Whistler by Love Notions

Brrrr... I don't know about where you live, but here in Kansas, it just got cold overnight. 

I won't lie and pretend I'm happy about it, but the fact that I just finished sewing two cozy pullovers makes me hate this change in weather a little less. 

Just a little. Don't get me wrong, I'm still counting down the days until the 90+ degree temperatures come back. 

But if I must be out in the cold, at least I can do it wearing this:

Or this:

This is the newest pattern by Love Notions: The Whistler Pull-over by Love Notions. 

I helped test it, and I'm so glad I did. I am probably going to wear both pieces a lot this winter. If you see me a lot, you might get sick of seeing them. Too bad for you, because I doubt I get sick of wearing them.

The pattern is for a loose fitting pullover, meant to be able to be worn over light layers. I just wore mine over a cami, but I could also wear it over a tee if I wanted to.

There is a shawl or hooded version. I made both of mine with the shawl because I love it so much, but I will probably have to make a hoodie in the future too.

The front can be gathered or not. I stuck with the plain front on both because my fabric was very sturdy and heavy. Gathers would not have been a good option for my fabric, but if I make one in a lighter fabric, I might give that option a try.

The length options are hemmed (shortest), banded (slightly longer) and tunic (duh, this is the longest choice.) There is a finished measurement chart in the pattern and that includes lengths by size for each of those options, as well as instructions on how to lengthen or shorten the pattern. 

For my grey version, I made the tunic, in french terry from Joanns:

And for my red pullover, I made the banded length. I did add an inch to the length because I'm 5'7" and the pattern is drafted for a height of 5'5". I absolutely love this length, and feel comfortable wearing it with either leggings or jeans. Yay, more chances to wear it!

This is actually a Ponte De Roma fabric from Walmart. I normally don't buy fabric there, but I always glance at it. 

Just in case. 

It's totally normal to go look at fabric just in case, right? Well, I'm glad I did. I'm very happy it, it has a nice weight and feels soft.   

The design is genius. 

You might have noticed my hand in my pocket in a lot of pictures so far. 

Yes, this pullover has pockets. And they fit right in with the design of the sweater. 

When I first saw the line drawing, I wasn't sure how the pockets would function. I was wondering if they would be large or bulky, but they are actually the perfect size. Not too huge where I would lose a million things in them, but big enough for my phone, or my keys, or even my credit card. I hate taking a purse anywhere, so this might become my grocery store day shirt. 

Here is one of the pockets inside out:

Check out my cute pocket!

The shawl piece (or hood) is closed with two buttons. The instructions have you construct buttonholes so that you can open the shawl piece while dressing, but I couldn't find my buttonhole foot so I just sewed my buttons though both shawl layers. There is still a big enough opening to get it on and off easily, so it works just fine if you aren't a fan of sewing buttonholes. 

However, I think that this would be a great shirt for nursing in if you made it with the buttonholes! I don't need a nursing shirt anymore, but if I did, I would have searched for that lost foot a little more.

Hard to see, but I used wood buttons for both of my pullovers. 

To be completely honest, I was nervous about the construction of this pattern at first. The shawl, the curves, the cute pockets... I wasn't sure if I was getting in over my head. 

But the construction was actually a breeze and there is even a video in the pattern to help. My second one went together in about an hour to an hour and a half (not including cutting time, because I'm a  slow cutter.)

I feel extremely comfortable wearing both of my new pullovers. I will make more!

And just to prove how much I hate the cold, here is picture from the photoshoot, I was obviously not enjoying the weather at the moment. This was a fun one to see when I was looking through the pictures later. 

But at least I had pockets, that made it better.

If you want to make your own Whistler, you can buy the pattern here. It's on sale through Thursday and the sale price is lower now than it will be on Black Friday!

**There are affiliate links in my post. I receive a small compensation for any purchase you make using an affiliate link. I have a sewing addiction, so I greatly appreciate it. All opinions are my own and I do not promote a pattern I do not love. **