Knitted Cat Pattern Review

Pookie_Doodle

I saw this pattern for a knitted cat on Ravelry and as I just adore cats I couldn't resist having a go.

I thought I would share my journey and experience in case you want to knit a cat yourself.

The pattern is by Claire Garland and can be found on Ravelry: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cat-48

So to begin..... I looked at the recommended yarn and realised I could neither afford or justify spending nearly £30 on yarn to make a toy cat :(

So I popped up to my local yarn shop and there found a lovely variegated yarn by Cygnet yarns, called Prism. The colours looked lovely in a variety of browns, creams and blacks. Perfect to look a little bit like my own cat.

The pattern uses several strands of 4ply and lace yarns worked together so I hoped a double knit would suffice, if not it will just come out a different size to the pattern. I bought one ball (100g) and so far I think it will be enough. I also bought 100g of a plain beige DK "Baby Pato" for the muzzle and paws but now having started the pattern I realise maybe a smaller ball would be enough or scraps from my stash, but never mind the rest will come in for something else. In total I spent just under £5.00. I still have to buy eyes but have found some on Etsy for around £2.50 for a pair of cats eyes.

I'm using 4mm knitting needles.

The pattern is really well written and I am now at the back legs and have had no problems at all understanding what to do. There are very, very detailed instructions and lots of photos, plus video help but I've not come to that part yet.


My advice would be to read through the first few pages and the special stitch instructions before you get started.


I think if you can get through the first part you won't have any problems at all.


I think the muzzle is the trickiest part, not that it is difficult or hard to understand, it just needs some patience and dexterous hands to twist and turn the work. This is my muzzle completed.

Another tip if you decide to use a different yarn to that suggested in the pattern and it is a variegated one, make sure when rejoining the yarn that you find the same colour within the ball, even if it means winding off some of the other colours. As you can see above I have a definite line between the dark brown and the beige colours - I should have found the same brown and rejoined that, not the beige. Never mind I'm sure it will look fine when done, I might even sew a few long and short stitches to blend it in and break up the line when finished.

Here you can see the head (minus its ears) and the shoulders. The colours spread softly so I'm happy with how it is working out.

Here the body with start of back legs is beginning to take shape, you can see how this time I rejoined the yarn for the legs by finding the colour match and you cannot see the join.

I am pressing on with this cat. Knitting isn't my favourite pastime these days, I much prefer crochet,  but I wanted it so much that I'm prepared to do it.

Update 22nd August 2019.

Well we now have a full body! I changed my mind and decided to use the beige for the inner back legs and will also use it for the underside tummy. Again the pattern was easy to understand and as you can see we have a cat, albeit flat :)

The back legs fold in so that the inner beige is inside and joins with the under body colour. Just the ears, belly and eyes to do now.

Here is the back leg folded, you can see how it now forms a ticker thigh with narrow legs.

The front legs fold the same

You then knit in the belly by picking up stitches, don't be worried if it looks too small, you need to stretch and it it around the body edges:

The eyes require 15mm toy cats eyes, however it was bank holiday here and I was so desperate to get it finished that I made my own using 10mm toy safety eyes in black which I already had. I then crocheted a small circle by making a magic ring into which I crochet 8 dc (sc in US terms) then joined the round. I didn't pull the magic circle too tight so that I could put the stem of the eye into it. See following photos.

As part of the eye making process you knit a square 7sts x 7 rows and fold in half to form a rectangle. I  had trouble understanding this part as it talked about a 'boat' shape but after chatting with someone else who is making it I found I was indeed doing it correctly. (Thanks J)

Here is one eye in position:

Now both:

Now came the making up. I got a bit stumped in one part where it talked about using vach stitch to join some pieces, after a bit of googling and not finding anything I realised it was actually a typo and should be back stitch! LOL

I don't think I got the face right but I'm happy with how it come out.

I love how he has turned out but in hindsight would have made it in all variegated yarn and used only the beige for the paws which had been my original intention. I'm disappointed in the thickness of the yarns, they are both supposed to be double knit but the plain beige is much thicker than the other and it did have an effect on how it sewed together. The Prism variegated yart is more like a 4 ply.

I only stuffed the head and feet really well, the body is fairly well stuffed but only enough to keep it's shape allowing for some movement in positioning the cat, the legs were very sparsely stuffed.

I love the attention to detail on the cat, the little ear flaps just like a cat has, the little mouth and whisker pouches, knee bends too. So much work has gone into this pattern, it is unbelievable.

The pattern is really well written and you can't go wrong if you take it step by step. There are also lots of videos of individual steps for making up.

Well done Claire you are amazing.

I do hope you have a go at this cat, I won't say it is easy but if you like a challenge then go for it.

