A Cat with a Tail Quilt

I'm on a roll trying out cute Pinterest inspired cat quilts. It's a good way to learn new skills since you're forced to learn how to make templates and figure out how best to piece a design. I'm also a lot iffy when it comes to curved designs and I certainly struggled a bit when I made the tail. 

Figuring out the template for the cat was fairly easy. I still ended up piecing the back area upside down, so I ended up re-doing it. The tail though was harder to put together and it took me awhile to turn it inside out. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw I correctly cut the fabric (front side down when you cut the fabric!). The secret to my success? Making templates!

Here's the tutorial:

Here are the steps on how I made the cat quilt:

1. To get the right measurements, I drew the design on graphing paper.

2. Rendered the design and it's actual measurements on manila paper to make sure I got it right. 

3. Created a template on a board. 

4. Used the board to cut fabric. Make sure to add 1/4" around the edges. 

5. Pieced together the cut fabric. 

6. Ironed both sides and sandwiched with wadding. 

7. Quilt the cat! I decided to use white thread to highlight the shape of the cat. 

How to make the tail:

1. Asked my son help draw me a right sized tail using manila paper. 

2. Used the drawing to make a template. 

3. Drew the tail right side facing down and added 1/4" around the edges. 

4. Sandwiched the tail with thick interfacing (I reused from a bag leftover). Sandwich should follow this order: tail wrong side up, backing fabric and interfacing at the bottom. 

5. Sew together and leave the base of the tail open. 

6. Once done, pull inside out.

7. Quilt the tail with the same white thread. 

Materials:

1 print fabric

1 solid color fabric

thread and needle

pins

graphing paper

manila paper

ruler

scissors

interfacing (the thick one for bags is a good one)

Size:

6" x 9.5" x 16.5"

Pattern:

Will assemble and turn the cat quilt into a kitchen gadget cover next week!

Another Pinterest Inspired Cat Quilt

I wanted to explore more cat designs on Pinterest. I knew it would help me hone my skills more on making templates and figuring out how to re-create a design I see online or on a book. Pinterest is a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration for quilting. I have pinned many ideas which I hope to try making. Follow me on Pinterest if you have one: https://www.pinterest.com/aileenapolo/. 

Here's the tutorial -

Here are the steps on how I made this cute cat quilt -

1. Drew the design on graphing paper based on the size for my end project. 

2. Rendered the design on manila paper to get an idea of the size. I adjusted a couple of times.

3. Draw the design on a chip board. Cut based on how you will piece together the design. 

4. Cut the fabric. Make sure to add 1/4" around the template. 

5. Piece together. Best to start with the ear area and complete the face and chin. 

6. Add the "background" around the cat face. 

7. Add sides as needed.

8. Iron both sides. 

Materials

4 print or solid fabric

thread and needle

pins

graphing paper

manila paper

ruler

colored pencils (optional)

Size

9" x 9" x 16"

Pattern

Turned the Cat Quilt into a KitchenAid Cover

I turned the Pinterest-inspired cat quilt into a KitchenAid cover. It now sits proudly on our kitchen counter. I've been making rainbow colored quilts using standard shapes. I made the cat quilt to gain more skills and to have fun. 

I made the KitchenAid cover by part. I started with the front cover, then the main cover and the back cover. I thought it would be easier just to make the main cover like a tent. I just used strips of denim-like fabric since I wanted to stick to one color. I used the same fabric for the back cover pocket. I made it that way so I could switch the front and back whenever I felt like it. For now, the cats are watching over my kitchen. 

Here's a tutorial -

Here are the steps how I made the cover -

1. Create the front cover (follow the process here).

2. Make the main cover

• Cut 7 strips of 3" x 39" 
• Sew the strips together
• Iron both sides
• Sandwich with wadding and back fabric (I used an old bed protector)
• Pin and quilt
• Clean up the sides

3. Make the back cover with pocket

• Cut the base, same size as your front cover 10.5" x 14.5"
• Sandwich base with wadding 
• Pin and quilt lines from top to bottom
• Cut 7 strips of 2" x 6.5" 
• Combine and iron both sides
• Sandwich with wadding and quilt
• Add binding to the top of the pocket
• Attach the pocket to the base

4. Make binding (how-to here)

5. Assemble the three sides and combine with bias tape

Materials

base fabric for front and back cover

scraps for the back cover pocket

8 strips of fabric for main cover (or use jelly roll)

fabric for binding/bias tape

wadding

back fabric for sandwich (optional if you re-use a bed protector)

thread

*see cat quilt post for materials needed for front cover

Size

Total: 10.5" x 14.5" x 14.5"

Main cover: 14.5" x 38"

Front cover: 10.5" x 14.5" 

Back cover: 10.5" x 14.5"

Pocket: 10.5" x 6.5"