Chromium Cat Hoodie + Paw Print Gloves

This year I didn’t sew Halloween costumes. I don’t know if it was my overall lack of enthusiasm and inspiration for the holiday, the fact that no one in my family really gave me a straightforward answer on their costume choices when I asked months ago, or what. Either way, I decided to save myself time and the hassle of it all, grab stuff from the thrift store, my Buy Nothing group, or buy a few accessories from the costume shop. The one thing I did agree to sew was a cat hoodie. I made this one a couple years ago and my daughter has since outgrown it and passed it along. As part of the Costume Parade at Project Run + Play, I took the opportunity to finally recreate it at her request.

For this year’s version, I used Call Ajaire’s Chromium Hoodie from the PRP shop. I mostly followed the pattern, with a few exceptions to account for the fact that I was using non-stretch sherpa (and the pattern calls for knit). I added an extra 3/8″ all around and dropped the armscye and sleeve 1/2″ for more room at the underarm. I also added an extra 1″ to the crop length because my daughter has a long torso. At her request, I made the cat ears bigger (printed at 125%) and also made them a little wider at the base. I added the inner ear pink portion by just cutting a piece smaller from the ear piece and stitching it onto one before sewing them both right sides together.

She thought the look wouldn’t bc complete without the addition of the paw print fingerless gloves + tail, so I whipped those up with some of the leftover material. I wanted to try my hand at just doing it myself instead of sourcing a pattern or tutorial, so I made my own. Here’s how I made them!

1. I traced my hand. It’s a little larger than my daughter’s, but I figured the fluffy material would make that less of an issue.
2. I neatened the shape a bit and added seam allowance. I only added 1/2″ all around, but in hindsight, I would have added 1″ on the sides and thumb area, but then sewn it with 1/2″. It ended up being a little snug to slide off/on. If you want to hem the top or bottom or add elastic, make sure to add enough seam allowance for it.
3. I just sketched the toe bean shapes until I was happy, then traced the onto paper to cut the fabric out. Sherpa is sooooo hard to cut in such small pieces, FYI!
4. I cut two mirrored sets of gloves. On one from each set, I stitched the toe beans on. After that, I sewed them right sides together with the plain piece from the set along the sides and the thumb curve. I left the top and bottom open and you either hem or leave raw (what I did). Also in 4, I randomly decided to make a tail. I just cut a piece ~6″ wide x 17″ long and sewed close to the open edge, then curved toward the bottom. I turned that right side out and stuffed with random scraps of the sherpa from cutting the hoodie out. I then stitched the open edge closed, and attached a safety pin to it so it doesn’t have to stay on the hoodie.

She was very happy to see that this turned out the way she envisioned. I’m happy that even at the age of 15, I can still make her little sewing dreams come true. She makes such a cute kitty! 🐈‍⬛