Hand-Sewn Stuffed Cat Plushie MODERATE SKILL LEVEL

I used this website for the pattern:

https://dollmaker.nunodoll.com/cat/ragdoll.html

DISCLAIMER: The printed pattern is from a website not owned by me. I did not create this pattern nor the directions on the website myself. All rights are reserved to the original maker of the pattern.

There is a small tutorial on the website for the construction, but it was not thorough enough and took a lot of trial and error for me to get right.

I made this cat for my aunt, in likeness of her late cat Sydney. I have made three cat plushies with this pattern total. For the pictures with a blue background, I was at school using one of my teacher's fancy cameras. For the pictures with a brown background, I was at home using my phone. It took me a few days to complete sewing this cat, because I sew by hand.

Here is a list of the materials I used, but you can change the fabric depending on what you have:

Things I bought/printed:

• 1 yard Black and 1 yard White Anti-pill Fleece (from Joann Fabrics) $6.00 a yard - one yard of fabric can make up to 3 cat plushies -
• Black embroidery floss (from Michael's) $0.62 for individuals
• Plastic cat eyes (from Joann) $2.50
• Thin, translucent wire (from Joann) $4.50
• Polyester Fiber-fill (from Joann) $17.00
• Printed pattern on paper from Nunodoll.com:
  • BODY- https://dollmaker.nunodoll.com/cat/ragdoll1.gif
  • HEAD, BELLY, and TAIL- https://dollmaker.nunodoll.com/cat/ragdoll2.gif

Total Cost of Items: $36.62 roughly

Other supplies I had on hand:

• Needle and thread, black and white
• Fabric scissors (I used my Calculus teacher's fancy scissors)
• Chalk and Washable marker, for tracing the pattern
• Seam ripper, for mistakes and putting in the eyes
• Measuring tape, for seams

You will also need to know the following hand stitches:

• "Back" stitch - the usual stitch
• "Running" stitch - for closing the head and tail
• "Lock" stitch - for starting and ending each stitch
• "Ladder" stitch - for closing ears and attaching the head & tail to body
• "Embroidery" stitch - for optional details

Print the pattern out onto computer paper and cut it out.

(Optional step) Since paper is so flimsy, I glued the pieces to cardboard, from cereal boxes, with a 1/4 inch border around all the edges, except for the underbelly's slit in the middle and the hind foot's slice. It is hard to explain in words, so I hope the pictures can help explain this better.

There is one other piece I made from the fleece that didn't have a pattern, so make sure you have enough material for it (it'll show up later).

When cutting pieces out of any material, it is very important to know which side is the good side and which side is the wrong side. The good side is the side that will show up on the outside of the final product. The wrong side is the side that you sew on and will end up on the inside of the final product. With fleece, it is hard to tell which side is which because they are both the same color. However, I found that the good side of fleece is fluffier than the wrong side.

Trace your patterns on the WRONG side with chalk. I added a 1/2 inch border around the pieces to make them a bit bigger. I do this with every piece, even the ones with the body, but you do not have to do this.

You should have these pieces cut out: 10 in total

• 4 ears/ 2 black and 2 white
• 1 head, black
• 1 nose, white
• 1 cheek, white
• 1 chin (here I have it black but I ended up changing it to white later)
• 2 head sides, black

In the picture above, I laid out all the pieces with their wrong sides up. Later I will show you what the wrong and good sides look like.

Utilize the "back stitch" to sew the parts of the head together.

Making sure the wrong sides are up, sew the top of the nose to the flat part of the head.

Sew the head sides to the cheek. The cheek is a little bigger than the head side's beak-like shape, so you'll have to shrink it a little as you sew.

Sew the nose to the top of the cheek.

Sew the chin to the bottom of the cheek and the head sides.

Sew the head sides to the head. They should meet at a point in the back.

Turn it inside out and put it on your hand like a puppet :)

I used polyester fiber fill to fill the head.

Use the "running stitch" and pull the thread to close it.

Sew around the hole for extra strength.

Take two pieces of the ear, good side to good side, and use the "back stitch" to sew them together, leaving a gap where you can turn it inside out. Make two. Use the "ladder stitch" to close the holes.

Pin the ears onto the head where you want them to go. Use the "ladder stitch" again to attach the ears to the head on both sides. Use white thread for the white side and black thread for the black side.

Use black embroidery floss to embroider the nose and mouth. Enter the thread from behind the ear and start from the bottom of the nose and embroider upwards in a triangular shape. Then embroider the mouth and end the thread under the chin.

I used my seam ripper to make a small hole in the intersection of the nose, head, and head side pieces. This is where the plastic holder of the eyes will go. I stuck the white piece of plastic inside of the hole and poked the eye through to attach it. I did the same for the other eye.

