Sewing for gifts - cutest cat houses ever!

Jingle bells!

Deciding what to make for the family this year was hard. They have everything (sound familiar?) so I try to think of the unexpected. Skull-print aprons. Kitty treat mats. Walking Dead PJ bottoms. Camo board pants.

It's challenging. But projects are well underway.

For Ashley and Darrin, proud parents of 4 kitties, I settled on a cat house pattern from SeeKateSew. I found it just cruising DIY cat things on Pinterest.




It's unique, and it's free. But Kate could easily sell this pattern. It's beautifully drafted, and the instructions are great. Here's a pic of her version with personalized fabric:

It doesn't require a lot of materials - but it can be a little pricey to make. Well, compared to a wood crate with a folded towel inside :-)

Materials for 1 cat house:

(I found all my supplies at my local JoAnns on a sale day. They're available online as well. No, JoAnns didn't pay me to say this - I only mention it because it can be hard to source things like foam, online or anywhere else).

• 1 yard shell fabric.
  I used a home-dec fabric, 100% cotton.

• 1 yard lining fabric.
  Mine is cotton/poly broadcloth - it's very smooth.

Note: I laundered both my fabrics before I cut out the pattern. After a little shrinkage, the 1 yard cuts were a little spare - I had to cut 1 back across the grain. It only matters if you're working with a directional print.

• Not on Kate's supplies list: I decided to cover the inside cushion in sherpa fleece, rather than with the shell or lining fabric. 1/2 yard was perfect for 2 cushions.

• 1 yard 1/2″ thick foam.
  Show me the money... Since I was shopping for two houses, I got a 24" x 90" x 1/2" roll of foam, on sale, and with a coupon, about $14. That little bit of leftover foam will be absorbed by a craft project at some point - it's not wasted!

• 1 seat cushion.
  I got a couple of these, on sale for about $3 each.  

My first house, ready for the cushion:

A few notes on construction:

The foam was easy to manage - I drew the pattern on it with a Sharpie and cut it out with my household scissors. 

Kate suggests using a whipstitch to sew the foam pieces together. Worked great. I used No. 12 perle cotton, quilters pins, and a 4" long doll needle:

It looks just like the outline on an embroidered pillow. Cute!

There's no way the foam ears will go all the way up into the points of the fabric ears. Once I had the foam liner inside the shell, I used a little poly-fill to stuff the tips of the ears.

Kate also suggests using a ladder stitch to sew the lining and shell edges together in the oval entryway. I tried it, but switched to a simple small stitch, sewn close to the edge. It adds a little more weight and definition to the edge.

These houses are not little! and are perfect for a little-bit or a full-grown kitty. The entrance is about 8.5" wide and 7.5" tall. The house is 18" tall at the tip of the ear and almost 22" across at the middle. 

Such a fun project. Ciao! Coco