Dragon Hoodie

Sometimes it's the simplest things that are the hardest to find. Take for instance, a nice simple, blank hoodie, for any age. From infant up to adult, they always feel compelled to stick something on it, and as an embroiderer who tends to like adding my own touches to things, it's more than a little annoying. No, I don't really care for your silly little car illustration, but thankfully, I have a way to make this little carrific hoodie so much cooler. Plus, we get to wipe that smug little smile off that silly speedster's face. We're going to turn our silly little auto hoodie into the makings of a little monster!

To make our little monster creation, we're going to need some fuzzy spikes and some dragon wings, as well as some cute embroidery to cover up that stupid car, which has nothing to do with monsters and totally throws off the vibe.

I'm sure your 9-month-old thinks so too... toddlers are very sensitive to things like that.

So, to start, find the line down the back of your hood, and use it as a guide to find the middle line down the back of the hoodie. If you like, mark this with some tape or disappearing ink to make sure you get the next step straight.

Now we're going to mark where our wings are going to go. I like using printed templates to lay out my placement, but if you don't have printed templates, you can follow this tutorial for getting perfect placement of your wings.

Once you have your wing marked evenly on either side of your hoodie, carefully hoop it up tight with your soft n' sheer stabilizer. This will give your embroidery structure but leave the stabilizer soft against your little ones skin.

Make sure your hoop markings line up with your marked areas. Don't worry if you need to hoop up a little bit of sleeve, as long as the surface that your embroidery will be on is nice and taut you design should stitch just fine.

Stitch out both your wings one at a time, and set your hoodie aside for now.

While we're embroidering, we might as well make a design to cover up that annoying little car. Hoop up some matching fabric (in this case I'm using the same stuff I'm going to make the spikes out of) and stitch up a design large enough to cover up any offending designs.

I stitched up a little baby dragon, perfect for our little monster's hoodie. Once he's stitched, you can set him aside for now.

It's time to up the monster ante and add some spikes! Ok, so they're soft and fuzzy spikes, but monster spikes nonetheless. To add your spikes, find that middle line of your hoodie, and carefully cut it right down the hood and down the middle of the back.

Now, the size of your spikes depends on the size of your hoodie, so cut what you think is appropriate. This is for a little guy about 18 months, but monster hoodies are popular with all ages, so size can vary. What... you've never wanted to stomp around in a monster hoodie? Liar. Everyone wants to stomp around in a monster hoodie on time or another. Age ain't nothin' but a number.

Once you have your little paper spike template, pin your fabric right sides together with the template on top, and start cutting out your spikes!

Keeping the two halves together, carefully lay them out along the ridge of your hoodie to judge the placement and number of spikes. Keep in mind your spikes will shrink a bit with the seam allowance.

Stitch along the edge of your spikes and turn them right side out. You'll need to make about 8-12 spikes depending on the size.

Carefully pin the two halves of the hoodie back together, right sides facing in. Pin the spikes with the points inwards, carefully spaced all along the back of the hoodie.

A warning! If you're working with soft and thin material like most baby stuff is made out of, you should take extra care to avoid shifting of the fabric. This stuff just loves to curl up under itself when you're not watching, so use lots and lots of pins.

Sew a generous seam along the back edge of your hoodie, making sure you get not only both sides of the shifting fabric, but the bottom of the spikes as well.

Once your spikes are sewn, turn your hoodie right side out again. Only one thing left to do! Let's cover up that silly car with something a little more befitting, a monster.

I carefully cut out my fabric around the dragon shape, using it basically like a patch. Carefully place it so it covers up the original design, and pin it in place. Sew a neat seam along the edge of your patch to secure it in place.

Ta da! No more silly car. A little dragon is much better. Plus he breathes fire. Cars don't breathe fire. Dragons are just better all around.

Your updated monster hoodie is done! Dragon wings, little spikes, and a firebreathing critter on the front is all your little one needs to find their inner monster. Your previously boring little hoodie has been transformed! Let's see what the little guy thinks of it...

He starts by destroying nearby Lego towns...

pauses briefly to remind you that he's cute enough to get away with this rampage...

...and then continues rampaging around the house, spike, wings, and all. So what does the little monster think of it?

All smiles. We appear to have one happy monster. And really, that's all you can ask for.