Cats - The Musical Knitted Christmas Ornaments

As promised, here's the pattern for the little knitted Kitty Head from the Superstitious post,

The cat head is also the one I used for the Cat Cup Cosies, shown in the post, Reindeer Cup Cosies

Here
Eta (The above link takes you to the Reindeer Cup Cosy pattern. If you want to make the Cat Cup Cosies, just use that pattern, replacing the Reindeer with the Cat Head Pattern below ( I seem to have confused everyone with too many links, hope this is clearer now)

And now also a                                              

                               Knitted Cat Musical Christmas Ornament

Well this one meows lol, which is very cool, but not at 1am in the morning, when you're trying to sew him up and the rest of the family are fast asleep. The other one plays Brahm's Lullaby, but the "Meow" was a great find, I jumped up and down when I found it, it was perfect for my little cats.

If you have Bear lovers in mind instead, adjust the ears a little and you can have a musical teddy bear - I know there's a music box out there that plays "Teddy Bears Picnic".

The Cat Head measures approx 6cm across, finished.

Materials  
Scraps of DK / 8ply yarn in
- body colour
- pale pink for ears, nose, mouth
- eye colour
- white or black for the whiskers - I unravel 1 or 2 strands from 8ply yarn and use this thinner thread to sew the  whiskers.
- gold thread for hanging
- a little stuffing
- 3.25mm knitting needles
- A press type music box small enough to fit inside the cat head. The ones I used are 3.5cm across, but they are quite thick and just fitted with a little bit of stuffing around them.

I found mine instore at our local Build A Bear but you'll also find them on Bear & Doll Making sites.

CAT HEAD - Make 2, front & back

With 3.25mm needles and cat colour,

Cast on 8sts, leaving a long thread at the start for sewing up later. The whole cat is worked in st st starting with a K row.

St st 2 rows 

Row 3 - Inc each end of row - 10 sts

Rows 4 and 5 - Inc each end of row - 14 sts

Row 6 to row 14 - St st.

Row 15 - Dec each end of row - 12 sts

Row 16 - P

Row 17 - Dec each end of row - 10sts

Row 18 - Dec each end of row - 8 sts

Row 19 - Dec each end of row - 6sts.

Cast off. 

Do another to match.

EARS - Make 2

Using the Cat Colour, 

Cast on 8sts leaving a long thread for sewing

St st 2 rows

Row 3 - Skpo, K to last 2 sts, K2tog - 6sts

Row 4 - P

Repeat last 2 rows until 2sts remain.

P2 tog

Fasten Off.

INNER EARS - Make 2

With pale pink, co 6sts leaving a long thread for sewing

St st 2 rows

Decease the same as for the ears, again ending with 2 sts, 

P2 tog, fasten off.

MAKE UP

Sew in all ends not needed for sewing.

Place an inner ear on each ear, with the bottom edges aligned and both right sides facing forward. The inner ear will sit just inside the ear. Lightly stitch it in place, picking up small stitches on the ear, making sure the stitches don't show through on the back of the ear.

Place the cat heads together, right sides facing in. Starting from one side (leaving the bottom edge open) stitch up and around cat using a backstitch and very small seam allowance, stopping 1/2 way down the other side. 

At this stage, if you're not using a music box, leave a little of the side seam open and the bottom edge to make it easier to turn right side out and stuff. Continue finishing the seam with mattress stitch and stuff. Use a chopstick to help. Sew across the bottom edge. 

Sew on the ears and embroider the facial features see the pics for guidance. For the eyes I made two lazy daisy stitches for each eye, one inside the other, and one stitch of black yarn vertically.

If you're using a music box, it's important to embroider the face and sew on the ears before putting in the box .

Again leave half the side seam open, checking to see you have enough room to slide in the music box, then turn the cat right side out. 

Sew on the ears, and embroider the face. Leaving the side seam partly open helps to do this.

Place a little stuffing in the top of the head, then insert the music box, and some stuffing around the sides to  give the cat some padding.  Finish sewing up the seam from the outside now with a mattress stitch, stuffing as you go, if you need a little more.  Sew across the bottom edge to finish.

Attach a gold thread for hanging and you're done - Jen.

                                                                 © Jennifer Stacey 2012

                                                      For personal use, not to be sold for profit.

I give no guarantee how long the music box will last, hopefully you'll get one season of fun out of  it, but consider it a disposable item. 

If you make the cat with a music box, remember it contains a battery and may be unsuitable as an unsupervised toy for children under 5 years.

If you like this you might like Reindeer Tree Ornaments