Laura’s Comfy Co-Ord

Another co-ord? Don’t mind if I do!

The fabric this month was crying to be a matching set. I love the versatility that a co-ord brings to my wardrobe. And when the fabric is this gorgeous, it is simply meant to be. The colours remind me of a beautiful watercolour: desaturated, slate blue converging with the deep, rich teal. These are my colours to a tee. 

I do love a French Terry fabric. It feels delightfully squishy and perfect for a cosy set to don lounging around on a lazy weekend, but also not feel like I’m wearing pyjamas if I needed to pop out the house.

I knew that I would get most wear out of a zipper hoodie as I usually run quite warm and like easy layers that don’t feel too close. 

I came across the Rainbow hoodie from I Am Patterns that absolutely fit the bill. The great thing about this pattern company is the sheer number of variations you get! The bang for your buck is off the scale. In this pattern, there are 96 – yes, 96!! – possible versions you could make up by mixing and matching the different elements of either a zipped hoodie or sweatshirt, pockets options, hem/cuff finishing, necklines, and lengths.

With this absolute plethora of options, it is really easy to customise your perfect hoodie.

I went for the zipped version with ribbing for the cuffs and hem, and the welt pockets. Is it just me, or do you find in zipped hoodies especially, your phone always falls out of kangaroo pockets? So, I was stoked to see the welt pocket option.

For the trousers, I was also brought back to I Am Patterns with the Mowgli Joggers. Again, loads of options that I love the look of, but it was the tapered leg with the ankle split that I fell in love with. Little design elements like that, that just elevate it above a basic are my jam.

Unfortunately, I Am Patterns are not very size inclusive, which I find is a common theme amongst French pattern companies. However, there are lots of alternative options out there to get a similar look.

Both makes sewed up very quickly. They are designed to be sewn up on an overlocker, with some parts on your regular sewing machine like the pockets and the zip. However, I made them both fully on my regular sewing machine – make sure you note that the seam allowance is an unusual 7mm. I assume that this is an average width of an overlocker seam? 

The instructions are easy to understand and not full of jargon. They are described as “Simple”. Which they are to a degree, however I wouldn’t recommend these to absolute beginners as they don’t hold your hand throughout, and it moves quite fast between steps.

There are parts where I decided to add understitching for neatness, such as the hood facing and the pocket facings on the pants. I also decided to cover the neckline seam with some twill tape, and I think this looks much more professional.

The jacket is going to be a real workhorse in my wardrobe. Perfect for wearing to the gym, and a comfy layer at home. These trousers are going to be my new go-to for working from home.