Sewing a Hoodie!

So I got a shirt off the American Eagle clearance racks about 6 months ago. It was one of those crop tops (which I would never wear),  but it was super cute and polka-dotty and I loved the bike on it, PLUS it was like 9 or 10 bucks. So clearly I had to get it.
I have done a lot of stuff lately with sewing "patches" of clothing onto different hoodies and jackets of mine. So I decided to put the bike patch on a hoodie so that I could still wear it, but not so that it looks like a 4 year old's shirt. :)

Supplies: Plain hoodie, Shirt to use as patch, Sewing machine, Iron, Sharp fabric scissors, Pins, Elbow pad template

Cut the patch out from your shirt. Give about an inch of fabric around the edges, it will be folded over and sewn down to make a finished edge. Make sure to only cut the front side, not  both sides. Keep the scraps for elbow pads.

Turn the patch upside down and fold all sides back about an inch. Pin them down. Iron them flat, until they stay folded down on their own. Take pins out.

Slide your hoodie onto the ironing board like this (like the ironing board was wearing it), so that it lays very flat and so your patch doesn't get pinned to both sides of the hoodie. Center the patch.

Keeping edges folded back, pin the patch to the front of the hoodie. 

The more pins, the better it will hold in place.

Slide hoodie onto sewing machine like the machine was wearing it. With the pins still in place, begin sewing a straight line down the edges, fairly close to the edges. Take the pins out as the needle gets closer to them. Lift up presser foot at each corner, reposition hoodie, and continue. Be very careful at this point that the hoodie doesn't bunch up, or it will get all sewed together. This part should take the longest.

Kiss Token

Let's just get right down to it! The absolute love of my life is on an LDS mission in Puebla, Mexico. In two days, he will have been out for exactly nine months. And while it is a very hard thing to wait for two years, I am slowly learning that this is also precious time in my own life. I need to use this time to learn and grow independently. I need to experience new things, meet new people, learn all I can, and grow both spiritually and mentally. There are so many things to learn about yourself while you have this short time to be without your "other half."
I know I am not the only one out there supporting a missionary. The point of this blog is to share my ideas and experiences with other people who may be going through what I am going through. I think everything is easier to get through with the support of other people who actually know how you feel. It's one thing to say, "I feel for you," but it is another to say, "I know exactly how you feel." So this is gonna be one of those "I know exactly how you feel" blogs.  :)
Since my missionary has been out nine months already, my initial posts will be "catch-up" posts until I make it to the present day. They will be things I have done already-- ideas to keep you close to your missionary, ideas for individual growth, time-fillers. To start, here is something that I did at the very beginning of Jordan's mission.

I mailed Jordan a "kiss token" in one of his first letters. I added this picture of me kissing the token, and told him to send it back to me with the same. It is a cute way to "kiss" your boyfriend when he is gone, and a cute reminder that you love each other! We send it back and forth every now and then, but the mail system in Mexico is not the most reliable so right now he is keeping it. He wears it around his neck every day! :)
Kiss tokens can be found at the following link. I found mine at some random bra store in a factory outlet, but buying online is probably more convenient. Haha. There are also tons of other cute tokens like blessing tokens, hug tokens, or massage tokens.
http://www.courageinstone.com/beach_decors/pocket-tokens-pocket-pieces-c-238_256.html