I absolutely fell in love with this gorgeous fabric from Heather Ross’s Tiger Lily collection. I bought a few yards with the intention of making a shirt or two for Madeleine and maybe something for me… OK, maybe it’s a little young, but it’s just so sweet!

Anyway, I started this shirt last fall using the Craftiness is Not Optional Olivia pattern. I also made a foxy dress using the same pattern, pictured below.

I learned some things about the fit through making this dress. Of course, I’d already cut out the kitty fabric, so I had to figure out how to make it work. I ended up making several adjustments to the pattern (to the sewing, actually) to get to the finished kitty shirt.

First, I took the yoke in a little with a back pleat.

I took in the front an equal amount.

Next, I added a waistband. The waistband not only made for cute styling, but changed the fit to a more body-hugging fit, and also made it easier to sew the top to the bottom.

I also made cap sleeves instead of the longer sleeves (or sleeveless). I just cut a few inches off the sleeves, so they were basically half circles.

Finally, for the neckline binding, I moved it inside the shirt, rather than around the top. I chose green from my grandmother’s stash of bias tape, to go with the accent color on the fabric.

Miss M loves her kitty shirt! The first day she wore it to preschool, she spilled purple something all over it, but since I’d Scotch-Guarded it, it came out fine.

This was a fun project. I may make it again, in the next size up.