Search Results for: polar pullover

If it’s going to snow and be cold forever, I’m going to have some new fleece for it. This was an impulse project over the weekend, sparked by looking at the Cotopaxi site (and by having about 6 different types of fleece and Supplex and a basket of notions on hand):

I used the Green Pepper Polar Pullover pattern again and just eyeballed where to split the main body to make 2 sections for color blocking. Instead of trying to put a zipper in this wiggly fleece, I extended the snap placket all the say down. Then I zoomed in on the Cotopaxi pocket and cut a square that looked about the right size and put an inset zipper in it (with a zipper garage!).

I cut too much off the armholes; I should have just taken the width off the shoulder and not evenly around. But it works to wear over big sweatshirts:

And it is COZY. I wore it out to the grocery store yesterday afternoon instead of a coat and was nice and warm, even though the wind was blowing and it was 37 degrees.

I got inspired by a lot of the Cotopaxi color block look and it’s not looking like it’s going to be warm any time soon, so stay tuned for some fleece joggers and a jacket that tries to mimic the quilting detail on this one.

I’ve needed a better technical base layer for a couple of seasons now. I’ve had fabric for a better technical base layer in my stash for a year now. So I finally sewed it up:

The pattern is the Jalie Marie-Claude Raglan and it fit beautifully in my size with no adjustments, not even for arm length. (Check out those thumb hole cuffs!) I think Jalie might be giving Greenstyle a run for its money as my favorite pattern company.

The technical fabric is Polartec Alpha Direct and it is truly magic fleece. As the fabric description says, it’s “a more efficient fabric for regulating warmth and transferring moisture. This advancement increases thermal adaptability in changing conditions and different phases of physical activity.” What that means is I can be hiking uphill or standing still in the wind and I’m just…magically the right temperature. It’s also super light and compressible, if I ever decide I want to thru-hike.

The weather was warm enough on Sunday (and the fleece was magic enough) that I didn’t even need a jacket over my base layer, just a vest (another Polar Pullover for me sneaked in between orders) and my fleece lined tights from a few years ago.

I think Doc needs a Magic Fleece Base Layer next!

After I finished Doc’s Catagonia fleece and I posted about fashion fleeces, it was inevitable that I made one for myself. This is sherpa fleece from Joann and nylon supplex from The Rain Shed, with long prong KAM Snaps and wide foldover elastic (from Etsy) for the hems.

I used the Green Pepper Polar Pullover again, traced off in a small. I figured out there’s 9 inches of ease in the sizing–my measurements would have put me in a medium, but the small is still fashionably oversized.

The pattern has some nice finishing details that I didn’t show in Doc’s, including a covered neckline seam and a hanging loop:

This baby is WARM, almost as warm as a coat, so I’m not wearing it in the house yet since the weather is still pretty mild. But I can wear it out on walks or hikes and people will think, “What a cool Patagonia!”

Now that I don’t need office clothes (or any more clothes, really) I can sew practical things…for other people! Doc and I were at Joann when he saw this fleece and asked for a shirt. I’d been thinking about Patagonia fleeces and looking for pattern dupes so asked if he wanted something like the classic Patagonia “Snap Pullover.” He said yes and this project turned out better than I even hoped:

I used Green Pepper’s Polar Pullover, which is pretty much identical to Patagonia–but with a far more generous chest pocket under the flap. It was really well drafted with thorough instructions (even if you don’t have a serger).

I found new-to-me plastic KAM Snaps for the placket and I was really pleased with them–easy to set with their hand tool and a very “ready-to-wear” look when they’re in:

And yes, my favorite part of this is the “branding.” I impulse bought the minimum order from Dutch Label Shop and just picked the font that was closest to the Patagonia mark. Is it ridiculous? Yes. Do I love it? Yes.

Doc usually runs hot and this fleece is WARM, but he wore it to “Feline Friday” at work where it was hailed as the most epic cat shirt yet. I have to agree!

After I tweaked the Greenstyle pattern to make my colorblock vest, I realized I could use those tweaks to make a colorblocked Cotopaxi jacket knockoff, like so:
And like so:

I didn’t have to purchase anything for this project: The Polartec shearling fleece has been in my stash since I got it from Discovery Fabrics two Black Fridays ago and the bright nylons and all the elastics are leftovers from making all those Catagonia fleeces. The navy waterproof taffeta is scraps from the lining of my big parka; I just used poly quilt batting to quilt it and then treated the whole thing like an overlay, like so:

I took my time and added zips to the (enormous) outside pockets, the square chest pocket that I drafted, and even drop-in pocket on the inside:

I love it–it was fun to engineer and sew, I got to quilt something, and I got that incredibly bulky fleece out of storage and freed up some fabric space.

It’s a great weight, too, warm but not parka-weight. Just right for the shoulder season:

It got cold here and I needed a hiking layer. I just couldn’t get excited about the performance flannel options and already had two yards of this chartreuse Polartec and all the notions for it, so I sewed up a zip jacket:

I used the “Adult Plush Polar Jacket” pattern from Green Pepper, which is very similar to the pullover fleece pattern they have. The pockets on the Polar Jacket actually encompass the entire lower front; that seemed like it would get way too bulky for this fleece so I subbed in the pullover pockets  and made them out of supplex.

I also wanted to try binding the edge of the zipper in foldover elastic for a nicer finish, but I was rushing/treating this like a wearable muslin so it’s not the most professional. (It’s not the most professional in general; the fleece is soft and warm and light but was really hard to work with due to the lack of stability. Also it made a mess.)

But it’s good on the trail, warm but breathable, plus I’ve been wearing it at home a lot. Not bad for a project that was “free” [bought last year] and a couple sewing sessions.

I was a 90s teen and I remember what we called “drug rugs” being so popular with the skater kids and the art kids in high school:

I, an orchestra kid, never felt cool enough to wear one, let alone tell my parents, “I want to buy a drug rug.” But I always secretly wanted one: The hood seemed so cozy! That front pocket looked so handy!

25-ish years later, you can still buy a “Baja hoodie” online or in interstate gas stations with names like Rip Griffin or Terrible Herbst–or you can find some serape-striped fleece and try making your own:

This is the Style Arc Kennedy Hooded Top in  polar fleece (of course) from Fabric.com. It had been a few (five) years since I last made a Style Arc pattern and I wasn’t nearly as bothered by the sparse instructions this time–I must be getting better. (I mean, I would hope I am, just based on the sheer volume of sewing in the last five years.)

Either way, this was a pretty straightforward sew. The pattern says it’s for knits but it’s so oversized you don’t need the stretch of a knit at all. I don’t think I need two drug rugs in my life now but it would be cool to make this up in a woven with lots of texture, like the originals.

So do I feel cool enough at 42 to wear this? The jury’s out on that; I haven’t worn it out of the house yet. The hood is cozy and the front pocket is handy and the stripe colors make me happy. I just have to channel my inner skater kid, I guess.