Crazy Cat Peasant Blouse

So why was this one of the most fun sewing makes ever? Well, just look at that fabric - guaranteed to put a smile on your face anytime!

Look at him!

Thanks to Miss Crayola Creepy and her Crazy Cat Lady Sewing Challenge, I am now the proud wearer of a crazy cat peasant blouse. I bought this fabric in Tokyo last year with the idea of making a knitting bag but never got around to it and when Erin announced her Sewing Challenge it got me thinking - could I make something so that I could actually get away with wearing this ridiculously cute fabric?

I used McCall's 6346 dress pattern and hacked it into a blouse using a top I already had for reference. I had made the dress version before so I knew my size - yay, no need to toile! All I did was square the side seams from under the arms down to the length I wanted.

I shirred 6 rows 1 1/4 inch apart as this was how my reference top was done. If you're a newbie to shirring as I was - I used this tutorial and it was really easy. I had been wondering how much fabric one has to allow for shirring and everything I had read said to double the amount. Well, I certainly didn't do that and if I had done, it would have ended up enormous. Maybe this was because my rows were quite far apart, I'm not sure. Initially I thought the shirring may not be tight enough but all you do is steam over it with an iron and it soon pulls in.

I whipped it up in an afternoon at my friend Karen's house which is the other reason this was so much fun to make. She has the most amazing new sewing room which I'm very jealous of but also super pleased she's willing to share it! It's great sewing with a friend, we had a good laugh and both ended up with something new to wear!

Thanks Erin for hosting this sewalong that I couldn't resist, be sure to check out what some of the other crazy cat ladies have made. I had a big smile on my face the whole time working with this fabric (though it was a little weird sewing over some of those cute little faces when I was shirring).

Of course they're not as cute as you, Koko!

I'm off to Japan again next week where I'll definitely be picking up some more fabric - I could do a whole collection of crazy cat blouses - how awesome would that be?