Drafting a Hood That Fits

A hood has to clear the head with room to spare, so the wearer can turn and look up; it has to attach to a neckline of a fixed length; and it has to drape acceptably when pushed back onto the shoulders. These three demands pull in different directions, and the draft is a negotiation between them. A hood sized only to the head will bind at the neck; one sized to drape well down may swamp the face when up.

Start from the head measurements: the height from the neck over the crown, and the width around the face opening. These set the minimum size, and the neckline length then constrains how the hood joins the body.

• Head height: from the nape over the crown to the throat, setting the hood's vertical size.
• Head width: around the face, setting the front opening.
• Neckline length: the seam the hood must attach to, measured on the garment.
• Desired overhang: how far the hood extends past the face when up.
• Ease: added generously so the hood clears the head and allows movement.

A two-piece hood is two mirror-image panels joined by a single seam over the top and back of the head. It is the simplest and most common, giving a slightly pointed crown that softens in wear. It is the standard for casual sweatshirts and easy to draft from the head measurements.

A three-piece hood adds a center gusset panel running from the front opening over the crown to the neckline, between the two side panels. The gusset gives a rounder, more sculpted shape that sits better on the head and is favoured for tailored coats and technical outerwear where the hood must hold its form.

The bottom edge of the hood must equal the neckline it attaches to, or the hood will pull the neckline out of shape. Measure the garment neckline from center front to center front, and draft the hood's neck edge to match that length. If the hood neck edge is longer, it can be eased or gathered slightly; if shorter, the neckline will distort.

The angle at which the hood meets the neckline controls how it sits. A hood neck edge shaped to curve into the neckline lets the hood stand up when worn and fold down neatly when not, while a straight neck edge tends to collapse.

A hood that sits up nicely when worn and lies flat when down is achieved through the balance of height and the shaping of the back neck. Enough crown height lets it frame the face; enough back length lets it fold down without bunching. A drawstring casing or a facing at the front opening adds structure and lets the wearer adjust the opening.

For technical outerwear, the hood may need a stiffened brim, a wire, or a third panel to hold its shape in wind and rain. For soft casual wear, a simple two-piece hood with a lined front edge is enough to give body without stiffness.

Hood patterns carry a neck edge that must match the garment neckline precisely, plus notches where the panels join, so accuracy at the neck seam is essential. Minerva Patterns supplies hooded garments as DXF AAMA, PLT and PDF, with the hood neck edge drafted to match the garment neckline and the panel notches marked, whether the hood is a two-piece or three-piece construction.

Draft the hood from the head first, reconcile it to the neckline second, and add the structure the garment needs third. Follow that order and the hood will clear the head, join the body cleanly and behave whether worn up or down.