Fun toys for the kitties you know. Mice, olives, & owls—Oh my! Just add some catnip to their stuffing and you’ve got some sweet gifts!
Very dapper mice to sew for the discerning feline. And a great way to upcycle out-of-date menswear hanging in the back of a closet or at your favorite thrift store. You can hand stitch these or use a machine. I wouldn’t use beads for eyes—just embroidery floss. You’ll need:
- Assorted menswear fabrics (such as wool suiting, cotton shirting, corduroy, and cotton velvet)
- Iron
- Fusible webbing
- Sewing machine and sewing supplies
- Loop turner
- Fill
- Catnip
- Embroidery floss
- Embroidery needle
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Festive stuffed green olive to knit for the martini loving cat. (via i-like-lemons) These are super cute. These can be left as-is or you can lightly felt them. You will need:
- 2yds (1.8m) sport weight or baby weight wool. Mary Jane used Jamieson and Smith 2ply jumper weight #83 dk olive, FC11 bright olive, and #9436 Dale of Norway Baby Ull pale olive (Baby Ull, a superwash yarn, won’t felt much, but it will get fluffier)
- 1.5 yds (1.4m) Jamieson and Smith 2 ply jumper weight #125 pimento
- 1 set dp needles size 2 (3.0mm)
- catnip
- 1 crewel embroidery needle
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Soulful owls to crochet for the serious cat. You can make him just the size you want. If your cat might eat off the eyes, use yarn instead of safety eyes. You’ll need:
- < 25g of scraps of wool, in at least two colors
- 17mm color safety eyes (x 2)
- catnip
- A 3.5mm crochet hook, a little stuffing and a needle and thread
Remember that nifty modular Catswall from last week? I was thinking it reminded me of something I’d seen before—Ikea’s Mandal headboard. It comes with 6 shelves you can move around as you like. Or you could get 2 headboards for even more options. Someone over on IkeaHackers used part of a bedframe they found and some Lack shelves to make their own version. You could make your own piece like the headboard, but for $150, I’d just get the Ikea version.
