Kicking it with Katie

I love this panel that we got from Zenith and Quasar!

When the tester call came for the Katie Crop Top, I told myself, “Do NOT apply.  You do NOT have time!”  BUT, sometimes, you just know in your gut that you need to do something.  That’s what happened with Katie’s crop top sweater. I found myself telling Jennifer that I would love to test this pattern…even though I told myself not to.  And I am so, so glad that I did.  This pattern is amazingly fast to sew and so versatile that I see myself making these year round. 

 

This was one of the ones that I made with too little stretch.
Still awesome looking but a squeeze to get on.

As always, I like to give you some basics up front about the pattern:

- Pattern ranges from 2T to 12 (which makes me happy as my little bug is nearing the very top of the size range for a lot of the patterns I have)

- Only three pattern pieces to cut so very quick prep

- Can be used with a variety of knits to cover all four seasons!

- No buttons and zippers so my girl can put this one on and off on her own with no muss and no fuss.

- As with all of Jennifer’s patterns, the instructions are very concise and straightforward.  There are also tons of pictures for those of us who do better with the visuals. 

As far as the pattern, it was extremely easy to follow along, and I really do think this is a great pattern for anyone wanting to delve into the world of knits.  It really is a happy place to be, and knit sometimes gets a bad rap…My daughter was loving the crop part because she could “show off her fashion underneath, too”…

 

Another one with too little stretch but we made it work!

I will caution you that you really do want to check the stretch on your knit to make sure it has at least 50% stretch.  For those who are wondering what that means, here’s a quick example:  I cut a 6” piece of fabric and stretch it.  I measure how far it stretches.   The equation to figure out the stretch is:

Amount past the original size the fabric stretched / original length = % stretch.

So for the 6” piece, if it stretches to 9” then it stretched 3” past the original length so:

3/6 = .5 (multiply this by 100 and you get 50%). 
 

Did I confuse you completely?  I hope not. :/!

SO, as I was saying, you want to get something that is at least 50% stretch.  VERY IMPORTANT!!  I didn’t do that with the first ones I made, and it was a fight and a half to get that over the girls’ heads.  We did it, but they looked like something out of Total Recall as I was pulling it on them.  As long as you have the right stretch fabric, you will be golden as far as the neck fit.  As far as the overall fit, I found it to be true to RTW.  Little Miss wears a size 6 RTW, and I made this in a size 6.  Same with my niece.  She is a size 9 and perfection…

All in all, we really do love Katie a lot here, and I am already envisioning some more for the upcoming spring weather! Now for the best news...It’s on sale for a special release price at Jennifer’s shop starting today!  You can get your copy of Katie’s for $5.  After that, it goes up to $7.95.

Grab your copy of Katie’s here at her Snuggle My Baby Patterns Etsy shop!  Remember, the Katie’s Crop Top Sweater is on sale for a limited time only to celebrate the release of this simple but very versatile pattern!  

If you want to skip on over to the Facebook group, you can find it here.  Jennifer posts all of her happenings here so you won't miss out on new releases or special events!  

Now, if you've read this far, then I really do appreciate you for sticking with me!  Now head on over and pick up your copy of the Katie’s today!

Happy Sewing,

Kim