Hoodie PJs

Last year, our little house stayed about 62 degrees all winter long. It wasn't the most fun, but not impossible. So far this year we've been keeping the heat nearer 52-55. That probably won't last. I hope.

My husband is constantly warm. Even when the house is that chilly, he's fine in just a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. Meanwhile, I need a hoodie and two pairs of socks just to sleep.

I've been searching for my hoodies since it started getting cold, and while I've found four zip down hoodies, I haven't found any of my collection of over-the-heads. In desperation, I did sleep in a zipped hoodie one night; I think I still have zipper impressions.

With no zipper-less hoodies to be found, I pulled an older hoodie with a broken zipper from the mend pile. I've never tried to replace a zipper before - and tonight wasn't going to be the time to start.

Since the hoodie belonged to my husband - back in the days when he walked five blocks to school in negative temperatures and snow - there's a little extra room when I wear it. Which means I was fairly confident I could cut off the zipper and stitch it back together without making it unwearable.

Step 1:
Cut off the zipper. This got tricky at the top when it came to removing the zipper from the edge of the hood. A seam ripper is probably more helpful here, or you can be like me and figure they're just going to be worn to bed and cut them all the way off.

Step 2: 
Turn the sweatshirt inside out and line up the two raw edges. Pin them together as best you can.

Step 3:
Beginning at the bottom of the shirt, sew the two raw sides together using at least a 3/8 inch seam allowance. Go slowly over the pockets and other areas where things are bulky. I had to help the feed dogs a little at one point, but it wasn't too bad even at the thickest areas. If you want a larger head opening than just the hoodie, be sure to stop this line of stitching before you get all the way to the top.

I'm sure if you're using a serger or an over lock stitch of some sort, you can probably use a much small seam allowance - but since I didn't, I wanted that large allowance so I could fold it open and stitch it down again.


Step 4: 
Press the seam open and pin the sides down. I was able to use one pin for both sides, but it might be easier to use one set for each side.

Step 5: 
Sew the edges of the seam down along your pins. You will see this line of stitching on the outside of the shirt, so you might want to use matching thread. Unlike me. If you left a larger head opening or v-neck style, you'll need to be careful to turn each side of the neck under.

You might be able to make out (in the above picture) how I was able to use one pin to hold both sides of the seam open.

Step 6: 
If needed, add a little extra reinforcement across the top and/or bottom of your lines of stitching.

This picture kind of shows how I v-necked near the top. It probably would have been fine without the extra lines of stitching across the split there, but I wanted to be certain it would stay.

It's not the most beautiful piece of clothing I own - and yes, it'd look a lot better in navy thread than white. BUT - it's going to keep me warm without leaving zipper marks on my chest - and that's all I was going for.