Kitty dress

The Maven Patterns Kitty dress has been in my digital stash for quite some time now and I have been meaning to make one for ages. Patsy loved the pattern too and we’d talked about making one together for a while, so we decided it would be the project we worked on together in real life when I visited her in November. Alas, Covid had other ideas and our real life sewing session became a virtual one. So many eye rolls.

The main features that drew me to Kitty were that adorable Peter Pan collar, the unusual elbow darts and the fascinating bust dart feature. I made the Rochester dress by Maven last year, so I knew we were in for a pattern drafting treat and we were not disappointed! Construction was an absolute pleasure and Mrs Maven’s attention to detail is fabulous. Little things like the under collar being drafted slightly smaller than the top collar to ensure it rolls under when pressed make sewing such a pleasure. I was also really impressed with the way the pockets are drafted to allow you to overlock around the edge of them and the side-seam in one fell swoop, which gives such a tidy finish – bravo!

I bought the gorgeous green linen specifically with this project in mind. It is from With This Cloth and I knew I had to have it when I saw a sample photo of the Peppermint Magazine Pocket Skirt made up in it – it’s just such a lush colour! I haven’t worn the dress a huge amount since I finished it, but I do feel that the ‘lived in’ look you get with linen doesn’t really suit the vibe I was going for with the dress. That’s entirely my mistake and nothing to do with the fabric itself or indeed the pattern, but I think I may have preferred my dress in something a little crisper.

The other slight disappointment with my Kitty is that feature bust dart. When I made my Rochester dress I graded from an 8 bust/waist to a 10 hip and I felt the dress was a little snug around the neckline and shoulders, so for Kitty I opted for the straight size 10. I think the dress fits well overall, but the bust dart sits a good 1.5″ underneath my bust apex. In the sample photos of the beautiful pink version, that dart is sitting much, much higher up – right on the fullest part of the model’s bust. I am lacking significantly in the boobage department, which is probably why – if I make the dress again I will see if it is possible to raise the dart so it sits higher up on my tiny tits. Lesson learned.

Despite these slight negatives I do really like the dress and all its wonderful details. The gathered sleeve heads are so pretty and the neckline closure is lovely too! I bought the button in Duttons for just such a neckline and the filigree pattern on it echos the fabric I used for the lining perfectly. The pattern provides a link to a fantastic tutorial for making a thread loop, which I thoroughly enjoyed geeking out over as I experimented with different thread types before adding one to my dress – so much fun!

Do make sure you head over to Patsy’s blog and have a look at her denim Kitty dress. Her top-stitching is absolutely phenomenal and the contrasting thread looks amazing! Her Liberty lining is seriously special too. I can’t wait to see her in person at Christmas and plan lots of buddy sewing for next year – hopefully in person when this stupid virus has stopped spoiling everything!