Catnap Dress Contest: Becky's Cat Whisperer Dress

Fancy Tiger's fourth contestant to enter the heated Catnap Dress battle is an expert crocheter, the maker behind Becky's Buttons & Things and also works at our sister store, Fancy Tiger Clothing. Needless to say, she's got great style and she couldn't be more adorable in her new Catnap Laurel dress.

 Becky Wareing Steele

1) Tell us about your dress - which fabric and pattern did you use? Did you make any alterations?
I made my second ever Laurel dress from Colette using Kitty Dreams as my main fabric and Cattitude for the interior pocket lining. I took in the Laurel pattern on the sides to give it more shape and added interior pockets to add some extra functionality to the piece.

2) What obstacles, if any, did you have to overcome for this challenge?
I learned the hard way that it is important to pay attention when using fabric with a directional pattern. My first dress that I cut out was upside down. The mistake was caught before I started sewing and I was able to start over. I may still make the upside down version of the dress to give me the added motivation to master the headstand.

3) How many other cat clothes do you already own? Can there be too many?
The quick answer is not enough, there can never be too many cat clothes.

4) Do you have cats? How many and what are their names? Do they like your cat dress?
I have two furry babies at home, Charlie & Eva Brown Tail. Charlie is 7 years old and Eva is one year behind at 6. Although Charlie is nearly three times the size of Eva she really runs the household. Both of them are full time Quality Control Kitties at becky's buttons LLC which came in handy when making the dress. We had nightly meetings where they'd pick apart the smallest details and send me back to the sewing machine. The interior pockets were all their idea, they figured it'd be the perfect way for me to always have cat treats on hand. Honestly I've never been worked so hard, although I have the sneaking suspicion that it was all part of their master plan to steal my warm spot in the bed.

5)How do you keep cat hair off your handmade garments?
I think it's less about keeping cat hair off and more about embracing it. If I leave the house without any cat hair on me it's probably a sign that the kitties are upset with me.

6) Why should you win the Catnap Dress contest?
Honestly I already feel like a winner. This is only the second dress I've ever made and just owning this beautiful custom made dress that I'll have for years to come is reward enough. Oh, but yeah I would also really like to win : )