Sweater-vember: Sweater Stuffies Part 2

I’m loving these sweater stuffies so much, that I just had to make more! (Check out my first bear and bunny project here!) This time, I experimented with ways to simplify the design so that sewing was minimized but cuteness was maximized. What animal takes cuteness and fuzziness to the max? Lil’ stuffed kitties, of course! 🙂

My first design was basically a circle-shaped pillow with ears and a tail. I used more of the cashmere sweater remnants that I had used in the last post. I traced a bowl to create circles, then sketched out a pattern for ears and a tail. After cutting out two circles, two ear patterns, and one tail, I was ready for pinning and sewing!

First, I stitched the tail piece into a tube and turned it right-side-out.

I then pinned the tail so that it pointed into the inside of the circle. The edge of the tail would then get stitched into the seam going around the circle. Once the circle was turned right-side-out, the tail would stick out from the side of the cat.

With the pieces pinned, it was time for sewing! I first used scraps of sweater to test which size of zig-zag stitch worked the best on the fabric. Next, I stitched the pointed parts of the ears together, leaving the bottom edges open.

I then stitched around the circle of the body, leaving an ear-sized gap open.

Hooray! Time to turn the pieces right-side-out, admire the tail we had created, and get to stuffing!

Before attaching the ears, I rolled under the open edges of the circle and pinned. Next, I inserted the ears into the hole, sandwiching the ears between the rolled-under edges of the circle. I pinned it all in place and hand-stitched the pieces together.

Time for some detailing! I folded the tail onto the back of the body and top-stitched it into place. Then, I added adorable buttons on the front for a face! I christened the kitty “Meow Cat”! 🙂

Now for one more cat design! I started by cutting out two bowling pin-like body pieces. Then I cut one ear and one tail piece from the ribbed bottom and cuffs of the sweater. Since the ribbed sections were thick and stiff enough on their own, I didn’t have to cut two of each piece and stitch them together. The ears and tail were thick enough as one layer.

I pinned the two body pieces together, inserting the tail piece into the cat’s body and pinning it into the seam area (just like I did for the first cat). I left a gap in the pins at the top of the “head.” Since this was a new thickness of sweater fabric, I experimented with stitch size before sewing up the body.

I sewed up the body leaving the opening at the top of the head. I made a few tiny snips in the seam allowance to help the curved seams lay flatter when the body was turned right-side-out.

After turning the body right-side-out, I added stuffing!

Next, I rolled under the open edges of the head and pinned. I inserted the ears into the gap and sandwiched all the pieces together. The layers were pretty thick, so I pinned them as well as I could. I also pinched the pieces in place while I hand stitched everything closed.

After adding buttons for a face, we had a kitty! Introducing “Orange Cat”!

Of course, Bearly Bear and Funny Bunny from our last post welcomed the new arrivals! The stuffies are besties already! 🙂 Huggable, fuzzy adorableness is ready just in time for the holidays!