Put a Cat on It!

It seems like the closer we get to Christmas, the more bloggers start rolling out with themed crafts, you know, to prep for the holiday season by blinging out your clothes or using leather to add an unexpected punch. I don't know if anyone's seen Portlandia's "Put a Bird on It!" sketch, but here's my tongue-in-cheek take on themed craft weeks in preparation for holiday gift-giving: Put a Cat on It!

I even made a button! Now it's official. 

I got the idea for this when I came back from my UK trip with the memory of a fantastic cat-print chiffon dress that I'd seen at the Greenwich Market; it was a very simple cut, pretty much a pillowcase with holes cut out for the arms and head and with an elastic waist, so I didn't want to pay $30 for it. I swore I would come back to the States and find a similar cat-print fabric and make my own dress. Well, it turns out that cat-print apparel fabric is hard to find. There are plenty of quilting cottons with cats, but nothing with the drape that I wanted. After months of searching, I finally located this white chiffon with tiny black velvet cats at Wholeport.com, an online craft retailer based in China which I had previously ordered a trim sample from. Alas, they only had a yard left, so I had to settle for making a top instead of a dress.

Posing with the cat that looks most like the silhouettes on my fabric.

Which got me to thinking...why must it be so hard for us cat ladies to find appropriate clothing-based ways to proclaim our craziness? I mean, there was the Miu Miu collection a couple years back, and then the Charlotte Olympia kitty flats that I copied last year, but those are all super expensive. You can print your own cat fabric for a cheaper option, but I wanted some less messy/involved options too. So here's to Put a Cat on It! week, a slightly silly, but also secretly serious attempt to bring more cats into wardrobes across the world. For the rest of the week, I'll be sharing my feline-focused projects...stay tuned! Or, you know, unsubscribe for a week (if you haven't already done so because of the slew of hobbit-related posts) so you don't have to be subjected to any more cats, because goodness knows there are enough on teh interwebs as it is.

NO. DO NOT WANT TO BE CUDDLED. 

Fenxi attempts to make his getaway. 

Oh, and this top? It's essentially a square top with a slightly longer back hem and a pussy bow (because cats! Get it? get it??) neck tie thingy.  There's really no shaping to it, so I'll only ever be wearing it under a cardigan, but it adds a fun detail for those who are on the lookout for cats.

And yes, I'm well aware that cats are not the reason for the season, but if there was more than one lobster present at the birth of Jesus, why couldn't there have been a cat or two? 

Also, congratulations to Louise for being the winner of the Hobbit-themed giveaway! Email me as soon as you can so that I can mail you your goodies!