Plush Felt Kitties

Time for a fun project!

As you may know, I sew with a vintage 1960's Singer Slant-O-Matic 503A sewing machine.  It's not a fancy new computerized sewing machine but it's wonderful and capable of doing anything and everything I need it to do. (If you care to learn more visit slantomaticfanatic.blogspot.com).

Fancy decorative stitches are just one of the fun things my machine can do. I wanted to show a project that utilizes those stitches and here is what I came up with: adorable Plush Felt Kitties. If your machine doesn't have fancy stitch patterns don't worry! A standard zigzag makes adorable stripes.

The joy of this project is that the kitties are super easy to customize. You can use my patterns, design your kitties based on cats you know, or just make up your own cute designs for your Plush Felt Kitties. You can make them very large or super tiny.

Another great thing is that this project is super cheap; you can make a whole family of kitties out of just 1 piece of felt.

Felt is a very forgiving material. It doesn't fray, it stretches a bit, and is very inexpensive.  This is a great project for a beginner or a child or a seasoned crafter.
Difficulty level: ❥❥

Cost: ❥

Let's get started!

Here's what you need:

❥ Felt (any color)

❥ Thread

❥ Stuffing/Fiberfil

❥ Marker/pen or fabric chalk

❥ Beads or buttons for eyes (optional)

Here is my basic pattern for kitties in 3 sizes:

Print the pattern.

Here is a link to the printable pattern:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwGC9pS0wPAZV1ZZTTJKOGVpZGc/view?usp=sharing

Place the pattern onto the felt and trace around the pattern pieces. I used a thin Sharpie.

Now, decide how you want to decorate your kitties. You leave them plain and have solid colored kitties or you can give your kitties stripes or spots:

This can be done by hand or by machine. If by machine, use a closely spaced zigzag and zigzag your cut out detail shapes (such as spots or ear colors) onto the body or tail of your kitty. 

If you are using your machine to do decorative stitching for stripes you can choose to do it before you cut out your kitties or you can do it after. I find it easier to decorate them before cutting them out. This allows you to stitch right to the edge of the pieces.

Decide what stitch you want to use. Here are some sample stitches I used for my Plush Felt Kitties:

Play around with the width of the stitches and the space between the stitches to get more solid stripes or more sketchy stripes. Keep in mind which part is the face and which is the back of the kitty and decorate accordingly.

For stripes I have marked them on the pattern pieces so that when you sew up the pieces the stripes on the front will match reach the stripes on the back. Mark the ends of the stripes with a small dot on the edge of each piece:

Start on one dot and sew across to the corresponding dot.  You can sew stripes across the face or leave a blank space for the eyes and nose.

Here are the pieces with the stripes:

Trim the ends of the threads and cut out the pieces. Cut on the line; you don't need to add a seam allowance.

Once your kitties are decorated and cut out it's time to sew them up.

Stitch around the edge of the kitty, making sure to leave an opening to stuff the kitty or your plush will be very flat and sad. Also stitch around the tail, leaving the end open to stuff.

You could stitch around the edges and then turn the kitties; this gives a clean edge. However, I like to zigzag around the edge on the outside of the kitties. It makes them look fluffier and, I think, even more adorable. 

Next, stuff the kitties. They can be stuffed until they are very firm or very soft, depending on how much stuffing you put in. Stuff the tail, using a pencil to push the stuffing all the way into the tail.

Then close up the hole on the body of the kitty. You can stitch the hole shut by hand or by machine. For kitties with a zigzagged edge I use my machine. This gives a nice, continuous, even edge on the kitty. 

To finish it by machine you will have to smoosh the stuffing to the side a bit, giving a flat surface for the machine's foot to sew on. Lower the pressure foot and stitch along the edge as you did the rest of the outline of the kitty, closing up the hole. Don't sew the end of the tail shut or it will be flat where it attaches to the kitty's bottom.

By hand, stitch the tail onto the kitty. This doesn't have to be invisible or perfect stitching as you can make it look like another stripe. Or use matching thread and it will blend into the felt.

Here is the assembled kitty:

And here is my army of assembled Plush Felt Kitties, decorated in many ways:

Now for the fun part: adding the finishing touches.

Give your kitties personality by adding eyes, noses, mouths, collars, whiskers, etc. Use thread, buttons, beads, ribbon, paint, or anything you'd like. I went into my vintage button collection for eyes and noses and stitched on mouths and whiskers.

Here is my complete Plush Felt Kitty family:

It's amazing how much personality you can give them with just a few details.

Super cute and super fun.

Happy creating!

-Sugar❥



https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwGC9pS0wPAZQTdBWm9EY0FJck0/view?usp=sharing