Would I make it again? Maybe. To be honest knitting isn't my favourite craft, I much prefer crochet and it is rare for me to do any pattern twice anyway. But I love cats and just had to make him :)

Happy knitting!

Find me on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PookieDoodleCrafts
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Pookie_Doodle
Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/people/pookiedoodle
Pinterest www.pinterest.com/pookie_doodle
Etsy: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/pookiedoodlecrafts

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Miniature Cactus Garden

A change from my usual craft, crochet or knitting posts.

I had a lovely shallow vase which had been sent to me many years ago with a flower display in it. For a long time it has stood empty so I decided to do something with it.

I'm not a great gardener so bought some small cacti as I had read they can be fairly easy to grow and I thought they would look nice in the vase.

I used some fine gravel and cactus compost to fill the bowl and after adding the cacti at intervals around the edge with one tall one in the middle, I then added a few large stones which I had.

I'm very pleased with the results and only time will tell how well the cacti grown but I hope they will be slow growing and continue to look nice in the vase  for a long time to come. If not I will re-pot them into something larger.

Happy gardening!

Find me on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PookieDoodleCrafts
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Pookie_Doodle
Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/people/pookiedoodle

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Using Ravelry

I love Ravelry! - www.ravelry.com

Do you use it too?

There is so much available on this website that it is all too numerous to mention, so I will just give you my top five favourites and urge you to go and have a look around yourself.

1. Pattern search

You can search for patterns with lots of filters:
by just a simple one word search e.g. "cat" "amigurumi" "sweater" "coaster"
type of pattern - such as clothing or toys
by name of pattern
designer name
type of craft
yarn weight
hook or needle size
it's rating by others who have made it
search for free patterns only or paid ones too
search by yardage for pattern, if you know the yardage of your stash this helps you use it up.

There are many more options than those above, you are bound to find something to suit what you are looking for. You can also save your favourite search terms.

2. Favourite pattern

When you find a pattern you like you can add it to your favourites to find later.

3. Projects

Here you can save the projects you are currently working on, those you have finished or those you have given up on.
You can save details about it, add photos and notes, what yarn you used, what needle size, where you bought the yarn, link to pattern etc.
You can rate your experiences of the pattern and yarn too.

You can make your projects available to the public or just Ravelry members.

If you blog about your projects you can easilyadd a link to your blog post.

4. Contributions 

Here you can add your own patterns to share with others.

5. Library

Here you can save patterns that you have bought or downloaded for free so you can find them in the future. You can arrange them how you like - I like the 'bookshelf' option, it is easy to navigate and see what you have.

There is also an attached forum where you can discuss patterns and other topics. I haven't used this for chat myself but I did use it when having a problem with a pattern. A search bought up a discussion on the very problem I was having and I was able to get on with the pattern using the tips discussed.

There are tips, help, designers, links to events, messaging service to ask questions of those sharing their patterns. Yarns, books, hooks and other things to buy.

As you can see I love Ravelry and it is my first port of call if I want a pattern.

Here's a good example - last week my grandsons were talking about Star Wars and Ewoks. I said they looked like little teddy bears! I immediately thought "I bet someone has a pattern somewhere to make one" and lo and behold I found one almost straight away! I am currently making one each for my youngest two Star War fans. :)

Another feature I just remembered which I love, is the bookmarklet. Add a Ravelry bookmark to your browser and if you see a pattern on the internet that you like, simply click on it and if the pattern is in the Ravelry database you will be taken straight to it so you can add it to your projects or favourites. Details of how to add a bookmarklet are here: http://www.ravelry.com/blog/110

I hope you go and have a look and find it as amazing as I do.

Happy crafting!

Find me on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PookieDoodleCrafts
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Pookie_Doodle
Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/people/pookiedoodle

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My Greek Zig Zag Shawl

I was lucky enough to have the chance to visit Greece recently, the Greek islands in particular. What a stunningly beautiful place. The people are the kindest, most welcoming I've ever met.

Before we went I decided to make my own tribute to the beautiful island of Santorini by making a shawl in some of the colours found on the island. I chose a pattern by Drops/Garnstudio and wanted to do deep blue to signify the tops of the buildings, white for the walls of the buildings and a paler blue to signify the blue of the sea and sky. I bought Drops Safran yarn but sadly the 'ice blue' I chose turned out to be a mint green colour so I had to use only the turquoise and white.

I'm pleased with how it turned out and in this picture you can see Fira, the capital of Santorini, high on the top of the hill above my shawl.
If there are any Greek readers here, thank you for letting me visit your beautiful country, you should be very proud of it and all your hospitality.

Now for the pattern review ....

