The 'Something To Make' Challenge: Make a String-Holder Cat

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Make a String-Holder Cat

I wrote the draft for this blog in the garden - How lovely!!

This is my favourite make yet! The String-Holder Cat is very cute and looks very 70's, which it should, as the 'Something to Make' book was published in 1971.

This 'make' involves sewing. I am not the greatest seamstress but it goes to show that if I can manage to make this, then anyone can! I do love using felt... it's cheap, easy to use, doesn't fray (so no need to hem) and it comes in vibrant colours.

String-Holder Cat

Even though there are many steps to making this, it is very simple. Kids will love choosing what colour felt to use for the different features. It is also a great way to introduce children to sewing. All it needs is a simple stitch to keep the front and back together. If you are more experienced with a needle you can choose to sew a blanket stitch, which gives a nice finish.

Time taken for us to make: 1 hour

Cost to me: Nothing. We had all of the materials already at home from making things in the past.

Original Instructions...

What we used:

Felt in different colours
A small bowl (you could use a plate)
A needle and embroidery thread
A small coin
Scissors
Glue
Pen
Small length of ribbon
A ball of string

What we did:

We placed the bowl upside down on the felt and drew around it. We then cut it out and another exactly the same. A small hole was needed in one (for the cats mouth) and a slit was cut into the other.

Draw round a bowl

Cut out the circle & another

Cut a hole for the cat's mouth

Cut a slit in the back piece

Using the different coloured felt we cut out a nose, using the coin as a template for a circle. Along with some bright yellow feline eyes. We fixed the eyes & nose with PVA glue (no sewing required).We chose to sew whiskers, but the instructions did say to use four broom bristle, simply pushed through the fabric. I was worried that they would fall out easily.

Draw, cut out and fix the features

Sew whiskers

Sock puppet 'Simon' leant a hand (pun intended!).

The ears were cut out of felt and glued to the inside of the circle needed for the back, along with a loop of ribbon placed between the ears.

Glue the ears to the 'Back' circle

Glue the ribbon loop between the ears

All that was left to do was oversew the two circles together neatly all the way round taking care to leave the ears and loop sticking out.

Complete 'Back' circle

Complete 'Front'Circle

Oversew the two circles together

The ball of string was placed into the holder via the slit in the back and the end is pulled through the hole in the front.

Place string through the back...

and bring the string out through the mouth

And there you have it, a String-Holder Cat. Amelie LOVES it and it's now hanging proudly in her bedroom.

Remember, we'd love to see your 'makes'. You can send them to us via our Facebook group or Twitter.

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So, what's this blog all about...

My 3 year old daughter and I have set ourselves the challenge of creating every item in the book Something to Make – Pretty & Practical Ideas, collected by Felicia Law, first published in 1971 by Young Puffin. We aim to complete this within 1 year!

The idea of this project came about after watching the 2009 film ‘Julie & Julia’ starring Amy Adams & Meryl Streep. The film is based on the true stories of Julie Powell & Julia Child. It follows Julia Child's story of her start in the cooking profession whilst intertwined with blogger Julie Powell's 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child's first book. I thought “What a great idea! Creating every dish in a cookery book over the space of a year!” I then went on to think “Whose cookery book would I attempt? Jamie, Nigella, Gordon… so many to choose from… Hang on! This could cost me a fortune and while my bank balance shrinks, my waistline will expand!!” I didn’t think about it again… until the day I was sorting through some of my childhood books to read to my daughter. I came across my Mum’s copy of ‘Something to Make’. It’s such a great little book, full of creative ideas which now seem so retro and, in turn, fashionable again. Just flicking through the pages makes me feel very nostalgic. This would be perfect!! A project I could enjoy with my daughter, it will feed my creative side and it won’t be a strain on my pocket as all the pieces are made out of scraps of paper or material and other items you would normally throw into the recycling bin.

‘So, what next?’… I emailed Penguin Publishers (as Young Puffin is part of their group) and told them of my plan. The lovely people at Penguin gave me their blessing and were excited to see this challenge begin.

That brings us to the present…

I have never written a blog before. I am not a writer or an artist, just a Mum with a creative itch to scratch. I think this would be a fun challenge for me and my daughter, and my husband will be joining us in some of the activities too. I also hope that the blog will inspire other parents to get creative with their kids. All of the items can be made from odds and ends found around the house, so it is great for encouraging activities in the most froogle of homes.

I hope you find inspiration here and I welcome your feedback. Tell me what you have made after reading the posts and I’d love to see photos of your creations.