Introducing the Put A Cat on It Sew Along!

If the mole is the unofficial mascot of chemistry, cats might just have to be the unofficial mascot of sewing. There are so many enthusiastic cat lady sewists out there, and I for one love it when these feline helpers pop up on my IG feed. When I shared my cat sweatshirt a couple months ago, quite a few of you voiced a desire for a cat-themed sew along, and I just couldn't stop thinking about it. After consulting Walnut, we decided to host just such a thing during his birthday month!

Walnut turns eight on October 30 this year, so consider this his cat version of Promaballoona? (But less organized, because face it, I've got a cat and SHB underfoot, plus many student papers to grade; also less alcohol, because cats drink virgin wine.)

So how does this work? During the month of October, join me in sewing cat-related items in these three CAT-egories (sorry, I couldn't help it):

1. items made from cat-print fabrics, either garments or accessories, or even home dec!
2. items with cat elements, like applique or quilt blocks or elbow patches
3. items for cats, such as toys or beds (or even garments, if you are courageous).

I'll be posting my own cat-themed makes, and at the end of the month we'll do a round-up of all the fabulous feline projects. While sewing your own unique cat fashion is incentive enough on its own, sew alongs are always better with prizes, so we do have some little bonus gifts!

If you've ever tried to sew garments from cat-print fabrics, you probably despaired, as I did, when you realized that first, they were very hard to find, and second, that what fabrics you could find were kids' pajama flannels from big box stores with ridiculous prints like this:

[source]

I love a ridiculous print as much as the next person, but sometimes you just want something more subtle, or at least more unique (oh, the horrors of running into somebody with a dress made from the same cat print fabric! I jest, of course, because that has never actually happened to me before. If that has happened to you, I would dearly love to hear about it). Well, despair no longer, furriends (sorry again), because Walnut and I are here to help you out. For each of the three categories listed above, I'll randomly select a winner to receive a free yard of fabric from Feline Dezine, an online store that specializes in cat fabrics. Like, there are PAGES and PAGES of them. If that's too overwhelming for you, I'll be spotlighting some of my favorites in another post.

And then of course, if you want to make your own cat fabric with whatever print or fiber content or weave you desire, there's always the print-your-own option with Spoonflower. I'll pick one grand prize winner to receive a Spoonflower Welcome Pack, so you can design or choose your own cat fabric in anything from performance knit (so you can take fake cats running with you, because heaven knows, a real cat won't) to silk crepe de chine (so you can take cats to a fancy dress party, I guess). I've wasted several hours browsing their many, many fabulous designs, so there's sure to be something to suit your fancy (feast. Wow, I really need to stop).

In case that's not enough incentive, for every participant in the sew along, I'll donate $8 (since Walnut's turning eight) to the San Francisco SPCA, which is where my family adopted Walnut's cantankerous but lovable uncles, Fenxi and Gummy. I love that the SPCA helped found the No-Kill Movement, plus they're super active with outreach and prevention.

I'm planning on making something in each category, but I'm still trying to decide what exactly. If you're in, leave a comment with your plans (or lack thereof)! You can also tag your makes on IG or Twitter with #putacatonitsewalong, and join the Flickr group to post your photos. I hope you'll join Walnut and I in celebrating sewing with cats!