Turn a Poncho Into a Baja Hoodie With a Hidden Pocket Organiser (Beginner Friendly)

A couple of years back I bought this huge poncho. I really liked the fabric pattern, but the size and cut made it very impractical, so I hardly ever wore it. I wanted to downsize it and add some sleeves for a cozy hoodie around the house. I couldn't find any good, free tutorials online for a baja style hoodie, so I decided to improvise one.

Since the fabric of this type of hoodie is typically woven of either cotton or wool, it is not stretchy at all. It means that you have to be careful if you decide to trace parts of the design from existing clothes and always try it on to see if it fits well before sewing. This type of hoodie also has some wide, seemingly straight, sleeves, and getting those right was of essence.

My poncho already had a hood, but if you wanted, you could try making it from a blanket or just some fabric, and add a hood following a different tutorial.

This project had quite a few steps, but it is fairly easy and anyone with minimal sewing machine experience should be able to follow it.

Supplies

To make this hoodie you will need:

a poncho or some fabric (mine was 100% cotton, roughly woven)
a sewing machine and thread
fabric scissors
some paper (a roll of paper, parchment paper, sheets taped together or large newspaper)
a measuring tape
a large ruler or measuring stick
sewing pins
safety pins
chalk or something else to mark with
an existing hoodie/shirt that fits you well
optional: some elastic and a fabric loop
possibly: a seam ripper
possibly: french curve or a round object like a bowl

If you have it, you could definitely make use of an overlocker to finish the fraying edges. I don't have one, but I do have an overlock stitch on my machine that I used. If you don't, no worry - you can also just use a zigzag-stitch instead.

Step 1: Cut Out the Torso

If your poncho has buttons on the side, detach them. Mine had some toggle buttons and loops.
Turn the poncho inside out and lay it flat.
Using an existing hoodie or simply measuring with measuring tape, choose the desired length and mark it in a straight line.
Choose a width so it is loose and comfortable around the widest part of the torso (eg. under the armpits or around the hips). Make straight line on each side from top to the bottom line.
Add a seam allowance. I added 1,5 cm (0,6 inch) on the sides and 4 cm (1,5 inch) on the bottom for a wider hem.
Pin the sides with safety pins and try it on.
If you can get it on comfortably, can raise your arms, sit in it etc. * - cut it out!

* It's okay if the hoodie is a tiny bit tight around the bottom, as we will be adding side slits. You can skip this step if it fits well as is.

Step 2: Making the Sleeve Pattern

Find a shirt where the sleeves fit you well. In this case, you want to find something that either doesn't have any stretch or fits you without stretching. I found, that most of my hoodies have a quite different sleeve pattern, where the sleeve starts very wide around the shoulder and ends very narrow with an elastic. I wanted the sleeves to be narrower around the armhole and wider at the wrists.

A non-stretchy pyjamas would be great as they typically also have quite straight sleeves. I didn't have that, but I found a shirt that fit me well around the shoulder and self-drafted it longer and wider.

Using parchment paper would make the mirroring part easier, but it may result in a less sturdy pattern if you want to reuse it later.

Put on your template shirt on and see if you want it longer/shorter or wider around the wrists. I wanted mine to be 4 cm longer and 2 x 2cm wider ( 4 cm wider in the circumference).
Lay your chosen sleeve on some paper
Trace around the sleeve. Trace right up to the seam around the shoulder.
Adjust the shoulder cap curve so it is nice and continuous. I used a large bowl and lid to create a nice curve. Be sure that the curve is almost straight at the shoulder cap top point.
If you chose to adjust your sleeve length or width, add them now by elongating the centerline and drawing a perpendicular line at the end, corresponding to the sleeve width.
Connect the bottom of the sleeve to the armhole.
Add seam allowance. I added 4 cm (1,5 inch) at the bottom and 1,5cm (0,6 inch) around the rest.
NB! Since the hem will be folded up, it should be cut so that the hem line has the same width as the sleeve 4 cm in (see the sketch). Technically you should widen your hem a bit (since the sleeve is tapered), but when the sleeve angle is low, you can just draw the hem straight down.
Mirror the other side of the sleeve by folding the paper at the centerline and tracing.
Cut the pattern out.

