DIY Bridal Hoodie

I'm a hoodie kind of girl. I have a bunch of them that I love to wear over a cotton t-shirt with a pair of jeans. Why should the morning of the wedding be any different? There is a wide array of bridal hoodies available online, if you are willing to pay for them. I wanted a hoodie that would be special enough for the morning of the wedding that I could continue to wear on our honeymoon and beyond. So, like so many other details of the wedding, I made my own.

The concept is really quite simple. I purchased some printable iron-on transfer sheets, designed an image on my computer, flipped it, printed on the transfer sheet, and ironed the design onto my hoodie. The easiest way to do this is to make your designs in powerpoint or publisher (I used OpenOffice Draw) then simply select the image and "flip vertical."

To iron the design on, follow the directions that come with your iron-on transfer sheets exactly. I accidentally transferred our monogram onto the bottom of the iron.

For the draw string, I pulled out the one that came with my hoodie and replaced it with purple ribbon that is knotted at both ends. I used the original drawstring as a template for the ribbon. To thread the ribbon through, simply run a safety pin through the ribbon and pull that through the hood.

I made two designs: our monogram on the front of the hoodie and our names and date on the back. I was tempted to  have the back say "Mrs. TomsLastName" but my mother informed me that it would be bad luck for me to wear my hoodie before the ceremony. I was also tempted to have it say "bride" but then I would not be able to wear it after the wedding. I think the white is enough to distinguish me as the bride, and the wording will make it appropriate to wear both the morning of the wedding as well as beyond.

The most challenging part of making my own hoodie was finding a white sweatshirt. I visited several stores and almost settled on buying a white yoga top before I found a basic white hoodie on the clearance rack at Wal-Mart. Overall, I think I spent about $20 total, and I still have a couple of transfer sheets left over.