Gobi Culottes Pattern Test | Itch To Stitch

Wow! August was a busy month with pattern testing! I was able to try out 2 new-to-me pattern companies!

Today, we’re talking all about the Gobi Culottes by Itch to Stitch!

This pattern is just WOW! I’m thoroughly impressed and I’m eager to try out more Itch to Stitch patterns.

About the Gobi Culottes:

The Gobi Culottes are a wide leg shorts or pants pattern made to look like a skirt. They come as shorts in the pattern but you are able to lengthen them to your desired length. They feature slant pockets, a contoured waistband that sits at your natural waist, a button-up front fly and beautiful top stitching. The Gobi is a PDF sewing pattern in sizes 00-20 with the layers feature. The pattern is designed for woven fabrics such as: twill, linen or lightweight denim. Some testers made theirs out of wool and corduroy.

I sewed a straight size 6 based on both my waist (31) and my hip (38) measurements with no alterations done at all and I’m loving the fit of these. I used a 80% cotton and 20% linen blend fabric from my local Fabricland.

I love it when a pattern has the insides sewn as beautifully as the outside. There is a lot of top stitching detail on the outside and beautiful bias binding sewn along the inside of the waistband. You could easily sew a different color of bias binding on the inside to add that pop of color and element of surprise.

I really love the detail of the slant pockets, but don’t make the same mistake that I did. I accidentally sewed my pockets on backwards and when it came time to sewing the side seam, the pocket fabric was visible. So I had to unpick the under-stitching, edge stitching and top stitching.

During testing, a lot of testers sewed longer – pant versions of the Gobi which I really liked. So I might need to make a longer pair. If you’re asking, will I make these again? Definitely! I really enjoyed the process of making these. The instructions were very clear that I think even a beginner could tackle these.

These could be styled in a variety of ways, some styled the Gobi with tucked in shirts/tank tops, a tie front top, and a pairing of a top and cardigan. For the longer version, some style it with a top (not tucked in), a jacket and a turtle neck.

Depending on how you style it and the fabric that you use, you could easily wear these in all 4 seasons! Make 2 pairs, 1 for the colder months and 1 for the warmer months, or even better…..make 4 pairs, 1 for each season!

Our summer here has definitely come to an end – without warning, how sad. At the time of taking these photos, it was only +10C and windy.

Thank you for reading about my experience sewing the Gobi Culottes. They are on sale during release, be sure to check them out!

Just a reminder – the pattern was given to me in exchange of testing the pattern. All fabric, interfacing and notions were purchased by me and all opinions are my own.

“Dad, I wish you were here on my birthday, not only my birthday….but everyday.” — Me

Kalina Pattern Review | AppleGreen Cottage

Damjana of AppleGreen Cottage is back with a new pattern, the Kalina Mini Wallet Pattern and it’s (as always) another good one! I had a chance to test this pattern and I love it! Just a friendly reminder, the pattern was given to me in exchange for testing the pattern – all supplies (fabric, interfacing, thread and snaps were purchased by me). All opinions are my own.

The Kalina is a PDF sewing pattern that is available here. Kalina is small and compact wallet, great for carrying the stuff that’s important; drivers licence, bank/credit/health cards, change and bills. The pattern features a snap closure to secure everything in place, a zip pocket for change, pocket for bills, 3 card slots and a clip for your keys.

The Kalina is perfect for school aged kids for their lunch money, perfect for going to the gym or out for a walk with the kids and/or dog. If your like me, I don’t like to carry too much in my purse. The Kalina is a great wallet for throwing in the diaper bag (which I do). Kalina is also great for men and women depending on your fabric and print choices.

Kalina is a quick and easy sew, that many of the testers were able to sew more than 1 or 2 during the testing period. Kalina will make a great gift and stocking stuff for those who enjoy a good handmade gift. You could easily complete a Kalina in one evening.

This pattern calls for KAM snaps or a button. I ordered KAM snaps, only to find out I didn’t have the proper tool for it. So now I wait for the tool to arrive in the mail. I decided that since the pattern did call for an optional button, that I would sew the pattern up using a button closure instead of a snap. The Kalina on the right has the button closure.

I will admit defeat in this post. Damjana is one of my favorite pattern designers to work with. She is very caring and grateful towards her tester team. She works hard at her patterns and during testing she is always available, despite being across the world. She replies to every message/email and never leaves you hanging. So because I enjoy working with Damjana and I enjoy creating YouTube videos, I really really wanted to create a sew along video for the Kalina Wallet Pattern. Now, I’m not sure if it is my lack of proper equipment or my lack of knowledge for planning a sew along, but it just was not working out in my favor. I wanted to show every step while maintaining the same camera angle at either the sewing machine or my ironing board. Next, I was trying to record and add a narration afterwards. It just simply wasn’t working in my favor. So unfortunately at this time, I do not have a sew along video.

Don’t get me wrong – I won’t let this experience stop from me trying. I will try again. I will research some more and I’ll eventually be back with a sew along in the future!

Be sure to check out the pattern, it is on sale now for 33% off with the code KALINA33 at checkout.

Thanks for reading!

Update: There is a video on my YouTube Channel reviewing the Kalina, you can click here.

