Self-drafted Cat Cushion

Instagram followers may remember my ultimate thrift shop find a couple of years back, when I fell in love with a spooky-looking mid-century plush cat-shaped door stop. He was moth eaten enough to look like he had a few tales to tell, formed ears that looked a little like horns (enough to make him look slightly demonic if you were a burgler breaking in at night), but the cutest little cheeky face that made me know he needed to come home with me (before you say it, yes we're still describing the doorstop, not all my ex-boyfiends, OK?). 

Since the cat doorstop became part of my life, I have found myself idly doodling that little face, the almond shaped eyes with the square pupil, the lush embroidered eyelashes and whiskers, and of course those pointed ears. The character had already become part of an applique design I added to a calico cushion for my sofa, my first attempt at an air-dry clay model, and preliminary drawings for a future sticker design, but on sorting out my fabrics in the studio, I had a great idea to use that cat shape to use up some of this black fake fur. So the 3D cat pillow was born! 

I started by taping together 2 sheets of A3 paper and filling the space with my drawing. I made this deliberately oversized as I needed to take seam allowance into account, as well as the 3D-ness when he was stuffed. The shape is sooo satisfying to draw, though the ears always take me a few attempts with a tendancy to over exaggerate! I drew on the facial features so I could use this as a template for the felt face pieces. 

I also cut the face pieces out of interfacing to add to the back of the felt before attaching, to ensure they kept their satisfying shapes! 

Browsing my thread stash, I found the only creamy oloured thread I had to attach the facial disk was was a tiny, low quality thread that my machine practically spat out. I was aiming for a perfectly placed zigzag stitch all the way around the face, but the machine kept skipping stitches! Soooo I ended up having to turn the hand wheel all the way round, and then go backwards to re-stitch every time it skipped! This was super infuriating, as the applique was the bit I was most looking forward to, and it turned into a bit of an ordeal! BUT that said, The result is exactly what I wanted and I am proud of how neat each stitch turned out. 

Once the face was attached, the square pupils, eyelashes, nose, mouth and whiskers were embroidered on. One slight wobble and you can seriously affect the cat's entire personality! I used the original cat for close reference, especially on the eyelashes, though the features on mine are all generally a little larger than the orignial. 

The front and back cat pieces are then just sewn right-sides together, turned through and stuffed! The little stuffing hole then hand stitched to finish. 

Making freinds has never been so easy 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

x

Location: Junk Photography Studio, Sheffield
Currently listening to: Charmer and the Snake, Velveteers

Thank you to Chris @Junksheffield for the spooky studio shots!📸