Step 3: Cut Out the Sleeves

Since I was using an existing garment, I was limited in the fabric department. From the fabric that was left on each side after cutting out the torso, I didn't have enough to cut the sleeves out in one piece, so here comes a fabric saving trick.

To make the seam line less visible, I moved it to the back of the sleeve, thus making the two sleeve pieces asymmetrical. The stripes of the fabric also help to hide the seam, so I tried to chose two contrasting, whole stripes to fall around the seam. I measured how big the larger piece of the sleeve could be (which was around 27 cm out of 43 cm including the seam allowances) and creased the pattern to fit.

If you have stripes in your fabric, you should position you sleeve pattern so that the stripes are straight in the center.

If there is a visual difference in the right and wrong side of the fabric, be sure to cut out the correct matching pieces. You should end up with four pieces, where the sleeves are mirrors of each other.

Then simply pin your pattern to the fabric and add an additional 1,5 cm (0,6 inch) seam allowance to the creased part. Cut the pieces out.

Step 4: Cut Out the Armhole

Before, we just cut the torso of the hoodie straight on the sides, but a sleeve needs a corresponding armhole.

So take your template shirt and place it so the top point and bottom point of the armhole connect the top and the side of the hoodie.
Trace around the seam and add 1,5 cm (0,6 inch) seam allowance.
Cut following the seam allowance line.

Step 5: Finish the Raw Edges

Finish all the raw edges to stop them from fraying either by using an overlock stitch or a zigzag stitch on your machine. If you're using a zigzag stitch, make it wide so while one side of the stitch is always just on the outside of the fabric, the other side reaches as far into the fabric as possible. I always tie the two remaining threads together before cutting them short.

Step 6: Sew the Sleeve Pieces Together

If you had enough fabric to cut your sleeves out in one piece, skip this step.

Pin the sleeve pieces together, wrong sides facing out.
Sew them together with a straight stitch around 1,5 cm (0,6 inch) from the edge. If you have measuring markings on your machine, use them.
When you're done, you will have two narrow edges. To reinforce, topstitch the seam; lay both seam allowance edges flat to one side and stitch them down with a straight stitch around 1 cm (0,4 inch) from the original stitch. Depending on the fabric, the second stitch will be hardly visible, but will reinforce the seam a lot and keep the edges completely sealed and safe.

Step 7: Attach the Sleeves to the Armhole

Turn the poncho inside out and lay it flat (with the wrong side up)
Get the matching sleeve (where the narrower part is towards the back) and lay it also with the wrong side facing up
Pin the two parts together so that the right sides are facing each other and the wrong sides are facing out. The pieces will become slightly 3-dimensional.
Sew them together with a straight stitch 1,5 cm (0,6 inch) from the edge and reinforce with another stitch as explained in Step 6.

When you're done it should look something like the last photo, with a barely visible topstitch.

Step 8: Measure the Side Slits

As an optional step, you can add side slits at the bottom of the hoodie. I found how far I wanted the slits to go up by pinning the sides together with safety pins and trying the hoodie on, leaving around 8 cm (3,15 inches) unpinned. Remember to take the 4 cm bottom hem into account and either fold it up or add 4 cm to your measurement.

Mark where you want your slits to end with chalk.

Step 9: Sew the Sides Together

The hoodie is taking shape! We've come to sewing the sides and sleeves together.

Turn the hoodie inside out and pin the edges of the sleeves and body sides together, stopping at the slit markings.
Sew all the way with a straight stitch keeping the 1,5 cm (0,6 inch) allowance. Stop at the slit marking.
Cut a small incision across the seam allowance 1 cm (0,4 inch) above the slit marking. Be careful not to cut through the stitch.
Lay the edges to one side and stitch all the way again.

Step 10: Finish the Side Slits

Now your sides are finished, but the edges around the slits are still raw. We will make a double fold hem here.

