DIY How to Make a Felt Bat Cat Plush – Halloween Decorations – Bravo Dada! Sewing Tutorial

Hi everyone!

In this sewing tutorial I’m going to show you how to sew a felt fabric bat cat plush for your Halloween home decorations. This cute bat cat softie is perfect to be used as ornament to hang around your house and makes a great gift for family and friends as well. Happy Halloween! 🎃👻

Important note: I use the metric system and make the exact conversion from cm to inches in the hope of helping. Please adapt these measurements to your ruler.

Hope you enjoy this tutorial! 🦇🐈‍⬛

NOTE: Dimensions in inches are approximated.

The materials and techniques I used are the ones I thought were the best for me as a self-taught creative seamstress. It doesn’t mean they are the best for you, so feel free to use your creativity and make it your own! You can adjust the measurements as you like and also add other features.

FELT FABRIC COLORS YOU WILL NEED:

- Black

- Orange

- White

- Yellow

- Red

MATERIAL USED FOR STUFFING THE FELT BAT CAT PLUSH:

- Polyester hypoallergenic fiberfill, as needed

Needle size:

- 90/14

You will also need:

- Scissors

- Curved hemostat forceps (tool for crafting applications)

- Wonder clips

- Tweezers

- Sewing threads: grey, yellow and black

- Seam ripper

- Toothpicks

- Heat erasable pen

- Fabric chalk markers

- Measuring tape

- Sewing machine

- Sewing machine needles

- Bat cat paper template

- Printer

- A4 size paper sheet

- Paper cutting scissors

- Iron

- Ironing board

- Quilting ruler

- Rotary cutter

- Cutting mat

- Brush

- All purpose or fabric glue

- Dust and lint remover roller (optional)

- Pattern weights (optional)

- Print the bat cat template (actual size).

- Cut out the template, with paper cutting scissors, using the outer line as your cutting guide.

- Make sure to cut out the eyes, the nose and the mouth from the main cat template.

- The finished felt bat cat plush size is approximately 27cm | 10.6” x 19cm | 7.5”.

- Use the paper template and a white chalk marker to trace the cat shape onto the black felt fabric pieces. You will need one piece of black felt for the front and one for the back of the bat cat plush.

- Make sure to leave enough space, around the traced templates on the felt pieces, for the seam allowance.

- Place the right side of the cat template facing down one of the black felt fabric pieces. This will be the back of the bat cat plush.

- Using a white chalk marker, trace the cat shape onto that felt piece, as shown in the images.

- Trace on top of the paper template the two lines, between where the wings will be placed. Proceed to transfer them onto the same felt fabric piece (which will be the back of the plush): align the chalked side of the paper template on top of the back felt piece, pressing and rubbing gently with your hands.

- Place the chalked side of the felt piece you just traced, facing down onto the other felt fabric piece (which will be the front of the plush). Then, using your hands again, transfer the template by pressing and rubbing the felt fabric gently, so it won't move around.

- Place the wrong side of the paper template facing down the front felt piece and trace it again, making sure to use the previously transferred lines as a guide. This way, you will ensure that the back and the front felt pieces will perfectly align with each other when sewing them together.

- Draw the eyes, the nose, the ears, the teeth, the mouth and the belly (transfer as you did before for the lines) onto the front felt piece of the plush.

- Using scissors, cut out the mouth shape from the front piece of the bat cat plush, as shown in the images.

- Using a heat erasable pen or a chalk marker, trace the face and belly template pieces onto the felt.

- If you prefer, you can hold the paper template pieces on top of the felt to cut it out.

- For the eyes, use orange, yellow, black and white felt fabrics.

- For the nose and the mouth, use red felt fabric.

- For the ears and the belly, use orange felt fabric.

- For the teeth, use white felt fabric.

- Using scissors or any other tool you prefer, cut out all the traced felt shapes, as shown in the images.

- Press the felt pieces with an iron, to remove the marks from the heat erasable pen.

