Introduction: How to Make a Grumpy Cat Plush

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All day yesterday, I attempted to make the grumpy cat. It's not perfect, and there are things I would do differently if I were to make it again, but I think I did an okay job at making the celebrity cat into a plush cat. It took awhile to figure out how to make it, but I finally got it down. I even made a tutorial so you can make one yourself! Here we go:

Step 1: What You'll Need

First, you'll need this pattern. (I hand drew my shapes to the best of my ability, so feel free to do the same if you don't like my pattern. I didn't draw a pattern for the tail, because I didn't have room, but we'll get to the tail later.)
You'll also need:
2 sheets white felt, 1 sheet brown felt, 1 sheet tan felt, 1 sheet pink felt, 1 sheet blue felt, 1 sheet black felt, needle, white thread, black thread, tacky glue (optional), pins, scissors, poly-fil and a sewing machine.
The felt I used was a kind of polyester felt made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. Yay for using "green" felt!

Step 2: Cut Out Pieces

You'll need to cut out the body shape. Since the rest of the pattern is inside of the body shape, you'll cut those out after you cut the felt for the body. Make sure to cut out two body shapes (in white)!

Now you can cut out the rest of the shapes. Be sure to cut out four brown ears, two tan ears, two blue eye pieces, two black eye pieces, two brown eye pieces and one mouth. You'll also need to cut out a tail. I cut the first one just by freehand, then I placed that onto another piece of felt and cut around it so I had two pieces that matched. (By this point, I had no pink felt!)

Step 3: Sew

Now you can get out a needle and both white and black thread. First, using white thread, sew the tan ear pieces on two of the brown ear pieces. Then, using black thread, sew the black eye pieces onto the blue eye pieces.

Step 4: Sew Some More

Now get your tail pieces, place them together, sew using a sewing machine and turn inside out. Do the same with the ear pieces. You should also sew the mouth on at this point. I sewed mine on by hand, because sewing with a machine would have taken for. ev. er.

Step 5: Sew Even More

Now sew the eyes onto the body of the cat, using black thread in your sewing machine. Sew around both the blue parts and the brown parts. Make sure to go very slowly around curves and lift your presser foot to turn the cat as needed.

Step 6: Sew and Stuff Small Parts

Now pin the other white body piece to the one with the eyes sewn on. Make sure to place the already stuffed ears and tails inside beforehand. MAKE SURE THEY ARE STUFFED BEFORE YOU START SEWING!

Sew all the way around, making sure to leave an opening at the bottom of the cat. Turn right side out.

Step 7: Stuff and Sew It Closed

Stuff the cat with poly-fil! I originally didn't stuff mine enough, so later I went back, undid the stitches, stuffed it some more and sewed it back. So always make sure you're happy with the amount of stuffing before sewing.

Fold over the edges and pin shut. Pinning isn't always necessary, but I find it helps a ton.

Now sew shut! I used a ladder stitch. That works wonderfully when closing seams.

Step 8: Now You're Done!

You're done! Now you can set him on your window-sill...

...Or on the back of your couch!

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Epilog Challenge V

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