Make a narrow fold around the side slit, only about 0,5 cm (0,2 inch).
Then fold the seam allowance once more, this time a bit wider, 1 cm (0,4 inch) and pin it.
Sew all the way around the slit, reinforcing (stitching back and forth a couple of times) the middle part.
If it's difficult to pin and sew the double fold, you can also do it one at a time. First pin and sew the narrow hem and then make the other wider hem.

Step 11: Hem the Sleeves

The sleeves will be hemmed with a double hem in a similar manner

Make a narrow fold up and stitch all the way around with a straight stitch.
Then fold up the remaining of the hem allowance (3-3,5 cm / 1,2 - 1,4 inches) and stitch it.
Repeat on the other sleeve.

Step 12: Hem the Bottom

Do the same as you did with the sleeves. Since it's a long straight edge, it may be easier to pin and sew the two folds together.

Step 13: The Pocket

My poncho already had a pocket, but it was placed on the inside. I don't think it's very typical, so I won't go into detail of how I transferred it to the other side. But I basically detached it with a seam ripper and flipped the hems to the other side (so the strip pattern would still match on the right side). You could just as well trace a pocket from an existing hoodie or draw one yourself (it would probably be quicker and easier too) adding a seam allowance.

I like these big hoodie pockets, but I've always had the problem with them, that I'm afraid of my valuables sliding right out if I sit, bike or have to run. So I decided to add a form of organiser inside the pocket. It would consist of a smaller pocket for my phone, an elastic for my wallet and a little loop that I can attach my keys to.

This is of course totally optional. If you want, you can just attach the pocket like explained underneath and in the last step, and then you're done!

I started with attaching the top part if the pocket to the body so I knew exactly where it would sit.

To attach the top part of the pocket, first stitch only the seam allowance with the wrong side of the pocket being flipped up.
Then fold the pocket down so it sits as it's supposed to (with the right side up) and stitch on top through the three layers (two layers of the pocket and one layer of the body).
Trace around the rest of the pocket so you know where to place your organisational bits.

Step 14: The Hidden Pocket Organisation

The cell phone pocket:

Get a small piece of scrap fabric and trace around your phone leaving a bit of space around.
Add a narrow seam allowance and stitch a single fold hem all the way around. (you could also finish the edges for additional security against fraying)
You should now have a hemmed rectangle slightly larger than your phone.
Arrange your phone pocket inside the drawn outline of the pig pocket and pin it.
Stitch it around three of the sides with a straight stitch

The wallet elastic:

Place your wallet next to the phone pocket.
Lay some elastic on top so it fits snug, leaving around 1 cm (0,4 inch) extra on each side and pin it.
Attach both ends using a wide but short zigzag stitch, stitching back and forth a couple of times.

The key loop:

I had some loops left over from the poncho itself, but you can use any scrap of fabric or even a thicker piece of
Place the loop where you want and attach with a zigzag stitch (or whatever is fitting). I attached it in two places, so if the first stitch unravels, your key are still secure.

Step 15: Attach the Rest of the Big Pocket and Final Touches

Now you can just fold your pocket down, and pin it to the hoodie with a single fold. Stitch on top with a straight stitch reinforcing around the pocket openings.

If you have a lot of loose threads sticking out all around, you can thread them to the wrong side of the fabric and tie them together before cutting them short.

And now you're done!

Step 16: Final Thoughts

I'm very happy with how the hoodie turned out, it has since become my go-to around the house. The seams on the back of the sleeves are basically invisible and the pocket organisation is very useful.

I'm a total beginner when it comes to sewing, but I was able to figure it out as I went along. The hardest part for me was definitely figuring out the sleeve pattern. When I looked at images of similar hoodies online it almost looks like they are attached totally straight on (rectangle sleeve on rectangle body), but for a better fit without excess fabric on top of the shoulder or under the armpit I went with a more tailored sleeve pattern, which I think was a good choice.

Introduction: Turn a Poncho Into a Baja Hoodie With a Hidden Pocket Organiser (Beginner Friendly)