The pattern was Drops design 146-6 Edelweiss shawl and is available for free: https://www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php?id=6010&cid=17

The pattern suggested two strands of yarn group 'A' but as I wanted a lightweight shawl I decided to try it using a single strand of 4ply Safran. It came out fine and I used a 3.5 mm hook.

It took 3 balls of White (Safran 50g) and 4 balls of Turquoise (Safran 50g)

Like I said the colours I wanted to use sadly turned out not suitable but I was happy with the two tone result. I do love Safran yarn, it is smooth and easy to crochet with, it does not split like some cotton yarns. It has a beauitful sheen to it on finished items.

The pattern is easy to understand using basic stitches and due to the repetition it means that after a while you don't need to keep referring to the pattern because you get into a good rhythm of working, it grew very fast and was completed within a week.

You begin at the back neck with a magic ring or a few joined chains, and the shawl grows outwards and downwards as you work therefore you can make it as big or small as you wish simply by working to the size you want.

It is weighty enough to feel warm on a cool evening but the cotton yarn means it does not feel too hot around you if the weather does turn warmer.

You could experiment using any yarn, I'm sure the results would be just as beautiful.

Happy crocheting!

Find me on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PookieDoodleCrafts
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Pookie_Doodle
Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/people/pookiedoodle

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Finding free storage options by using food packaging

Don't you just love using packaging as little storage boxes? Oh no,  go on, tell me it's just me that finds such delight! Hee hee

We sometimes treat ourselves to a special pudding from the supermarket, something indulgent - naughty but nice - and they often come in these really nice plastic dishes with lids which seem too nice to throw away.

After a quick wash they are really useful as storage for small items, I've got most of my buttons separated by colour now.

Just need a couple more - a good excuse for a nice sweet :)

Find me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PookieDoodleCrafts and Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/people/pookiedoodle

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Cats and crafts

I am very much a cat lover and cats or kittens feature in many of my creations.

Here are just a few, there are more which I will post about on another day:

Cat footstool - this was a tapestry design taken from the Crafty Cat Workbasket by Julie S. Hasler

I changed the design from that in the book to match the colours of my black and white cat at that time. The footstool was made from a piece of wood with some wadding placed between the tapestry and then the tapestry was held in place with decorative wood pins. (Similar to drawing pins but a little stronger, available from most hardware stores). I then added four small legs at each corner. Alternatively you might be able to pick up a small footstool from a charity shop and alter the design to fit the size.

Another design from the same book was this cross stitch scented bag. Once the cross stitch was finished I added a backing and a lace edge then filled it with a little soft wadding soaked in perfume.






You can still purchase this book at Amazon: The Crafty Cat Workbasket









These decorated T. Shirts were made using the 'Waste Canvas' technique.

Waste Canvas is a type of cross stitch canvas, it has an even weave. At the time I used waste canvas that was single threads and when you have finished your cross stitch you simply pull out each thread, from the top and then from the side, leaving your cross stitch in place on the work. You can still purchase this type of canvas but you can also now get waste canvas that will dissolve when wet thus providing another way of removing it. Here is an example, but it is available in many different counts: Waste Canvas

One tip for working with waste canvas is to make sure you do not catch any of the canvas in your stitches as you work, otherwise it will not pull out when you have finished.
I did two patterns both taken from 'Cute Cats and Teddy Bears' by Debbie Minton, one was a cat face and the other a sleeping kitten.

They look very effective when worn and many people were keen to know where I had got the T. Shirt.

You can still purchase this book at Amazon here: Cute Cats and Teddy Bears

I hope you have fun if you have a go at making something 'catty' :) I will come back another day and share my plastic canvas cat creations, a large cat tapestry and cat face cushion.

Happy crafting!

Find me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PookieDoodleCrafts and Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/people/pookiedoodle

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Drops/Garstudio "Call it Spring" and "Mykonos" - my next projects

Drops "Call it Spring" Pattern number 159-4 and "Mykonos" 152-22 

These are my next planned projects.

"Call it Spring" I plan to do in a mint green and the "Mykonos" in the same white as I think it looks super for summer. Both in Drops Cotton Light.

Writing patterns

Hi all,

I've been away this last week but haven't been idle! I'm working on writing a pattern for a crochet Christmas decoration which will hold a small photo of a loved one, or without a photo if you want - it works just as well as a decoration.

Wow, I never thought writing a pattern would be so hard! Designing it was easy and within an hour or so I'd created quite a few, but when it comes to actually writing out the instructions so that a novice can follow it is proving to be much harder than it sounds. I take my hat off to all you pattern writers!

So bear with me and the pattern and tutorial video will be available soon - I appreciate that Christmas is just around the corner when it comes to knitting and crocheting items so I will be as quick as possible, hopefully early next week.

Happy crafting!