- Using a chalk marker, trace the wings paper template onto the black felt fabric. This will be the front of the bat cat wings.

- Cut a second piece of black fabric felt, of the same size as the one where the wings were traced. Put it aside as you don't need to draw anything onto this felt piece.

- Make sure to leave enough space, around the traced templates on the felt pieces, for the seam allowance.

- On top of the right side of the wings paper template, trace all of the lines with a chalk marker, as shown in the images.

- Place the chalked side of the paper template you just traced, facing down, onto the same black felt fabric piece. Make sure to align by the previously traced lines. Then, using your hands, transfer the chalked paper template by pressing and rubbing the felt fabric gently, so it won't move around.

- Adjust the stitch length according to your preferences.

- Use a 90/14 sized needle.

- Stitch the lines of the wings of the plush, using a grey thread, as shown in the images. Don't sew the outer edge lines yet.

- Sew very slowly and, when needed, raise the presser foot and turn the felt fabric to line up its direction (do this only when the needle is down).

- Trim off the excess thread.

- Place the front of the bat cat plush wings, right side up, on top of the back felt piece.

- Use a black thread to sew the outer line of the wings of the plush.

- Sew both pieces of felt together, leaving a gap, in the middle at the top, for stuffing the wings.

- Using a brush, remove the chalk marks from the felt.

- Trim off the excess felt fabric from the wings, all the way around, ensuring it is even.

- Stuff the wings of the plush with polyester hypoallergenic fiberfill or any other material of your choice.

- Use a curved hemostat forceps (tool for crafting applications) to help stuffing the wings of the plush.

- Using your sewing machine, close up the opening of the wings.

- Trim off the excess thread.

- Fold the wings in half and draw the middle with a chalk marker, as shown in the images.

- Align the wings on the back side of the felt plush, using the chalked lines you traced before as a guide.

- Sew both the back side and the wings of the felt plush together, making sure to reinforce the stiches (stitch back and forward at least two times over the same area).

Apply all purpose or fabric glue to all of the small felt shapes and glue them in place onto the front felt piece of the plush, as shown in the images:

- Start by gluing the face features onto the bat cat face.

- Use tweezers and/or toothpicks to glue and assemble the smaller felt pieces.

- Glue the right and left ears (orange felt) onto the bat cat face, as shown in the images.

- Then, glue the eye felt pieces. First, the orange pieces, then, the yellow pieces, next, the black pieces and, finally, the white pieces on top.

- Next, glue the nose (red felt) and then, the belly (orange felt).

- Now glue the mouth of the plush. Turn the front felt piece wrong side up and glue the red felt rectangle as close to the edge as possible onto the wrong side of the plush face. That will be the inside of the cat bat plush mouth.

- Finally, glue the teeth (white felt) inside the top of the mouth.

- Allow the glue to dry before proceeding with the next step.

- Using yellow thread, edge stitch the ears and the belly of the felt plush (optional), as shown in the images.

- Trim off the excess thread.

- Place the front felt piece, right side up, on top of the wrong side of the back felt piece of the plush, as shown in the images. Clip them together.

- Leave a gap on one of the sides, for filling the plush.

- Now sew both pieces of felt together.

- Stitch very slowly... When needed, raise the presser foot and, with the needle down, turn the felt fabric to line up its direction.

- While sewing, make sure the wings aren't in the way and won't get caught into the stitching.

- Remove the wonder clips.

- Using a brush, erase the chalk marks from the felt.

- Trim off the excess thread.

- Stuff your bat cat plush with polyester hypoallergenic fiberfill or any other material of your choice.

- Use a curved hemostat forceps (tool for crafting applications) to help stuffing the plush.

- Using your sewing machine, close up the opening of the plush.

- Trim off the excess thread.

- Trim off the excess felt fabric from the plush, all the way around, and make sure it is even.

- If you prefer, you can trim the excess felt fabric before stuffing the plush, except for the opening which should be trimmed only after it has been closed.

Happy sewing! 🥰🪡