Quite a bit more time has gone by than I originally intended, but a second version of Mr. Meow is finally finished. Well, I guess that it isn't wholly accurate to call it the second. It is the second one to make it all the way to this page, but there have certainly been a few other incarnations that weren't quite right and didn't ever get past the phase of partial stuffing. I'm getting very, very close to the final version, I think, and I'm hoping to have the pattern written by the end of the month or so. I don't always do so hot with self-imposed deadlines, so we'll see how that goes... I should definitely be able to manage getting Mr. Meow into the shop for custom orders of finished cats within the next week or so, and I'll let you know when he's there and ready.
I've made a few changes from my rough-draft pattern. First of all, I added a colorful belly patch for Mr. Meow. It is sewn down, but with an unfinished edge which I hope will fray a bit with appropriate use and love. I do love a good frayed edge.
Also, after giving the bow-tie situation more thought (probably too much) I decided to go with a simple wool felt tie instead of a patchwork one. The fabric tie was cute, but getting it to stay on and look just right was much too fiddly a process. Mariam was not into it. At. All. The whole concept behind these patterns is that they are really very easy to sew, and that even when fairly egregious mistakes are made, they'll still come out looking pretty swell. A fussy bow-tie just doesn't quite vibe with my vision here. But, the wool felt? Soft, easy and readily replaceable when your little one takes it off and flushes it down the toilet or drops it in the heat vent. That's much more the idea.
I also decided to heed the suggestion that many readers made and give Mr. Meow rounder ears that are a bit wider at the base. I think I'm headed in the right direction here, but I may do a bit more modification before I commit to his final ear shape. I've got one more idea to try out here, and I'll let you know how it goes.
And, I'm still working on the tail. That part is giving me absolute fits. I think my vision of how I want it to look might be a little too inflexible. Now I know why Mr. Fox and Ms. Rabbit are happily tail-less.
So, we're getting closer. And I'm definitely still open to feedback if you have suggestions that you would like to share. I'll probably be giving the call for pattern testers later this month as well, so if that is at all of interest to you, keep checking back.
