Cedar Sweater Dress Made For Hugs

If hugs were a form of currency (and in my heart they are), than this dress’s ROI is already off the charts. I made it approximately three days ago, wore it for two, and my incoming hugs are up 3000%. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to lengthen my Cedar Sweater pattern into a cozy dress, and show you how to either make it hug-friendly, or simply add handy pockets.

The Details

Pattern is the Cedar Sweater by yours truly.
Fabric is stretch fleece (66% bamboo, 28% cotton, 6% spandex) from the lovely Sewing Lounge in St. Paul, gifted.
Used 1.5 yards barely squeaking by, nothing to spare.
I am 36/30/46″ bust/waist/hip”
Made size 10 Crew View on top.
Added 18.5″ length to the front and back bodice.
Graded out skirt in the hips (see how I calculated this below).
Shortened sleeves and hem band cut in two parts due to limited fabric.
Inseam “pockets” that actually are just open for hugging arms to enter
Made completely on my beloved Juki serger, besides under-stitching “pockets.”

Cedar Sweater PDF Pattern

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Lengthening the Cedar Sweater to make a Dress

Crew View Front piece lengthened to add a skirt. Hip Curve Ruler pictured on the right is very useful!

Cut out the Cedar Sweater Front and Back pieces. This works for both the Crew View or the Raglan View. I cut out a size 10, which is a bit larger than my bust measurement, but I wanted it roomier and less of a change between the waist and hip since I will be grading out a bit.

Tape the Front piece to a piece of tracing or scrap paper. I use this super-wide roll for tracing and this roll for the brown paper. Align the center front edge with a straight edge of scrap paper. Measure down from the waist (bottom of the original Front piece) 18.5″ or your desired length and draw a line across to indicate the bottom of the skirt. Keep in mind that the hem band will add a few inches of length at the bottom.

Measure the vertical length on your body between your waist and the fullest part of your hip. Mine is 11.5″. Mark that distance on your scrap paper, and indicate this as your “hip line”. Measure around your body at the fullest part of your hip. Mine is 46″.

A tiny bit of math is required to find out if you should curve out at the hip. If your calculation below is the same or less than the width of the bottom of your original Cedar Front piece, you can simply draw straight lines down instead of curving around the hip. You can also use the shorten/lengthen line in the pattern to do this too.

The formula:

(Your full hip measurement) + (3/8″ seam allowance x 4 total seam allowances) = A
(A) + (3″ added ease, or your more/less desired ease) = B
(B) divided by (4 panels) = The width of your pattern piece at the hip.

Mark the width you just calculated at your hip line, starting from the center front fold edge. I used my hip curve ruler to draw a nice curve from the waist to the hip and then back in slightly towards the bottom of the skirt. Don’t worry about matching the bottom of your skirt to the same measurement as the bottom of the bodice. The hem band will cinch in your skirt nicely for a lovely cocoon shape.

Use hip curve ruler to smoothen the line where bodice and skirt connect.

Then soften the curve between the boxy top and the curved skirt. I just used my hip curve ruler in the opposite direction to smooth out the edge where the top and skirt meet. There is enough ease in the body to shave off that little bit shown above.

Use this new Front pattern piece to trace the same exact skirt piece attached to the Back. When you stack the Cedar Front on top of the Cedar Back, they should be identical, apart from the neckline.

In-Seam Hug-Holes or Pockets

Cool if I just keep using the term “Hug-Holes”? K, great. I just kept these super simple rectangles in scrap knit fabric. Although, I would have liked to do this in the same red color, but I only had 1.5 yards and nothing to spare. I was gifted this beautiful red stretch fleece and I initially thought I’d make a normal Cedar Sweater, but then this idea came along and I had just enough to pull it off. So Hug-Holes scraps will have to do. Plus it makes it clearer for this tutorial. If you prefer in-seam pockets, you can draft that curved shape that looks kind of like an upside-down ear. Or simply use another pattern’s in-seam pocket piece as a guide.

Cut 4 rectangles or squares. These are roughly 8″ x 9″, but after tweaking a bit, I recommend a 6 or 7″ square. Finish one edge in the same direction as the fabric’s greatest stretch.

With Front and Back stacked, place a rectangle in your desired hug entry points with finished edge towards the center. Mark top and bottom of the white piece with notches.

Under-stitch the seam allowance to the Hug Hole. I used a zig zag stitch on my normal sewing machine.

Side and Sleeve Seams with Hug Holes

At this point, you can start constructing the Cedar Sweater as instructed. When your shoulders and sleeves are sewn and you are ready to sew the side seams and sleeve seams shut, follow these steps below.

Pin the front and back Hug Holes together along the top edge. Continue pinning the front and back side seams together from the Hug Holes up to the armpit and continue pinning the length of the sleeve. Repeat on opposite side.

Sew and finish the pinned upper side seam and sleeve. Repeat on other side.

Pin the sides together from the bottom of the skirt up through the lower edge of the Hug Hole only.

Sew and finish this seam. Repeat on the other side.

Side and Sleeve Seams for Pockets

Simply pin the Front and Back side edges together from the bottom of the skirt, up and around the outer edge of your pocket, back up the side of the body to the underarm, and down the length of the sleeve. This will be one, long, continuous seam.

That’s It!

Finish your Cedar Sweater Dress’s neck band, hem band, and cuffs as instructed! If the bottom of your skirt is a bit wider than the original Cedar waist edge, not to worry. Just stretch your hem band a bit more as you sew and it will cinch the bottom of the skirt into more of a cozy cocoon shape.

Peace fingers through the back Hug Holes

Bloopers

Hug around the front? Oops, looks like a pregnancy announcement. I’m not!

Where are your hands going? I’m frowning but I actually love it.

Why I Prefer Hugs Over Pockets

Yes, while I love saying #ithaspockets just as much as the next sewist, I am absolutely ok living without pockets on this dress. I don’t really need to store anything when I’m lounging around in this. Also, in the short time that I’ve been wearing it, the novelty has certainly not worn off. I have the ultimate excuse to ask for a hug at any time, and Nick kindly obliges. Also, for clarity, entering the hug holes is quite intimate so it’s not for everyone’s hugs. His hands reach in to hug directly on my skin. Is it sexy? Yah. Playful? Yerp. Excuses to touch? Yes please and thank you.

Another added bonus for this, if I do wear it out and about, I still have a place to keep my hands. Whether it’s for photos, standing around in a social setting, or the like, I can just tuck on in and feel the same comfort as I would putting hands in pockets. I think that’s half the appeal of having real pockets anyway, right?

If I could put this in fine print I would: it’s so easy to adjust a shifting bra or pull out that wedgie. Still finessing those movements without being too obvious though. Ha!

Felted Wool Slippers from my recent trip to Riga, Latvia.

More fine print: I only shave my legs when I feel like it, and I’m certainly not going to do it for an Instagram photo 😉

Original Inspiration for Hug-Friendly Clothing

I recently took a fun gal pal reunion trip to Riga, Latvia. While I was shopping for the slippers in the above photo, my girlfriends were inside this shop that had some clothing made for hugs. I loved the idea, snapped a pic of this banner, and kept it tucked away in my mind until I returned home. I didn’t get a chance to go inside and really examine the clothing because I was holding a delicious cheeseburger and my fingers should’ve been nowhere near nice clothes at that time.