Make a pattern and sew a hooded vest

Step 4 The Layout

Lay out your fabric. Nice and flat. If your fabric is really wrinkled, you should iron it first to make your life easier. Also if your fabric lends itself to it, fold it in half so you can cut mirror pieces. If this is your first garment, you always want to fold the right side in (that being the side of the fabric which people can see when you wear your new garment). In my images I am working with an old sail and it’s too big to open up all the way and then find a place to fold it to make mirror pieces. With this in mind, I will have to flip some pieces over to get my matching pieces (the two sides of the hood and the two front pieces). If you are working with a stretch fabric pay attention to your grain so it stretches the right way.

Cut out all your pattern pieces along the seam allowance line, place them on your final fabric and cut those pieces out. Take your time here. If you cut something wrong, not only will you be out a big chunk of fabric, but it’s really depressing. It’s generally better to cut outside your line than inside, because you can always pull something in on the sewing machine. Adding more fabric because your new garment is too small isn’t impossible, but it is a pain in the…

Don’t forget to transfer over any marks you made in your pattern, like where the center seam is on your back piece.

If you are lining your garment, you’ll need to cut two sets of everything.