A Little Kitty Cat

I love cats. All kinds of cats.

So when I saw an opportunity to design a soft toy to share with the Instructables tribe, I got excited.

I knew it needed to be a kitty constructed in a way that will be safe for my new grand baby to play with.

The body of this cat is knit in a rectangle and the body, legs and ears are shaped by sewing as described in the instructions.

I like to work on 4 needles so there are no extra seams to sew, but this could also be knit on 2 needles. (Use the same number of stitches and sew up the seams for each piece.)

Here's what you need

• 1 50g ball of craft cotton - any color you want your cat to be
• Small amounts of sport weight (3ply) yarn in black & white
• 4 x 4.25 mm knitting needles
• 2.5 mm crochet hook
• Stuffing
• Darning needle

Step 1: Knit the Body

Using 4.25 mm needles, cast on 36sts

Divide onto 3 needles and work in rounds (12 sts on each needle)

Knit 40 rounds

Cast off

Sew the cast off sts together to make a tube that is open at one end

Step 2: Make the Ears

Use a 12" piece of cotton yarn and a darning needle

Measure 1 1/4" from the corner and gather up the corner of one side of your rectangle on the end that you have sewn together

Flip the rectangle over and gather along the back

Pull the stitches tight and tie off to make an ear

Weave in the ends of the yarn

Repeat to make the other ear on the other side of the rectangle as shown

Step 3: Stuff the Body With Polyester Stuffing

Lightly stuff the rectangle to make the body

Sew the bottom seam closed

Step 4: Sew the Legs

Using cotton yarn and a darning needle, sew the front and the back of the rectangle together for 2" to make the legs

Step 5: Make the Eyes & Face

Make 2 white eye the same using 3ply yarn and a 2.5 mm hook

Make a magic circle or (ch 2 and work in 2nd chain from hook)

Round 1 - 6 sc in loop (6sts)

Round 2 - 2 sc in each st (12 sts)

Round 3 - 2 sc in st, sc in next st * Repeat to end of round (18 sts)

Join the round and cut leaving a 12" piece of yarn

Using black, stitch a small spot on each eye as show in picture

Sew the eyes to the face

Using black, embroider a small triangle for the nose, the lines for the mouth and whiskers as shown in the picture

Step 6: Make the Arms

Make 2

Cast on 12 sts with cotton yarn and 4.25 mm needles

Divide on 3 needles (4,4,4 sts)

Knit 15 rounds

Next round, k 2 together around (6 sts)

Cut the yarn leaving about 10"

Use the darning needle to slip the stitches off of the needles

Pull tight to gather and tie off the end and weave in

Stuff each arm and sew the ends closed so they are flat

Sew the arms onto the body at the sides as shown

Step 7: Make the Tail

Using cotton yarn and 4.25 mm needles

Cast on 9 sts (3,3,3 sts)

Knit until tail measures 5"

Next round - K 2 tog around (5 st)

Finish as for arms

Sew onto the back of your kitty just above where the leg stitches end as shown

Step 8: Gather to Shape the Neck

Use 12" of cotton yarn and the darning needle

Gather all around the neck (front & back) just above the arms

Pull the 2 ends to gather the neck- but not too tight - as shown in the picture

Tie off the ends and weave in

And there you have it, your own little kitty cat