I cut out the body pieces also with the 1/2 inch border, except for the slit in the hind foot and the slit & leg holes in the belly. For the tail, I left the border off of the top and bottom, I do not want it to be too long. By the way, the forefoot and forefoot inside patterns are just mirror images of each other, so I used just one of them to cut out my pieces.

Here's how many pieces there should be: 20 total

• 2 hind foot insides, white
• 1 belly, white
• 4 forefoots (I ended up making three of them white to match the pattern of my aunt's cat)
• 4 paws, white
• 1 tail, black
• 2 hind foots, black
• 2 body's, black
• 2 hind foot paws, white (they are not labeled in the picture, they're placed under the black hind feet)
• 1 tail end, white (this piece did not have a pattern, but I wanted the tail to have a white tip)
• 1 neck, black (not pictured above because I lost the pattern for it and ended up making it later)

The fifth picture shows the good side and wrong side of fleece if you were curious.

To start sewing the body, you will need to complete three separate pieces, excluding the tail. Two side panels and one under panel. MAKE SURE that the two side panels are mirror images of each other, and that you are sewing on the WRONG side of the fabric you are using.

To start the side panels of the cat's body, sew the darts of both hind feet. (picture 1)

Sew the hind foot paws to the hind feet. (picture 2)

Sew the top arch of the hind foot to the bottom arch of the body piece. Do this for both side panels. This will complete the two side panels. (picture 3)

Sew the four front paws to the forefeet and the forefeet insides as shown in the picture above. Make sure the angle of the top arches of the forefeet and forefeet insides are facing the opposite direction of the arch the paws are sewn to. This is hard to explain but if you do it wrong, then the forefeet and forefeet insides will not match later, so be careful here. I messed up three times trying to get this right. (picture 4)

To sew the under panel, sew the hind foot insides to the large, opposite-facing arches of the belly as pictured above. (picture 5&6)

Sew the slit of the belly. (picture 7)

Sew the two forefoot insides to the two half-circle shapes of the belly. This will complete the under panel. Make sure the hind foot insides and paws are both facing the same direction, towards the flat part of the top of the belly. (picture 8)

Sew the odd piece cut out for the tail onto the tail, if you want a dipped tail that is. If not you can move on to the next step. (picture 9)

You should notice you have two paws/forefeet still unattached to anything. This is okay and expected. They will be sewn onto the body in the next step.

This step is where it all comes together. I had cut the hind feet & hindfeet paws to a point at the converging end (picture 2 shows this, kind of)

Start by pinning the hind foot inside of the under panel to the hind foot of one of the side panels, making sure that good sides are facing each other. Do this for both sides. (picture 1&2)

Sew from the bottom of the belly, where there is a point, to the flat bottom part of the body (sadly I forgot to picture this, but I am sure you can figure it out) and follow that seam all the way around the hind foot. (picture 3)

Do this for both hind feet. (picture 4)

At the point where you stopped, sew the forefoot you had left over from the previous step to the body side panel, making sure the paw is facing outwards. Sew the other forefoot to the other side panel body, but DO NOT sew them to each other. (picture 5)

Pin the forefoot insides of the under panel to the forefeet of the body side panels as shown. This will form the two front arms of the cat. Pin the remainder of the belly to the body. (picture 6&7)

Sew the arms and up the side of the chest where you pinned. (picture 8 shows what this should look like)

Flatten out the body and sew along the back, leaving a hole you will use to turn the cat inside out. Do not sew the tops of the bodies together. (picture 9)

I lost the pattern for the circle of the neck piece, so I traced a bracelet I had that fit in the circle of the body's neck. (picture 1)

Sew neck on the body's top. (picture 2)

Use the hole in the back to flip the whole thing inside out. (picture 3)

Use polyester fiber fill to stuff the body and use the "ladder stitch" to seal up the hole when you have reached the desired level of plushiness. (picture 4,5,& 6)

This is what the finished body should look like. (picture 7)

Use the ladder stitch once again to attach the head to the body at the neck. (picture 8)

Fold the tail in half and sew along the side, stopping at the open end.

Turn it inside out and stuff it.

Use the "running stitch" to close it, just like the head.

Use the "ladder stitch" to attach it to the body.

I did not want my cat's tail to stick out, so I used the "ladder stitch" to sew it in position curling around the side of the body.

My aunt's cat Sydney had a black spot on his right paw, so I cut out an oval shape and sewed it on with the "running stitch". I used black embroidery floss to embroider the sides of the spot, to reinforce it so it won't shed. This is completely optional an can be adapted to add all kinds of detail to the cat.

I used a thin, clear wire to make the whiskers.

Thread the needle with the wire, and tie a big ol' knot at the end. I entered the needle from the ear and pushed it out from the cheek. I pulled on the wire until the knot was inside the head and just outside of the fabric of the cheek. I cut it to a length I liked and repeated this for three whiskers on both cheeks.

And with that, the cat is all done! Enjoy your new, customized fluffy friend. I hope you found this instructable helpful, for it is my first one ever. Bye!