When I bought my Dolce & Gabbana Bengal Cat Dress, little did I know I would be making one for my daughter five years later. But when I walked into one of the oldest fabric stores in Copenhagen and laid eyes on this remnant, I knew it was inevitable. I had to make it.
To Be, or Not to Be … A Seamstress?
At the time, I was only just considering taking up sewing again. I was on the verge of starting this blog in hopes it would inspire me. Before that point in my life, I had not prioritized my love for sewing, even if it has always been my favorite creative outlet.
The time had come to bring back my love of creating clothes.
It wasn’t as if I had given up on my love of clothes. Instead, I got caught up in a different life, focused on a career and then my family, and in the process transferred my passion into collecting instead of creating. Basically, I had gotten busy collecting clothes instead of making them.
Wear the Cat Dress … Again!
The cat dress not only quickly became my favorite, but also a favorite of my daughter. She asked me to wear it all the time. This is why I knew if I made a similar dress for her, it would be a hit. The “ladylike” design of the adult dress would generally have been too conservative for my taste, but one look at the fabric and you felt silly and whimsical and that would override any hesitancy about the design.
So, it had to be the same for Ottilia’s dress. I wanted to mimic the style for her dress, but also keep it wearable and comfortable. I knew she wouldn’t wear it otherwise.
I had a hard time containing my excitement. But when I unwrapped this leftover piece of fabric, I realized just how little I had to work with. And my time away from sewing didn’t exactly help my confidence. Was I really going to be able to pull off my idea, especially given the relatively large cats that had to be taken into account.
I wondered, can I really make this work?
The cats weren’t exactly the same on the two prints. But this was actually better because on the remnant they were kittens! I didn’t want the dresses to be exactly the same, but complementary.
Further research showed that it was almost identical to the Dolce & Gabbana collection that launched the year after my dress in 2017.
So I really was on to something! It was going to be even better than I imagined … if I could get my pattern to fit.
It’s All in the Details
I was committed to the project. I was going to make the outside, and inside, look as professional as I possible. Surged seams, fully lined, invisible hems … the works. But first I had to scale the measurements down to fit Ottilia’s 6-year-old body.
I started on a Monday; the pressure was on as I had promised her we could wear our dresses together for a dinner party the following Sunday. Excited, she stood so still when I took her measurements. It almost felt like she was a dress form and not my otherwise energetic young daughter. But after the third fitting she was getting impatient, especially since this was late Saturday night and she was expecting to wear the dress on the following day … would I truly be able to pull it off?
Because it was such a small piece of fabric, it was challenging to make sure there was enough for a long-sleeved, calf-length dress. So we had to carefully plan every piece to ensure we got every possible cat face and body out of the design.
I involved Ottilia in making sure the right cats were in the right places. She took that task very seriously. The final dress clearly shows which cats got prime placement, aka her favorites.
We Did It! And Now There Are Two …
I did end up changing the shape a little to fit a young girl’s body, fewer darts and more room to move, but I tried to keep it looking like my dress. Every seam was surged and steamed before I sewed the dress and the lining together into the final piece.
I was a bit nervous about the zipper. I hadn’t sewn in a zipper in years, but the chunky gold zipper in the original dress influenced my choice to use something similar in Ottilia’s smaller version. I decided to keep the zipper fully exposed, instead of only partially, making it much easier to put in.
The result was twofold: a little girl happy about her new dress and, for me, a better understanding of how details can lift the basic qualities of form and design.
2 COMMENTS
janharness
4 years ago
You made much more than a beautiful dress — you made a memory that both of you can treasure forever!
Anna Lisa
4 years ago
Thank you so much, that means a lot coming from you! xx