Halloween is both sweet and spooky. On the sweet side: apple bobbing, babies in pumpkin costumes, and of course, candy. On the spooky side: ghouls, ghosts and goblins. This duality is what makes Halloween so fun!

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

My Wool Patchwork Cat leans on the sweet side, but because he’s made with a dark medley of mysterious wool plaids, he’d be right at home on the end of a broomstick! Mary Flanagan’s Mini Textured Felted Wool is a real treat for the maker. It’s stretchy and forgiving, so even if you have never made a stuffed animal, this kitty will turn out huggable, loveable, and just a teeny bit spooky! -Molly

Materials

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

To make one Wool Patchwork Cat you’ll need…

  • A Mary Flanagan Mini Textured Felted Wool Bundle in Jax Black
  • A 110-yard spool of Gutermann’s Cotton Thread in color 9500
  • A package of Fairfield Poly-Fil stuffing
  • 1 ball of DMC’s Pearl Cotton Embroidery Thread in color 310 (black)
  • ¼ yard of Moda’s Muslin 45-inch 60 X 60 Count in Warm White
  • A free Wool Patchwork Cat template available to download here, printed and cut out.

You will also need a bag of dried lentils.

Size

Finished Dimensions: 15 inches tall and 7 ½ inches wide.

Note

All of the seam allowances are ¼-inch unless otherwise noted.

Pattern

This pattern is also available as a printer-friendly PDF. Just click here!

Cut

Using the template, cut the following pieces from the Wool:

  •  4 Ears
  • 1 Back Head
  • 2 Side Heads
  • 1 Top Head
  • 1 Nose
  • 2 Eyes
  • 4 Bodies
  • 1 Bottom Oval
  • 2 Tails
  • 4 Arms
  • 4 Legs

Have fun deciding which pieces to cut out of which prints!

From the Muslin cut:

  • 2 Bottom Ovals

You do not need to transfer the markings of the template pieces onto the cut pieces, but do keep the templates close by for reference.

Sew the Head

Gather the 4 Ear, 1 Back Head, 2 Side Head, and 1 Top Head pieces.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Pin the Ear pieces right sides together in two pairs.

Sew the pairs together along the two long curved edges that meet in a point.

Turn both Ears right side out and press them flat.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

With right sides together, pin one side A of the Top Head to side A of a Side Head, making sure that the Nose points meet.

Starting at the side opposite the Nose, sew these pinned edges together, stopping and backstitching ¼ inch before the Nose point.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

With right sides together, pin and sew the second side A of the Top Head to side A of the other Side Head. Again, stop sewing and backstitch ¼ inch before the Nose point.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Pin together the two C sides of the Side Head pieces, right sides together. Sew them together, stopping and backstitching ¼ inch before the Nose Point.

This is now the Face. The Nose area is the front of the Face, and the unsewn B sides are the back of the Face.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

With right sides together, match point 1 of an Ear with a side seam at the back edge of the Face. The top point of the Ear should be pointing towards the Nose point.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Spread the raw edges of the Ear out along the Face’s back raw edges. Pin together.

Sew the Ear in place with a scant ¼-inch seam allowance.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Repeat these steps to sew on the second Ear.

Turn the Face right side out to make sure you like the placement of the Ears. If you don’t, rip them out and sew them on again!

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

With right sides facing, pin together the Back Head’s two A sides. Sew along the pinned edge.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

With right sides together, pin side B of the Back Head to the back edge of the Face. Sew along the pinned edge.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Turn the piece right side out. This is now the Head.

Sew the Body

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

You will sew all of the extremities (Arms, Legs, and Tail) together in the same way. Here’s how…

Stack a pair, right sides together. Pin the pieces together along the curved and long straight edges, leaving the short edges unpinned. Sew around the pinned edge and turn the piece right side out.

Lightly stuff just the sewn ends of the Legs and Arms. Do not stuff the Tail.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Lay one Body piece right side up with side A on the left. Lay the Tail piece on top, lining up the Tail’s short raw edges with side A between the Tail markings indicated on the template.

Place the second Body piece on top, wrong side up. Pin all three pieces together along side A.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Sew the pieces together along the pinned edge, leaving a 3-inch gap in the middle of the seam.

This is the Back Body.

With right sides facing, pin and sew the two remaining Body pieces together along side A. This is the Front Body.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Open the Front Body and lay it right side up. With the Arms lying on top of the Front Body, pin the raw edges of the Arms along the curved edges of the Front Body between the Arm markings on the template.

Sew the Arms in place with a scant ¼-inch seam allowance.

Attach the Legs to the Front Body in the same manner.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

With right sides together, pin the curved sides of the Front Body to the curved sides of the Back Body. (Be sure to tuck all the extremities between the two Body pieces.) Sew these two sides together.

This is now the Body. The smaller unsewn area at the top is the Neck Opening. The larger unsewn area at the bottom is the Bottom Opening.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Flip the Body upside down so that the Bottom Opening is at the top. With right sides together, pin the Wool Bottom Oval around the Bottom Opening, matching the template points marked 1 on the Bottom Oval to the curved side seams of the Body and the points marked 2 to the straight middle seams of the Body.

Sew the Bottom Oval into place by first sewing from one point 1 to the other point 1. Then take the piece out of the machine and arrange the excess fabric towards the opposite side and sew the gap closed.

Attach the Head

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Turn the Body so that the Neck Opening is at the top and the Front Body is facing up.

With its right sides out, position the Head so that it’s upside down with the Face side facing up.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Slip the Head inside the Body, lining up the front, side and back seams with one another. Pin the two pieces together with a lot of pins.

Sew around the pinned circle a couple of times, making sure that you catch both the Head and the Body all around the circle of the Neck Opening. If you find this too unwieldy to do on a machine, you can do it by hand.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Turn the entire piece right side out through the unsewn gap at the back.

Finish

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Pin together the two Muslin Bottom Ovals and sew around their circumference, leaving a 1 ½-inch unsewn gap.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Stuff the Muslin Oval lightly with lentils and then sew the gap shut. This is the Bean Bag.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Slip the Bean Bag into the Cat through the unsewn gap and then lay it flat onto the Bottom Oval piece.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Stuff the Cat’s Head and Body through the unsewn gap. Sew the gap closed with a blind stitch.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

Place the Eyes and Nose on the Face of the Cat and move them around until you capture your Cat’s personality.

You will sew the Eyes on with the embroidery floss. Here’s how… Thread an embroidery needle with an 18-inch length of embroidery floss and tie a small knot at the end of the floss. Pull the floss through the back of one of the Eyes to hide the knot, then sew the Eye to the Head with several vertical tacking stitches. Tie a knot at the back of the Eye and pull the needle through the Head, exiting a few inches from the Eye. Snip the thread at the exit point to hide the thread end.

Sew on the Nose in a similar manner: Hide the beginning knot at the back of the Nose; sew it with a small running stitch around the perimeter; tie a knot at the back; pass the needle through a few inches of the Head; and snip the thread.

Wool Patchwork Cat | Purl Soho

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