Azure Jane Lunatic (Azz) 🌺 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
azurelunatic) wrote2019-12-30 08:47 pm
azurelunatic) wrote2019-12-30 08:47 pm
Entry tags:
The upcycled cat toys
I made cat toys for the local felines this year.
Yellface's favorite toy was one with streamers that she could battle. I decided to try my hand at a functional replica.
My materials were whatever fabric I had to hand. I needed something sturdy for the catnip pouch, something that wouldn't be instantly destroyed. A recent addition to my rag pile was a pair of Belovedest's old work pants. Done. I snipped the legs off above the blown-out crotch. I then set about removing the fabric in the top part of the pants as cunningly as I could.
This yielded several rectangles, plus some pocket assemblies to use later, and a bunch of un-rendered scrap including the waistband and zipper. I started to stuff the thing in my Too Small Scraps drawer for some future scavenging or maybe the trash, but stopped. Here was the streamer I was looking for: the skeletal crotch seam.
There were further delights in the Too Small Scraps drawer. It turned out that the scrap of old cotton nightgown too small to even be a little pouch was just the right size for a streamer. Maybe a little long.
First I tried making the bag first, then stuffing it and sewing the streamers in the open end after stuffing it as I sewed it closed. That was awkward.
Stuffing consisted of more scraps, mostly from a former fitted sheet. I put several generous pinches of 'nip in.
Yellface was curled up on the little bed in the guest nook. I handed her the first toy. She hugged it and started rubbing her face on it.
Encouraged, I went back to my sewing.
My method of tucking the streamers in the first seam didn't go so well. They were kind of crooked. But I finished the thing and went to take the first one away from Yellface.
Yellface was blissfully writhing on the bed, and the toy was damp with kitty drool. Note to self, figure out a better protective anti-cat layer on the bed. I left her to it.
I then hit upon the idea of attaching the streamers first. I located promising bits and cut them to streamer size. It took a bit of doing. I figured out the orientation and tried it.
Result: a neat little bag with an inordinate amount of streamers coming off the open end. I stuffed it, then made a neat seam that shut the stuffing inside. Done! I did the same with the next piece. Three, one for each cat.
That wasn't the only thing I worked on (a lengthening flounce for a nightgown, also out of the discard pile; a haphazard but effective re-elasticing for a favorite old skirt from the Arizona days) and by the end I was chilled with an angry stomach. Note to future self: stay warm, eat food sooner.
Yellface's favorite toy was one with streamers that she could battle. I decided to try my hand at a functional replica.
My materials were whatever fabric I had to hand. I needed something sturdy for the catnip pouch, something that wouldn't be instantly destroyed. A recent addition to my rag pile was a pair of Belovedest's old work pants. Done. I snipped the legs off above the blown-out crotch. I then set about removing the fabric in the top part of the pants as cunningly as I could.
This yielded several rectangles, plus some pocket assemblies to use later, and a bunch of un-rendered scrap including the waistband and zipper. I started to stuff the thing in my Too Small Scraps drawer for some future scavenging or maybe the trash, but stopped. Here was the streamer I was looking for: the skeletal crotch seam.
There were further delights in the Too Small Scraps drawer. It turned out that the scrap of old cotton nightgown too small to even be a little pouch was just the right size for a streamer. Maybe a little long.
First I tried making the bag first, then stuffing it and sewing the streamers in the open end after stuffing it as I sewed it closed. That was awkward.
Stuffing consisted of more scraps, mostly from a former fitted sheet. I put several generous pinches of 'nip in.
Yellface was curled up on the little bed in the guest nook. I handed her the first toy. She hugged it and started rubbing her face on it.
Encouraged, I went back to my sewing.
My method of tucking the streamers in the first seam didn't go so well. They were kind of crooked. But I finished the thing and went to take the first one away from Yellface.
Yellface was blissfully writhing on the bed, and the toy was damp with kitty drool. Note to self, figure out a better protective anti-cat layer on the bed. I left her to it.
I then hit upon the idea of attaching the streamers first. I located promising bits and cut them to streamer size. It took a bit of doing. I figured out the orientation and tried it.
Result: a neat little bag with an inordinate amount of streamers coming off the open end. I stuffed it, then made a neat seam that shut the stuffing inside. Done! I did the same with the next piece. Three, one for each cat.
That wasn't the only thing I worked on (a lengthening flounce for a nightgown, also out of the discard pile; a haphazard but effective re-elasticing for a favorite old skirt from the Arizona days) and by the end I was chilled with an angry stomach. Note to future self: stay warm, eat food sooner.
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Happy new year to you and your human housemates and the Faces.
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Cat scouts represent