Comfy Cowl Hoodie x Rebecca Page
This review is my honest opinion of a pattern I received free of charge to sew as a Brand Ambassador for Rebecca Page patterns.
Hello and Happy New Year! How's your 2018 looking these days?
We're having a snow day over here again which means we're snuggling up with lots of books---ok really just the book Robo-Sauce because my son is currently obsessed with it--- and donning our coziest socks and sweaters, like my new Comfy Cowl Hoodie.
The Comfy Cowl Hoodie is another Rebecca Page pattern that features a cowl neck and lined hood combo with ribbed waistband and cuffs, and a traditional hoodie kangaroo pocket. Like other RP patterns, the comfy cowl is available in a childs size as well.
I honestly am not normally a hoodie person, in fact I don't think I've even owned one since college. I just tend to feel frumpy in them and feel overwhelmed by the hood. Instead I usually go for cardigans or, lately, crew neck sweatshirts when I want to cozy up. Knowing this, I thought making a hoodie in a sweater knit might be less overwhelming for me.
I chose a blue hacci sweater knit (similar) from Stylish Fabric and while it does seem really lightweight in hand its actually pretty opaque and I can wear this hoodie without a shirt or tank underneath, which is great because for my preference, the fewer layers the better. The sweater knit does give me a more put together feeling and omitting the kangaroo pocket did help me feel more comfy and less frumpy. I am realizing though that the sweater knit does get a tad clingy so sometimes it gets stuck in less flattering positions on my body than I'd like. But for a loungy, cozy sweater its not the end of the world.
I was surprised how much I liked the cowl on this pattern. Cowl necks aren't something I've tried probably ever, because I suppose I associated them with a more mature look and didn't think it was a style I'd like. But consider me proven wrong! I would now definitely consider other cowl neck sweaters and tops.
While I love the cowl neck, unfortunately I'm just not digging the hoodie. When worn up I feel like the cascading effect of the hood reads more cape than hoodie, which isn't really my jam. I did wonder if it was because of my choice to use a sweater knit instead of something more stable like sweatshirting or cotton lycra, but after looking at some hoodies in various materials by other sewists it seems this is more the nature of the pattern. The pattern does include the option for a drawstring which I suppose you could use to cinch it more around your face, however my hope would be that the hood would look like a hood without having to utilize an optional feature. It seems like to get the cowl effect, you lose a true hood. Again, since I don't tend to wear hoods this is fine for me because I'll just wear it down as a cowl only, but if you're really in to hoods this different appearance might be something you want to keep in mind.
Overall I think this is a nice pattern for a hoodie with a twist. I'm always happy to have a slouchy, cozy sweater and the cowl is a nice feature that I'm pleased I tried. Who knows, maybe I'll branch back out into regular hoodies this year!