“It’s hard when you miss people. But you know, if you miss them it means you were lucky. It means you had someone special in your life, someone worth missing.” — Author Unknown.

Honeycomb Bag Pattern Test | Millicent Joy

I’m here again with another pattern test to tell you all about. This time, I got to try out a new-to-me pattern company…..Millicent Joy Sewing Patterns by Amelia. I had seen on Instagram that she was looking for testers for her new bag pattern, the Honeycomb Bag. I had inquired about more information regarding the pattern and the testing period (to make sure it fit within my schedule) and I really loved what I seen. Luckily, I was a chosen tester and I was eager to get started for 2 reasons: 1. I was excited to try out a new-to-me pattern company and 2. I was excited to use a backpack style purse!

The Pattern:

It is a bag pattern that can be worn as a backpack or as a cross-body style purse. There are 2 sizes, a mini and a large size. The pattern features a front zip diagonal pocket, 2 back pockets, a recessed zipper on top, optional pockets on the inside, one handle and a large strap. The large size can hold a small laptop and the mini can hold a tablet.

I made the mini version as I don’t need a large bag for my wallet and phone. I used home decor canvas (black and white) and quilting cotton (black) for the lining, straps and handle. For this version, I decided to leave out the optional inside pockets.

The Construction:

The construction of the bag was fairly straight forward. The one thing that I really liked about Amelia’s instructions is that she includes side tabs on the pages (similar to a binder with dividers). When you are on a certain page, that tab will be highlighted. This way, you know which part of the bag you are working on (lining, outer bag, straps ect…), I personally thought it was very helpful in staying organized while working with lining and the outer bag fabric.

For a bag pattern, it really didn’t take me that long – I believe it took me roughly 3 days to complete. Just a reminder – I only have time to sew during nap time (1-2 hours of sewing) and in the evenings once my daughter goes to bed (so another 1-2 hours). It was an enjoyable sewing project. You know how some projects can cause you some stress, this isn’t the case with the Honeycomb Bag.

** The only thing that I would note here is that in Amelia’s examples, she had her diagonal pocket going on the other side of the bag. I accidentally had my fabric with the wrong side facing up while I cut out my pattern pieces. I told Amelia that I had made the mistake and she said it was okay. Just when reading the instructions, make sure your pieces are opposite as to what the instructions say. It really doesn’t matter which side your zipper goes!

In order to convert the bag from a crossbody bag to a backpack, you will need to slide the sliders and clips through the D-rings at the top of the bag – so when you are purchasing your bag hardware, make sure your clips and sliders will fit through the D-rings! I know during testing, that some of the testers were unable to fit the clips and sliders through the D-rings. Just something to be mindful of!

It was a great experience testing for Amelia, she was very quick to respond to our questions. She even went the extra mile and provided some videos to help out with testing! She was really great to work with! Even the testing group was a great group of individuals helping each other out!

The pattern is 20% off from now until August 26th! Go check it out and the other tester versions as as well!

Thanks for reading my experience testing out the Honeycomb Bag! I have also created a video on my YouTube Channel for the Honeycomb Bag, you can watch that video here.

Just a note, the pattern was given to me in exchange for testing. All fabric, interfacing and hardware were purchased by me.

“The loss you feel when a loved one dies is not the worst feeling in the world. Missing them for the rest of your life is the worst feeling.” — Author Unknown.

YouTube – A New Adventure

I’m excited to share with you all that I started a new adventure to add to my sewing.

As most of you know, sewing is my hobby that is very near and dear to my heart. Sewing soothes my soul. Sewing has definitely help me through dark times of deep grief. Maybe the term hobby doesn’t express my love of sewing enough. I truly believe that I have found my passion and my calling. I thought years ago I had discovered my passion, but I now know for sure that this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I love to sew and create and if I can inspire one person along the way to start sewing or to even try to sew something they are intimidated of, then that’s fantastic!

With all of this being said, I’ve decided to start a YouTube channel, and of course the name of my channel is Sew Notes!

All of this is for fun – sewing, instagram, blogging and now vlogging. I do this because I enjoy the process and I want to share it with you. I’ve done a bit of research when it comes to videos and video editing, which I have really enjoyed! Thus far, I have enjoyed the process and I hope to continue to enjoy the process. I don’t ever want to loose the enjoyment from sewing, creating and inspiring!

For my YouTube channel, my goal is to post a video once a week – as long as life and technology doesn’t get in the way. I want to create content that YOU are all interested in, such as pattern reviews, sewing makes/plans and sewing tips and tricks. I’ve even put some though into creating short sew-along videos and re-fashions. I’m still a little scared to try a re-fashion, but I think I’m going to try it. Recently, was my very first time trying not 1, but 2 pattern hacks and they worked out beautifully! You never know what you can accomplish until you try it!

By the time I am publishing this blog post, I’ve created and uploaded 5 videos for my sewing channel – the links are below:

I hope that you enjoy my videos so far. I have thoroughly enjoyed creating them!

I have lots of projects (big and small) in the works for the next coming months, so I’m hoping I will have some exciting news to share with all of you very soon!

If you have any suggestions for any YouTube videos, I’ve love to hear them!

“I don’t need a special day to bring you to mind, the days I do not think of you are very hard to find.” — Author Unknown.