The Ellie & Mac Around the Block Hoodie is definitely a fan favorite and I can totally see why, it is a really elevated hoodie look.
Here is the scoop on my experience making my first one!
Alterations
I made very few alterations, really just grading for size. I measure a Large bust and XL waist/hip but based on my experience in making the E&M Lucky Girl and it having more tummy ease that I wanted, I looked at the size of the pattern pieces and decided to make a straight Large for the body. It's more of a fitted hoodie look than a big comfy hoodie. I may or may not grade to an XL next time depending on what I'm going for.
I also graded the sleeve to an XL from the Large size because I have larger arms and feel like the sleeves on my E&M Going Home Sweater are too tight. I am really happy with the sleeve changes but next time I'm going to grade the armhole up too.
Maybe I should just be making a XL and grading the bust down?☺
Grommets
Honestly I didn't make this for a while because the grommets were intimidating. When it came down to it, it wasn't a big deal. I did put mine in backwards but they still looked fine, I didn't want to waste fabric re-cutting my hood piece, and re-do my patch, so I just put them in backwards.
I bought this grommet kit and I watched the video included on how to install them about 5 times. Now I might put them on everything because, why not? I have a bunch!
Directions
Generally the directions for this pattern are good, as expected from the other E&M patterns I have made. However, there are a few areas where I think the directions aren't 100% clear. If you are planning to make this pattern, I hope these tips are helpful for you!
1) The sleeve cuff - the directions have you fold the sleeve cuff in half but they don't tell you which way. I looked at my cuffs and they are actually the same length both directions for the size I used. When you fold, you want the most stretch to be going around your sleeve (at least I would). I would suggest making a notch or dot when you cut your fabric to make this easier.
Now maybe it doesn't matter much as you're supposed to use 50% 4 way stretch knit but if you are like me, you might bend that rule a little for the vertical stretch or your horizontal stretch will be much higher.
2) The hood attachment - so I messed this one up, which you can see on my finished garment (I might fix it...we'll see!) but hopefully you can learn from me. The directions don't specify which part of the hood should be on top of the overlap when you attach it, so I did what seemed most logical to me at the time and my grommets are in the wrong place because I overlapped the wrong way.
So you will want to have your hood clipped all the way around and then where it overlaps in the front your sandwich should be: body fabric, hood section with lower grommet, hood section with upper grommet.
Other than these two little issues, I had a very smooth sewing process! I have in mind an Around the Block Hoodie dress hack already!
This post contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase using one of these links this blog may receive a small commission. Thank you for your support of my fabric habit!
Here is the scoop on my experience making my first one!
 |
| Inspector Pikachu makes sure I have the right pieces. |
I made very few alterations, really just grading for size. I measure a Large bust and XL waist/hip but based on my experience in making the E&M Lucky Girl and it having more tummy ease that I wanted, I looked at the size of the pattern pieces and decided to make a straight Large for the body. It's more of a fitted hoodie look than a big comfy hoodie. I may or may not grade to an XL next time depending on what I'm going for.
I also graded the sleeve to an XL from the Large size because I have larger arms and feel like the sleeves on my E&M Going Home Sweater are too tight. I am really happy with the sleeve changes but next time I'm going to grade the armhole up too.
Maybe I should just be making a XL and grading the bust down?☺
Grommets
Honestly I didn't make this for a while because the grommets were intimidating. When it came down to it, it wasn't a big deal. I did put mine in backwards but they still looked fine, I didn't want to waste fabric re-cutting my hood piece, and re-do my patch, so I just put them in backwards.
I bought this grommet kit and I watched the video included on how to install them about 5 times. Now I might put them on everything because, why not? I have a bunch!
 |
| It should go in like this. |
Generally the directions for this pattern are good, as expected from the other E&M patterns I have made. However, there are a few areas where I think the directions aren't 100% clear. If you are planning to make this pattern, I hope these tips are helpful for you!
1) The sleeve cuff - the directions have you fold the sleeve cuff in half but they don't tell you which way. I looked at my cuffs and they are actually the same length both directions for the size I used. When you fold, you want the most stretch to be going around your sleeve (at least I would). I would suggest making a notch or dot when you cut your fabric to make this easier.
Now maybe it doesn't matter much as you're supposed to use 50% 4 way stretch knit but if you are like me, you might bend that rule a little for the vertical stretch or your horizontal stretch will be much higher.
2) The hood attachment - so I messed this one up, which you can see on my finished garment (I might fix it...we'll see!) but hopefully you can learn from me. The directions don't specify which part of the hood should be on top of the overlap when you attach it, so I did what seemed most logical to me at the time and my grommets are in the wrong place because I overlapped the wrong way.
 |
| See how weird is is? |
Other than these two little issues, I had a very smooth sewing process! I have in mind an Around the Block Hoodie dress hack already!
This post contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase using one of these links this blog may receive a small commission. Thank you for your support of my fabric habit!
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