wished on your project and let us know how it turns out!

Thank you for the warm welcome, Carla, Anne :-) Sorry for the late reply but here are a few photographs of the material up close.



This is the pattern of the outer fabric layer. It is really nice. Even though the tag says that the garment is made of polyester, the nice weaving gives it a much more aesthetic and, for lack of a better term, "grown up" appearance? A normal polyester hoodie always looks to me like baby clothing, somehow.



Here below is another shot of the outer fabric layer; it's becoming so frayed ... although, in person is still looks alright.



Unfortunately I don't have a strong light in my house that I can use to light up the whole garment, however I think that I can understand most of the garment through analysing its construction. The interior layer appears to be black fleece, and then this layer of green woven polyester. To me it looks like woven cotton, because notice how it is fraying at the edges. Polyester cannot fray in that specific manner, can it?



I hope these images are suitable for the purpose of discerning the technique used to achieve that nice weaved texture in the garment; for the time being they are the best I can provide, since any pictures I attempted to take from further away do not show the texture of the garment.

The material is a knit, like sweaters, are made out of.  I am not sure that kind of material is available to purchase by the yard.

I found what looks like that Victorinox jacket though the seller does not ship to Canada.

Maybe you can find it on eBay's Canada site.








https://www.ebay.com/itm/Victorinox-Hooded-Sweater-Jacket-Green-Men-Tailored-Fit-Medium/284167151879

If that is not the right hoodie, here is a link to all the Victorinox in coats and jackets:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/57988/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=victorinox

I also tried Amazon. There were several Victorinox jackets though not that one.

Anne!!! That's the jacket, omg!

I am so surprised you found it just like that!

I put a bid on for the sweater -- are you sure that the seller won't ship to Canada? In the shipping information, Canada is listed as a country.

I hope I have not just signed myself up to get royally hosed hahaha. But fingers crossed.

Yes, that is the very same sweater jacket, and I was sure that the outer fabric layer would not be purchasable anywhere; I figured I would need to knit it myself. Can you recognise the stitching pattern perhaps? To me it looks like a very doable project, but a patient one.

If I can purchase a replacement jacket I will be very happy; the colour is very nice and since this jacket was with me during the most transformative time of my life (so far), I really consider it like my caterpillar cocoon. There is just something about olive green; were it not so typically associated with the army, I think it should be reconsidered the colour of caterpillar-into-butterfly transformation. I will like to study it inside and out all the same, because to me the skill of crafting clothes seems like a very valuable one all the same, and in my perspective the make of this jacket is very nice, especially the way that the hood is constructed.

Thank you very much for finding the jacket for me; I was certain I had looked all over!

I am so glad I found it for you!  I am sorry that I thought I only saw the US. And I am so glad that the seller does ship to Canada.

I sure hope you win the auction!

Let us know if you win it!

Cody, I empathize with you. I have a sweatshirt fabric hoody that my sister gave to me  20+ years ago (she got it second-hand) that I still wear. I had to mend the cuffs at one point and it's now battered and stained enough to be a work sweatshirt that never gets worn in permies. It's comfy with a deep hood.

I grieve the day it is done.

Reading this thread made me SO happy. Glad you were able to solve this one, Anne. And welcome to the forum, Cody.

Hi, Sonja! Yeah, a comfortable garment is pretty priceless.

For sure I'll let you know how the bid turns out; it'll end in 3 days.

Does your daughter participate here in the forum, Anne? I have to amass the supplies for this project, but I may have some more questions as I come along.

Anne, you ROCK!! Cody, great pics for recognition! I love this site - excellent teamwork!

Cody Rutland wrote:Hi, Sonja! Yeah, a comfortable garment is pretty priceless.

For sure I'll let you know how the bid turns out; it'll end in 3 days.

Does your daughter participate here in the forum, Anne? I have to amass the supplies for this project, but I may have some more questions as I come along.

My daughter is not a fan of forum, her thing is Facebook.  Now that she has gone into the Airbnb business she doesn't have time for anything else.

I bet your hoodie can be repaired with some work.  I think about it tonight and see if I can guide you.

Well? Well??? Did you get it Cody? I followed the link Anne posted and it says the auction ended with just one bid so... if you were that bidder 👍.
I stopped in to check out this thread because, while I’m not a person to obsess about clothing, and rarely buy anything new if I can find it used, I do get very attached to specific items that are just ‘me’ and super comfy! I still have strong memories of a couple things I had as a kid in grade school that made me very sad when I outgrew them.

As a somewhat different but connected thought, I have seen things on eBay where they won’t ship to a different country or even exclude Hawaii and Alaska (which is stupid if they are shipping flat rate priority, which is the same everywhere). I even had to explain to the post office once that, yes, Puerto Rico is part of the US. Anyway, it would be cool if there was a network of people in different places that would re-ship things to other countries to help out someone desperate to get a much needed item, whether it’s a tractor part or a hoodie. Obviously there would have to be compensation of some sort, but there’s been times I’d have gladly paid someone to re-ship something to me. I just sent a small package to Canada to help someone out because the seller in the US flat out refused to ship to them at any price. Anyway, just a random thought/wish.

Hi Julie

Yes, I am the final bidder so I got the jacket~! I'm happy that it's coming in the mail to me.

Having that sweater jacket to replace my old raggedy one will provide me with good fortune once this pandemic ends because I'll be going for skills upgrading then, and it won't do to look raggedy.

BUT, it still only solves the problem for another few years.

Fortunately, my roommate's mother used to be a fashion designer and according to him she does not use her sewing machine any longer, so may be able to deliver it to our house. Otherwise, does anyone here in the forum recommend any particular sewing machine that is suitable for real clothes making, and yet not outrageously expensive either?

Oh :O and I found a link with all sorts of knitting methods!

