#13...kitty kraft

I recently made these kitty dolls for my cousin's nursery. She and her husband really love their cats Alfi and Miska (bottom photo), so I decided to create their likeness in fabric for a nursery decoration. I know that the stuffed versions will be loved by baby as much as the real ones are loved by the parent's-to-be.

To make the stuffed cats, I used a pattern from Denyse Schmidt's book Quilts. I have had the book for a year or so, and I have been dying to make this pattern. It was really easy to follow and really fun to make. I used scraps from a vintage tweed skirt, and a scrap from an old white quilt to craft the kitty dolls. I followed the pattern almost exactly, with one exception... I decided to sew the ears with finished seams by sewing right sides together and turning them inside out instead of clipping around the ears with pinking shears to finish them as the pattern calls for.

Denyse's pattern does suggest using felt eyes instead of buttons if the cats are intended for an infant, but I decided to go with buttons, knowing that baby will admire his or her cats on the shelf for a few years before getting to love them.

Each cat took me about 2 to 3 hours to create, and since I used recycled fabrics and buttons, each cost less than $6 for polyfil, felt and embroidery floss. I'm currently looking for my next kitty muse.