This charming cat will keep your door open on windy days.
Size
Height 37cm
You will need
• pattern grid
• dressmaker’s metric pattern paper
• dressmaker’s pencil
• 50 x 75cm piece of denim
• 50 x 75cm piece of calico
• 30 x 35cm pieces of contrast fabric in two different stripe patterns
• matching coloured sewing thread
• 50 x 50cm white fleece
• remnants of felt in black, red and blue
• back nylon cord
• plastic beads for eyes and centre of flowers
• stranded embroidery thread in three contrast colours for the facial details
• sequins to decorate
• 50cm length of satin ribbon in contrast colour
• small decorative bell
• pulses to stuff body
• polyester toy stuffing
To cut
1 Enlarge the pattern grid to size. One square on the grid represents 1 x 1cm. A 1cm seam allowance has been included on all pattern pieces. Draw the three body pieces and base for the cat to size accurately on metric graph paper using a separate piece of paper for each section. Now draw the body and head pieces for the miniature cows in the same way.
2 Cut out two body pieces from the denim and calico fabrics. Cut out one base from the denim fabric. Cut out one middle body and one lower body from each of the contrast stripe fabrics. Cut out a small heart shape from red felt for the cat’s nose.
3 From the white fleece cut out two bodies on the fold and four heads for the miniature cows. From the black felt cut out small irregular spots for the cow print. Cut out one nose each from the red and blue felt.
To make
NOTE Sew all seams together with the right sides of the fabric facing and work a 1cm seam allowance.
Cat
Inner cushion
1 Machine stitch the two calico cat pieces together around the outer edge, leaving the lower edge open. Pin the denim base piece into the lower edge and machine stitch closed, leaving an opening of 10cm for turning. Clip the seam around the curved edge frequently so it will lie flat. Turn through to the right side.
2 Insert the pulses into the inner body. You must microwave the dry pulses first for a few minutes to prevent weevils and other insects from settling into your doorstop. Close the opening with small, neat hand stitches.
Outer cat
1 It is best to work all the detail on the front of the cat before you assemble it. Start by machine stitching the middle body to the denim body; it isn’t necessary to finish off the raw edge of this piece, as shown in the photo.
2 Sew the lower body in place. Place the felt heart in the centre of the cat’s face. Attach it to the denim with small neat stitches at each side in one of the contrasting embroidery threads. Now work the whiskers with one long running stitch in the same thread. Draw the eyes and nose in position using the dressmaker’s pencil. Using three strands of embroidery thread, and working in small, neat back stitches, embroider the eyes and mouth in place. Darn in all the loose ends at the back of the work.
3 Now sew sequins at random on the denim between the head and the middle body.
4 Place the front and back denim pieces together with the right sides facing and machine stitch around the outer edge, leaving the lower edge open. Make sure that the contrast fabrics are caught into the side seams in this process. Clip the seam around the curved edges and the points of the ears before turning through to the right side.
5 Fold a 1cm double hem along the lower edge and press. Machine stitch the hem in place. This completes the main cat section.
Miniature cows
1 Prepare the body sections first by sticking the cow print in place with fabric glue. Use the glue sparingly and leave to dry. Cut two lengths of nylon cord 20cm long for the legs and one length of cord 10cm for the tail. Fold the legs in half and attach to the wrong side of the fabric at the lower body section. Attach the cord for the tail.
2 Fold the body section together with right sides facing and machine stitch around the outer edge, leaving a small opening in one side for turning. Make sure the legs and tail are caught into the seams.
3 Turn to the right side through the opening and fill with the polyester stuffing. Use a knitting needle to push the stuffing into the smaller areas. Hand sew the opening closed. Tie a knot in the ends of the legs and tail to stop the cord from unravelling.
4 Prepare the head sections by first sewing on the noses. Sew gathering stitches on the top section of the head between the ears and pull in. Sew on black plastic beads for the eyes. Now sew the two head pieces together but leave the ears unstitched. Leave a small opening for turning at the side edge.
5 Turn through to the right side and stuff with polyester stuffing. Close the opening. Hand stitch the head to the body. Tuck the front ear piece down over the stuffing, into the back piece.
6 Repeat this process for the other cow. Hand stitch the cows to the outer cat layer. Cut out felt flower shapes and attach them between the cows using a bead.
To complete
Place the inner body section into the outer cat so the denim base sits just above the hem line. Thread the bell onto the ribbon and tie in a bow around the neck.
No comments yet.