The Patchwork Cat

One of my bucket list items this year was to make keepsake quilts for my kids out of their baby grows.  Getting totally sidetracked from this though I have ended up making a cuddly patchwork cat toy from the Robots tiny clothes.

While I was making it I got very nostalgic, not only because they were baby clothes but it sparked a memory of my childhood crafting.  I used to make animal teddies when I was young, they came in kit form ready to sew and I made loads of them!  I’m pretty sure they’ve been chucked now but it got me excited over the prospect that maybe baby CABS or the Robot might want to sew with me one day!  I can dream.

The Patchwork Cat

The pattern I used for this is from the funky friends factory.  The lovely Maria who lives in my instagram friends let me use her pattern to inspire her to have a go.  She’s since made a really cool version of said cat.

A post shared by Maria D-M (@stitchy.stitchy) on

Choosing from the Robots stash of clothes I went for stripes. When cutting it all up I used a woven interfacing on the back of the baby grows. This gives the cotton more stability and less curling. A real time saver when sewing.

When choosing the patterns I paid real attention to the direction of the templates. It resulted in a very even looking cat, perfect fussy cutting with the cats face all looking symmetrical.  It’s designed to be sewn by sewing machine or hand. I started off by hand but the very next day switched to the machine as this felt neater.

I didn’t take many during photos, for this I am shooting myself.  I did however manage to do a lot of it during the day with the Robot looking on fascinated by the up and down of the sewing machine.  He was quite content to watch me and play with playdoh.

It felt like a good finish this one, I got to use up the stuffing that I had in my old breastfeeding pillow that I’d tried to make for using with the Robot.  It wasn’t any good so had been gathering dust waiting to re-purpose the inside.

I’m really pleased with the end result and I think the Robot is too.  It was literally attached to him for the rest of the week!

The Robot cuddling the cat with baby cabs

Here is the cat all done and dusted in its stripey glory:

What have you done with your old baby grows? Are they sat in a box gathering dust somewhere? Make something with them to gift to your kid, a patchwork cat!

THIS IS ON MY Q1 2018 FINISH ALONG LIST

28 Comments

  1. Laura: Adventures with J

    I love this! It looks amazing and you must be so proud of yourself? I’m pretty sure you could now offer to do this for others and make some cash too. My mum turned J’s into a patchwork blanket which he has on his bed. I love it!
    #familyfun

  16. Daydreams of a mum

    This has given me a bit of a kick up the bum. I decided to make a patchwork quilt of some old favourite summer dresses ….2 summers ago and it’s still not finished . I think if I get my head down I could get in done for her bday in May!!That cat is super cute

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