Homemade Toy Cat

A little over a year ago, I sewed together a small, stuffed toy owl for my daughter. I used some soft upholstery fabric and felt from my fabric stash, and gave her wings, eyes, and a beak. My daughter decided she looked like a baby girl owl, and lovingly named her Hooty-Hoot. Now they are snuggle-buddies every night.

Since my son did not have a handmade animal friend, my daughter and I both thought he needed one, too. I chose to make a cat, since cats are his favorite animal. I drew the outline of a cat's body on the wrong side of some nice grayish brown upholstery fabric, then cut out two of those shapes. I then cut out felt pieces for his ears, eyes, and nose. I used a tight zig zag stitch for his pupils and his mouth. 

I thought the kitty looked a little plain, so I added a collar and some white stripes to his tail. Now the cat looked a little feminine and I knew my son would want a little boy-cat...

...so I added a blue necktie. I thought this made him look like a well-dressed little tomcat.

So I stitched it all down.

Then I put the right sides together and sewed around the outline, leaving a small hole at the bottom for turning it the right way. 

I found some matching thread in my collection, and sewed up the hole after stuffing the toy with fluff.

Presenting: "Meowy" (name chosen by my son)

My son was so excited when I gave him his own handmade animal. He loves Meowy.

And he is quite the dashing little cat with his fancy necktie collar.

Here is Meowy and Hooty-Hoot's family picture. They make a lovely pair.

Neither of these animals are perfect, but I think that adds to their charm and uniqueness. An imperfectly completed project is better than a perfectly planned project that will never be made.

-Bridget :)