Pattern Review: The Katchi Katti Skirt from The Plucky Butterfly and Giveaway!

Yesterday I hit 5000 view on my blog (woohoo!).  Maybe that's not a *ton*, but I'm really excited about it, so today, I get to do three very cool things.

One, tell you about a skirt, review a pattern, AND do my first on-my-own, not part of a tour, giveaway!  So please share with your friends, and everyone come enter!

First off, April is Autism Awareness month, and I caught wind of the coolest post on The Plucky Butterfly's Facebook Page.  If you purchase the Surround Me With Love Twirl Skirt , make it in blues, and post it on her page before the end of the month, to show your support for Autism Awareness, she will refund you 50% of  your purchase price for the pattern. Showing my support sounded like an awesome idea, as did having a really cool twirly skirt pattern.  I made it the next and and have very happily been sharing my post everywhere I can <3.  I'm not reviewing this one right now, but it can be done in knit or woven... soooo if you prefer one or the other, it will still look great!

Next, I recently got to test for The Plucky Butterfly for her new skirt - the Katchi Katti skirt.  Pam does a lot of really amazing sewing for some great causes - children's cancer patients, charities, and special needs children.  This skirt was one of her customers' favorites and I am really glad she made a pattern with it.

The skirt has a simple shape with a light gathered effect created by the waistband, which flatters girls of all different shapes and sizes.  Some special needs kids end up bloated or sensitive from the medicine that they take, and taking this into account, Pam includes the knit waistband option to provide a comfortable fit, while still being a super cute skirt. 

Knit waistband, accent pockets, sash

The details:
Even sizes from 2 through 14 (instructions for adjusting fit for girls with non-standard measurements is included!)
Three waitsband options: knit, woven with 1" elastic, woven with 1/4" elastic
Three length: above knee, at knee, and below knee
Two optional pocket styles: cargo style and accent style

Optional attached sash

For the sizes 2 and 4, the skirt has one seam in the back, though you could just as easily make it one side seam.  Inara usually wears a size 5, but she is slim at the waist, and the size 4 fit her perfectly.  The "knee" length option is more "above the knee" on her, since she is taller than the average 4 year old (she's 5 1/2).  But again, Pam includes very clear instructions on how to fit your girls who may be skinnier, or fluffier than average.

I love the knit waistband, especially because Miss Picky didn't fuss about it at all.  The soft waistband is so perfect for her weird clothing issues, while still having a really cute shape, and being fashionable (I don't remember caring about that at 5, but she sure does).

Here's the back seam (only on sizes 2 and 4) with the attached sash on the knit waist band.  This pattern was so cute I actually cut into some of my rainbows that I've been staring at for nearly a year now.
I didn't have to keep making more and more of these, but I found that Inara really liked them, and they are perfect for her to throw on over the leggings that she wants to wear most days.  I made 4 with knit waistbands, since I figured those would be the most comfortable on her, but then I wanted to try out the woven waistband, so I did this one with the 1" elastic instructions: 

Gotta love the snark in this photo, lol... I added the cargo style pockets to this one too, because, well, we love pockets.  And then because there were some minor changes to the way the sash attached to the woven waistband, I made one more, this time with the sash:

The only pattern pieces that need to be printed for this skirt are the optional pockets.  Start to finish, by the end I could sew these in about 40 minutes, though with the pockets, add a few more minutes on to account for the printing, cutting, sewing, pressing, etc.

And for anyone who hates turning long tubes (ie the sash pieces), here is what I do... its simple and most people probably already know this, but I think its a neat tip.  I pin a medium sized safety pin near the short end that I am going to sew closed (an inch or so from the edges) of the tube.  Then, after I sew the long and short side, I can just work the safety pin up the tube and out the open short end to turn it.

So, that's the skirt! I'd love it if you ran out and bought it, because it's cute, well written, and at times even an entertaining pattern to read.  But while you're here, please take a moment to check out my giveaway.  Pam is really generously donating a free copy of the Katchi (Catchy) Katti Skirt pattern to the winner of the giveaway, and I promise you won't be disappointed!


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