Types of Knitted Fabrics

In fact, I think that I have located the exact kind of knit which features in my sweater -- it appears to be called a "purl knit" technique:



It looks just like my sweater, which has straight lines and then those diagonal ones.

It really is a nice textile. On a garment, to me it just feels and looks so much more mature and grown-up.

How exciting ^.^

---

Also, in relation to your idea, Julie, I think that is a nice thought and that is really helpful of you!

Cody Rutland wrote:Fortunately, my roommate's mother used to be a fashion designer and according to him she does not use her sewing machine any longer, so may be able to deliver it to our house. Otherwise, does anyone here in the forum recommend any particular sewing machine that is suitable for real clothes making, and yet not outrageously expensive either?

Personally, Cody, the best sewing machine is one that's rescued from dis-use and given love by using it. Almost any older, quality machine will be better than a cheap modern one because so many things are made at the lowest possible price these days.

If you are going to start learning sewing skills, check out our PEP program, specifically textiles here: https://permies.com/f/408/pep-textiles It's a great place to practice basic skills and lots of people have posted pictures and information of how they've done the tasks you're aiming to learn. We're all about learning to do things ourselves while supporting nature and having a smaller footprint on this wonderful planet.

Welcome to Permies, Cody :D
Lots of us here sew, and posting questions will almost always get a good answer (or eight good answers!)
As far as sewing machines, you might like this thread First Sewing machine where someone was asking the same thing, and several of us answered.

:D

'Expensive' is, to me, a relative term, lol. My mom thinks nothing of dropping a few grand on a fancy embroidering sewing machine for her hobby sewing, but my ex thought $10 for one at a yard sale was too much. It turns out, he was right - because I never was able to get it working right.
My husband bought me one for about $450 (I think? It's been a minute), that has been my happy spot. It's a Janome heavy duty, mechanical (no computerized sewing machine for me, tyvm!) one, and it had somewhat mixed reviews, but I love it.

There's a thread that might help you, here: https://permies.com/t/145954/sewing/fiber-arts/Show-sewing-machine

This is a lovely thread! Yay for clothes that are loved and treasured, and well made!

Something I think is definitely worth thinking about is repair. Repair can be made beautiful and durable, and so many things that people think can't be repaired actually can be.

I think you could spruce your jumper up with some careful repair work and keep it functioning well for more years to come. You could pack your ebay find away somewhere safe until you have really really worn out your current one even after repairs.

1. get a de-bobbling device (I'm not sure what' it's called but you'll find it by googling how to get rid of bobbles on knitted garments) and whizz any bobbles off. it takes a while if the whole garment has bobbling (I'm now thinking it might be called 'pilling')  but I have carefully done a whole jacket once and it looked much much better after and bobbling is one of those things that gets progressively worse the more there is so it's worth keeping on top of. Also, start washing it inside-out to reduce future bobbling.

2. google 'Visible Mending' - there are HEAPs of techniques for mending holes, tears, seams etc etc while embracing the look repair creates. In japan the visual signs of repair are considered a wonderful thing (the word Wabi Sabi captures this beauty of imperfection).

3. Don't try to mend it yourself if you're not an experienced sewer. You can do it, I'm sure, and it's a great skill to learn, but if you want it to stand the test of time take it (or send it) to someone knowledgeable who can do a high-quality durable repair. It's also a nice way to support someone who has invested time and energy in developing the skills needed to keep clothes out of land fill. I think if you search for 'visible mending [location]' or something like that, you'll find people in your region who offer that service or at least people who do it who you could approach about doing it as a one off service for you. Or even just 'clothing repair [local area]' but TBH I find people who just do normal (ie not visible) repairs tend to say things are unrepairable if the damage is bad because they can't repair it discretely and they are less creative about how to approach the problem.

4. Practice your mending skills on less precious clothes first so you learn how to do them and how durable the methods work out to be for you

Good luck and have fun!

So Cody is happy now with a new Victorinox hoodie. And with a sewing machine too, maybe. So we don't have to figure out anymore how the hoodie was made, how to make a new one? That's a pity.

But I can help with telling a little about polyester. Don't underestimate the textile industry. They can make synthetic fiber look like whatever they want it to. Polyester can look shiny like silk, soft like cotton, hairy like wool (or even mohair), they can even make polyester look like linen! It can be woven or knitted in so many ways, impossible to sum them up here.
So don't say 'polyester doesn't look like that'... polyester can look like anything you can imagine. But there are ways to know the difference between polyester (or synthetics with other names) and cotton, or wool. If you're interested to know ...

Inge wrote: But there are ways to know the difference between polyester (or synthetics with other names) and cotton, or wool. If you're interested to know ...  

Best way I know is fire test! Lol- find a hidden area and carefully hold a small flame near it. Synthetic is made from oil and will start to melt. Cotton and wool will merely singe. I’m only half joking, because this IS a legit way to test. You could also pull out a single thread to be safer about it.
I so much prefer natural fibers for many reasons: We have enough (too much!) plastics in the world already, you DON’T want to catch fire wearing polyester clothing, wool keeps you warm even when it’s wet, wool and cotton can be recycled or composted (yes, I know synthetic can be repurposed), and generally you can buy local made wool products, and sometimes cotton, but most synthetic stuff comes from overseas where a lot of the laborers may be working in substandard conditions.

My wife fixes holes like that in my sweaters all the time, using some variation of darning.  Just like socks.  

I would practice on the old one, then preemptively darn the high wear areas on the new one to reinforce them.  Elbows, cuffs, etc.  If you choose the right thread/yarn and do a neat job it will look intentional.

It works best with wool because it felts itself together but will work in most knits.

Since you won the bid and will now have a new jacket, you could save the old one to use for repairing the new one when it begins to wear out, extending its life even longer!