Cat Costume Details – DIY Cat Costume –

For Girls With Attitude – Part 2

Sophia came by and tried on the cat costume dress before we added the ‘Cat Costume Details’.  It was a perfect fit, fortunately.  We did take her measurements and matched them to a size 10 and that’s what we made.

She pranced all around the house in it.  Clearly, she likes it.

While she was wearing it, we pinned on the boa ‘tail’.  We were thinking of adding the boa to the hemline, too.  That was too much and distracted from the tail.  We ended up deciding to sew the boa around the neckline only.  The boa placed right on the hem of the neckline, I felt, was a little too close to her face.  We decided to sew it 5/8″ from the edge of the neckline.  It was a minor adjustment but we felt it was warranted.

I bought two of these boas and because we decided against using it for the hemline, the second wasn’t necessary.  Sometimes you just need to recognize when too much is too much and let it go.  This was one of those cases.

Cat Costume Details

 

The Tail

The Boa is so light that no reinforcement had to be added to the dress.  I simply hand stitched the boa  through the fabric and through the seam allowance in the middle of the back of the dress.  A few stitches through the added bulk of the seam allowance was enough to secure and support the lightweight boa.

Then, Sophia told me how she wanted the ears.  She did not want them on a headband.  She wanted them on hair clips.  She remembered Emily’s fox costume from last year and wanted them to look similar to hers.

I showed her the fabric and tried to fashion an ear shape and explained I had planned to use black panne velour for the inside of the ear.  She wanted some wispy fur, too.  (This child has a creative mind!)

Grabbing a piece of the boa, I placed it on the leopard print ear shape around the outer edge.  She said, “Yes!”

I am not sure how to affix it to where it should go!  Lol!  Working on this…

How To Make Cat Ears

First of all, you need to cut two ear shapes from each, the leopard print fabric, the lining fabric, and the fusible fabric interfacing.  ‘I added the Pellon, or fabric interfacing, thinking it would stiffen the ears a little and keep them more upright.‘

 

 

 

Iron the fusible (‘Pellon’, as I am used to calling it, which is the brand I have used forever, now synonymous with interfacing!) interfacing to the worn side of the leopard print fabric. 

 

Stack the ear shape print fabric with the fusible webbing on top of the black facing fabric, right sides together.

 

Stitch 1/4″ from the outer edges, leaving an opening at the bottom for turning.

 

 

 

Turn the ear shape right side out now.  Stitch the opening closed along the bottom edge with a needle and thread.  When I stitched the bottom edge, I took a little pleat in the middle of the black lining fabric and pinned it before sewing the edge.  It helped the panther fabric roll around the edge better.  I did not iron this.  It wasn’t necessary.

You will also need to attach the ears to some type of hair clips or a headband.  Sophia did not want a headband.  Yes, I think it would have been easier to do that! 

I bought these hair clips and attached one to the ear.  It just was not working the way I had envisioned.  If I had made the ears smaller, it probably would have worked better.  Plan B is necessary.

What is plan B?  Why, asking my daughter, Tiffany, the hair stylist, of course!  She is sure to have an idea of what will work the best!

Update:  We asked Tiffany and she suggested we make three loops. using thread, along the bottom of the ear where hairpins could be attached.  That is what we did.  Each loop was made of multiple threads large enough for the plastic coated ends to slip through easily.  She said she could tease her hair up a little to help support them if necessary.

 Arm Gauntlets

The arm gauntlets, on the other hand, were too small.  The size 10 was too tight to even get over her hand!  They were too tight for me but I thought her hands were smaller.  Well, they are not.  Our hands are almost the same size!  This child is not going to be height impaired like her Grammy!

The reason for this is simple.  The fabric we purchased was a knit but it did not have as much stretch as some knits.  If we had used a panne velour, it would not have been a problem.  If you’re making these, keep that in mind.  Use a knit with plenty of stretch.  I ended up making the size 14 pattern for these and only taking a 1/4″ seam in those.

Finishing up the ears, buying some black tights, boots, and shopping for the cat eye sunglasses will be the next step.  I’ve got to show Sophia these glasses from Amazon, which look perfect!  (We are an Amazon affiliate and may receive a small percentage of any sale at no cost to you if you purchase through this link.  Thank you for supporting this website.)

Update:  The glasses are in and they are purr-fect!  They even came with a little fabric bag!

Click here for ►Part 1 – DIY Cat Costume – For Girls With Attitude! 

We are well ahead of schedule for Sophia’s Halloween costume but Aidan’s outfit is going to be much more involved, Master Chief (Halo)…  That is a challenge!

My little Sophie looked much older after her makeup!  Yes, she did look like a girl with attitude…