Thursday 24 February 2011

Scrappy kitty free pattern


Here as promised is the pattern for the quarter-hour kitty, who I've since renamed Scrappy Kitty. Scrappy Kitty is made from a scrap of worsted weight yarn, honestly you won't need much at all. It's an ideal way to use up all those little bits that you don't know what to do with. She's also filled with scraps of yarn, though of course you can use proper stuffing if you prefer. And Scrappy Kitty would definitely not win any prizes in the amigurumi cat shows. She is not a beautifully crafted, perfect work of art, far from it. But what Scrappy Kitty lacks in beauty, she makes up for in love. She fits perfectly in the smallest hands and pockets and will always be there for a kiss and a cuddle. All the little people you know will be clamouring for one and she's so quick and easy to make that you'll be able to please them all. 



You will need:

A very small amount of worsted weight yarn
A 4.00 mm crochet hook
A very large-eyed blunt needle (aka bodkin)
30 cm of embroidery thread for the facial features
Scissors to snip off all the yarn ends

Legs and body

First leg:

Start with a magic ring 

rnd 1 - 3 sc into magic ring
rnd 2 - 1 sc around

cut the yarn leaving the working loop, and put the first leg to one side.

Work the second leg in the same way, then:

rnd 3 - 1 sc in each of first 2 sts then pass the hook through the loop of the first leg and pull yarn through. Work 1 sc in each of the 3 sts of the second leg, then work an extra sc between the legs, and then 1 sc in the remaining st on the first leg.

That looks a bit complicated but it really isn't. Basically you are joining the two legs together and adding an extra stitch between the legs at the front and back. Remember that crochet is very forgiving and it will be fine if you somehow end up with 8 sc. 

rnd 4-7 - 1 sc around (or work 32 scs if you prefer counting each stitch as I do)

Stuff the body with yarn end scraps or a small amount of polyfill.

rnd 8 - sc2tog 4 times, pull yarn tight and fasten off. 

Arms

Start with a magic ring 

rnd 1 - 3 sc into magic ring
rnd 2 - 1 sc around

Fasten off, leaving a longish tail of yarn to sew the arms to the body.

Sew the arms to the body between rows 6 and 7.

Head, ears and tail

Start with a magic ring 

rnd 1 - 6 sc into magic ring
rnd 2 - 2 sc into each st  (12 sts)
rnd 3-6 - 1 sc around (or work 48 scs if you prefer counting each stitch as I do)

Stuff the head with yarn scraps or polyfill

rnd 7 - 2sctog 6 times, fasten off, leaving AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT a very long tail of yarn of around 20 inches or 50 cm.

Now sew the head to the body, then using the bodkin, thread the yarn through to where you want the ears to be.

To make the ears, make a small loop of yarn between two rows of crochet, then pass the yarn through the loop about six times, then pull, adding a couple of stitches in the ear if necessary.

Poke the bodkin through to the other side of the head and make the second ear in the same way.

Now thread the bodkin through the body and out where you want the tail to be. Remove the bodkin, and use the remaining thread to make a chain of crochet. When you reach the body, poke the crochet into a stitch near the base of the tail and pull it through, so it doesn't come undone. Trim the end of the tail.

Finally, embroider a face on your scrappy kitty.

7 comments:

  1. So cute! I look forward to trying out this pattern. It'll be nice to keep in my crochet bag for spare moments with just a bit of yarn.

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  2. Thanks Jane! Please do let me know how your scrappy kitten works out.
    Aisha x

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  3. Hi Jane, I saw your kitties on Ravely. They're very cute!
    Aisha x

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  4. these will be perfect to give to my niece and cousins

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  5. I'm sure they'll love them, Alleykat!

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  6. brilliant! I made one and know want to make more for my little friends

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  7. Cảm ơn cách làm của bạn, mời các bạn xem các thông tin rất hữu ích BCjir bạn các cách lấy cao răng ra sao ?

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