Today I have another refashion project for you! Hoodies are one of the most common clothing items in most thrift stores… which makes them perfect for refashioning. Other reasons they’re great for refashioning: they’re loose fitting so you have lots of fabric to work with, they look super cute cropped, and you can find virtually any color you want.

I especially love cropping hoodies – in fact, I’ve already done a cropped hoodie tutorial (find it HERE) – but the design of that refashion required that I remove the pocket from the hoodie. But the pocket is one of the best features of a hoodie. So I had to make another cropped hoodie tutorial – this time one that keeps that big pocket!

I’m super happy with how this refashion turned out. And it’s a super easy and quick project!

wearing a cropped black hoodie that just covers the top of worn out high waisted levi's

side view of cropped black hoodie with light wash worn out jeans

wearing a cropped black hoodie with boyfriend jeans

Alright, let’s get started with the tutorial! I have a video tutorial and a written tutorial below – you choose which you prefer.

But first, what you need for this project.

What you need

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Video Tutorial

 

Written Tutorial

The first step in any sort of project where you’re planning to crop something is to try it on and mark where you want the hem to be when you crop it. So that’s exactly what I did. I made a mark at the center front indicating where I wanted to crop the hoodie.

trying on black hoodie and marking center front for cropping

Next, take the hoodie off and get ready to start DIYing! I used a ruler to measure how far up from the hem my mark at the center front was. Then I made two marks the same distance up on either side of the pocket. This is because I want my marks to still be there when I remove the pocket.

black hoodie on cutting mat with chalk markings on either side of the pocket

Next, seam rip the top and sides of the pocket. Try to be careful not to make any holes in either the pocket or the hoodie as you do this! The bottom of the pocket is sandwiched between the ribbing and the body of the hoodie – so I didn’t seam rip the bottom.

seam ripping the pocket off a black hoodie

Then cut the ribbing off the bottom of the hoodie. The pocket will still be attached to the ribbing when you do this.

Then cut the bottom edge of the pocket away from the ribbing. This will result in a small amount of the bottom edge of the pocket being trimmed off. But that’s OK – the pocket is still plenty large enough!

cutting the ribbing off the bottom edge of the pocket

Now let’s crop the hoodie! You can set the pocket aside for later and toss the ribbing (or save it for another project). Grab your ruler and draw a straight line all the way around the hoodie, going through the two marks you made earlier.

using a ruler to draw a straight line around the bottom edge of the hoodie

Next, grab your scissors and crop the hoodie by cutting the bottom off the hoodie about 1/2 inch below the line you drew. I left this extra 1/2 inch for seam allowance when I finish the hem.

Now let’s put that pocket back on. I found the center front of the hoodie and marked it with a pin along the raw edge. Then I found the center front of the bottom edge of the pocket and marked it with a pin.

Then line up the pin at the center of the hoodie with the pin at the center of the pocket. Pin the entire bottom edge of the pocket to the bottom edge of the hoodie. And baste it in place with a long straight stitch, staying 1/4 inch from the raw edges.

Next, pin the sides and top edge of the pocket to the front of the hoodie. Sew the pocket to the hoodie in the original stitching lines – so I sewed two rows of stitching along the top and sides of the pocket. Make sure you leave the angled openings alone! They need to be open so you can use the pocket.

pocket is pinned onto the cropped hoodie

After the pocket is sewn to the hoodie, the last step is to turn under the hem by 1/2 inch and sew it in place. You can use a regular straight stitch because the hoodie is loose fitting enough that it won’t need to stretch.

Once your hoodie is hemmed, you’re all done!

 

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