Make a Catnip Mouse With Wool Weaving Scraps

I made our cat Graycie a toy mouse several months ago with a scrap of wool fabric I had left over after making Teddy bears. She loves it and plays with it every day. She always seems to know exactly where it is, even when we can't seem to find it.









Here is the pattern and instructions, and below will be photos of the steps. Click on the words below for a PDF pattern to print.

Catnip Mouse Pattern

The pattern is traced on the interfacing and stitched around before cutting out.

Clips are made at B.

Press under 1/4" and stitch down between B1 and B2.

Mark stitch line

 Mark slit positions.

Cut slits 1/4" to 3/8" for ears.

Cut out ears from thin leather scrap.

Fold ear and insert in slit.

Fold fabric so raw slit edges are even.

Zigzag through the ear and the cut fabric edges to secure ear.

It should look like this on the right side.

Cut a 1" strip crosswise from an old t-shirt. About 8" is enough unless you are making more than one mouse.

Stretch the strip until it rolls into a narrow cord.

Stitch the tail at A. I didn't like the red with this mouse, so I found another color.

 Fold body in half and stitch to where seam starts to curve.

 Fold the body like this, keeping tail centered.

 Turn over and stitch on the previously marked line.

It should have a point with a bit of tail poking out.

Turned right side out, it should look like this.

Sew the remainder of the seam, backstitching at B. Keep the tail clear of the seam.

Poke the sewn rear triangle inside and use the tail to help pull the body right side out.

At this point, it looks like a fish with its mouth open.

 Stitch catnip bag. I used a piece of old sheet from my stash of rag rug strips.

 Stuff the empty bag inside the mouse body.

 Use a funnel in the mouth to add the catnip. Poke it in with the eraser end of a pencil.

When full, gather the end and stitch closed. trim the excess fabric from the bag.

Add a couple pieces of cellophane on both sides. I use cracker wrappers because they crackle. Cats like the crunchy sound.

Poke them in with a pencil.

Hand stitch closed with waxed thread, using a ladder stitch.

Done! Now to call my favorite kitty.

I'm not sure if the video will work. I hope so. Graycie liked it.

Teddy Bear Wool Fabric

This project is destined to become Teddy bears.  All eight grandchildren have gone home, so I had a little weaving time tonight. The overdyed brown wool is on the loom, all threaded with the help of granddaughter Hailee, and the samples are woven.  The brown wool is sett at 16 epi.

The twill variations are from Davison's book, pg. 13 and 14.  It is threaded 1-2-3-4-3-2 and repeated.  The burgundy and brown sample is version V on pg. 13.  The selvedges weren't to my liking, but I realized we hadn't doubled the last 4 warp threads in the reed, so I fixed that, and the edges looked a little better.  I don't really have to worry about having good edges, since this is just fabric that will be cut, but I usually try to improve my skills while weaving, so I am trying to make them look decent.  The burgundy yarn is size 9/2 wool with 10% nylon. 

The second sample is woven with 100% wool, which has slubs of dark throughout.  It is another yarn I picked up at an estate sale.  This sample is from pg. 14, version VIII.  It is easy to treadle and memorize the sequence.  This one seems to be a bit firmer fabric, and the edges looked better.

After weaving about 6", I ended the sample with some plain weave, and coated the inch with glue.  I'm letting it dry overnight, and then I will slip a rod in the shed, cut off my samples before the glued area, and then reattach the glued area and the rod to my apron rod with texsolv cord.  I like this method for cutting samples, or completed projects off the loom without much loom waste.

I am going to cut my samples in half, keep one half unwashed as a reference, and wash the other half until the fabric feels stable.  It should be felted enough to keep me from poking a fingernail through the weave.  Once I check for shrinkage, I will be able to figure out how much to weave for each bear.