The Bomb Cyclone Sweatshirt

Hello Readers. My part of the world is freezing in some crazy winter weather? I think most of North America is cold. And some of us are in the middle of a "bomb cyclone". I had never heard the term before. It seems to be a winter hurricane with ice and snow instead of rain. Long story short; it is colder than cold and super windy too. Everyone is wearing multiple layers and style is taking a backseat to survival and warmth.

I decided to make the biggest and warmest sweatshirt I could. I thought for sure that it would keep me warm and cozy. I started with this long black velvet cape. Is this cape from someone's Halloween costume? Is there a vampire out there wondering what to wear because I have this cape? I don't know but it has been sitting in a pile of clothes waiting for me to give it new life.

I also had this gray sweatshirt that fit but was very stiff and had no stretch at all. It wasn't very comfortable to wear. If a sweatshirt isn't comfortable, why bother wearing it? I decided to cut off the thick hood, the waistband, and the pocket and use the parts in my new super sweatshirt.

I thought that by adding these gray pieces I could take some of the vampire out of this cape. I wanted a casual look.

I stitched the gray hood into the velvet hood. It is sewn into the cape at the neck and the front edge so it is very secure.

I needed to use something as an inside layer and I chose this big navy blue sweatshirt. It is soft and comfortable.

I did some comparisons and measurements. I didn't realize how narrow the shoulders of the cape were. Are vampires very thin? I was surprised but I would work it out.

Then I just started cutting. I copied the shape of the blue sweatshirt. I had to make some sleeves from the bottom of the cape.

This is a picture of my sewing the blue sweatshirt into the cape. I stitched through the navy blue sweatshirt, the edge of the gray hood and the black cape. I had to connect all the layers to keep it all stable as one shirt.

I attached the gray pocket to the front. The crushed velvet is not very casual but I thought the gray helped tone it down. I also added gray cuffs to the sleeves.

I went out in the cold and the wind to test the sweatshirt. It was very warm but the wind was still harsh when it hit my face.

Thanks for reading this post, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year end update- My washing machine ate this sweatshirt for lunch. It was caught in the edge of the wash drum and got shredded. I got a new washer soon after.