Introduction: 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