Hooded Relaxed Drawstring Dress

The popularity for sportswear shows no signs of abating. This new relaxed way of dressing is here to stay and with it the trend for hoods. Here I’ve added a hood to The Relaxed Drawstring Dress. This style is already sporty but the addition of a hood gives it an added edge. Here are the details….

I used the pattern pieces for the turtle-neck version of the dress and omitted the turtle-neck band. I increased the length of the front and back top pieces by 2cm. Chalking a mark at the neckline of the centre front and the centre back.

For the hood I used the hood pattern piece from the Two Contemporary Sweatshirts pattern. It’s also possible to use the hood from The Utility Coat, but 3cm needs to be added to the front of the hood.

When following the instructions for making up the dress do the following: at Step 1 stitch both shoulder seams, press the seams open and set aside. Take the two hood pieces and make the buttonholes as instructed – this is for decorative detail only (see below). Then stitch the back seam, press open and trim the excess seam allowance.

Take the tape, place over the seam to cover the trimmed seam allowances, and stitch either side of the tape. At the centre front stitch from the base of the hood up by 6cm. Press the seam open. If the garment pieces have overlocked edges simply turn the hood edge over by 1cm and stitch down. If there is no overlocked edge take a 1m strip of tape or binding, place over the stitched down hood edge and stitch either side of the tape.

At the front of the hood, take an additional small length of tape, and thread through each button hole. I looped a knot in the centre of the tape for added interest. On the inside of the hood, stitch the tape ends down, close to the buttonhole stitching and trim the ends.

Attach the hood to the top of the dress by turning the hood the right way out, slip inside the neckline of the top so that the right sides of the hood face the right sides of the dress top. Match the centre front of the hood to the chalked centre front mark, do the same with the back, then pin the remainder of the hood to the top. Stitch through, and press the seam allowance open.

Continue making the dress as instructed in the original pattern.

I used a Tencel fabric from Ditto Fabrics, overdyed with Dylon Olive Green dye. The navy white and green trim came from a market but similar can be found at VV Rouleaux. Adding the hood requires an additional 0.5m of fabric and either 1m or 2m of tape depending on whether the hood edge is also trimmed.