#359 – Kitty Lovey

~ ticktockhobbies

I don’t know if I mentioned it, but my Lamb Lovey ended up going to one of my coworker’s little ones! She actually has two children, so the first question that I got was to ask where the second one was. Having come from a bigger family myself, I definitely agree that fairness should be a thing, so I agreed to whip up another lovey. This time, the requested animal was a kitty.

  • 235g / 225m of Bernat Velvet – an bulky weight (5) yarn (colour: White)
  • 8.00mm hook

Pattern by tick-tock hobbies
(abbreviations: SC = single crochet, INC = two single crochet in one stitch, DEC = one single crochet over two stitches)

Head

  1. Hold the yarn double and start with six SC in a magic circle. (6 stitches)
  2. INC in the each stitch around the circle. (12 stitches)
  3. *SC in one stitch. INC in the next stitch.* Complete * to * a total of six times. (18 stitches)
  4. *SC in each of the next two stitches. INC in the next stitch.* Complete * to * a total of six times. (24 stitches)
  5. *SC in each of the next three stitches. INC in the next stitch.* Complete * to * a total of six times. (30 stitches)
  6. SC in each stitch around the circle. (30 stitches)
  7. Repeat step 6 three more time for a total of nine rounds. (30 stitches)
  8. *SC in each of the next three stitches. Do a DEC over the next two stitches.* Complete * to * a total of six times. (24 stitches)
  9. *SC in each of the next two stitches. Do a DEC over the next two stitches.* Complete * to * a total of six times. (18 stitches)
  10. *SC in one stitch. Do a DEC over the next two stitches.* Complete * to * a total of six times. (12 stitches)
  11. Do six DEC around the circle. Leave a long tail for fastening. Cut the yarn and pull through. (6 stitches)

Ears

  1. Hold the yarn double and chain-stitch nine. Join to the first stitch to form a circle. Try to ensure that there is a long tail before the chain-stitches that can be used for fastening. (9 stitches)
  2. *SC in one stitch. Do a DEC over the next two stitches.* Complete * to * a total of three times. (6 stitches)
  3. Do three DEC around the circle. Cut the yarn and pull through. (3 stitches)
  4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 again for the other ear.

Arms

  1. Hold the yarn double and start with six SC in a magic circle. (6 stitches)
  2. *SC in one stitch. INC in the next stitch.* Complete * to * a total of three times. (9 stitches)
  3. SC in each stitch around the circle. (9 stitches)
  4. Repeat step 3 one more time for a total of four rounds. (9 stitches)
  5. *SC in one stitch. Do a DEC over the next two stitches.* Complete * to * a total of three times. (6 stitches)
  6. SC in each stitch around the circle. (6 stitches)
  7. Repeat step 6 four more times for a total of ten rounds. Leave a long tail for fastening. Cut the yarn and pull through. (6 stitches)
  8. Repeat steps 1 to 7 again for the other arm.

Legs

  1. Hold the yarn double and start with six SC in a magic circle. (6 stitches)
  2. *SC in one stitch. INC in the next stitch.* Complete * to * a total of three times. (9 stitches)
  3. *SC in each of the next two stitches. INC in the next stitch.* Complete * to * a total of three times. (12 stitches)
  4. SC in each stitch around the circle. (12 stitches)
  5. *SC in each of the next two stitches. Do a DEC over the next two stitches.* Complete * to * a total of three times. (9 stitches)
  6. *SC in one stitch. Do a DEC over the next two stitches.* Complete * to * a total of three times. (6 stitches)
  7. SC in each stitch around the circle. (6 stitches)
  8. Repeat step 7 three more times for a total of ten rounds. For the first leg, leave a long tail for fastening. Cut the yarn and pull through. (6 stitches)
  9. Repeat steps 1 to 8 again for the other leg. This time, do NOT cut the yarn, as the torso will be directly worked from one leg.

Body

  1. Continue to hold the yarn double and work six SC around the top of the active leg. Chain-stitch eighteen stitches. Work six SC around the top of the other leg. SC in the back loop of each of the eighteen chain-stitches. (48 stitches)
  2. SC in each stitch around the circle. (48 stitches)
  3. Repeat step 2 three more times for a total of five rounds. (48 stitches)
  4. *SC in each of the next six stitches. Do a DEC over the next two stitches.* Complete * to * a total of six times. (42 stitches)
  5. SC in each stitch around the circle. (42 stitches)
  6. Repeat step 5 two more times for a total of nine rounds. (42 stitches)
  7. *SC in each of the next five stitches. Do a DEC over the next two stitches.* Complete * to * a total of six times. (36 stitches)
  8. SC in each stitch around the circle. (36 stitches)
  9. Repeat step 8 one more time for a total of twelve rounds. (36 stitches)
  10. *SC in each of the next four stitches. Do a DEC over the next two stitches.* Complete * to * a total of six times. (30 stitches)
  11. SC in each stitch around the circle. (30 stitches)
  12. Repeat step 11 one more time for a total of 15 rounds. (30 stitches)
  13. *SC in each of the next three stitches. Do a DEC over the next two stitches.* Complete * to * a total of six times. (24 stitches)
  14. SC in each stitch around the circle. (24 stitches)
  15. Repeat step 14 one more time for a total of 18 rounds. (24 stitches)
  16. *SC in each of the next two stitches. Do a DEC over the next two stitches.* Complete * to * a total of six times. (18 stitches)
  17. SC in each stitch around the circle. (18 stitches)
  18. Repeat step 17 one more time for a total of 21 rounds. (18 stitches)
  19. *SC in one stitch. Do a DEC over the next two stitches.* Complete * to * a total of six times. (12 stitches)
  20. SC in each stitch around the circle. (12 stitches)
  21. Repeat step 20 one more time for a total of 24 rounds. Leave a long tail for fastening. Cut the yarn and pull through. (12 stitches)

Tail

  1. Hold the yarn single and start with five SC in a magic circle. (5 stitches)
  2. SC in each stitch around the circle. (5 stitches)
  3. Repeat step 2 eighteen more times for a total of 20 rounds. Leave a long tail for fastening. Cut the yarn and pull through. (5 stitches)
Kitty Lovey

I deliberately chose to work the all of the body (except the tail) with the yarn held double in order to generate a slightly stiffer, more durable lovey. However, when it came to the tail, I wanted it to be a little more flexible, so I only held the yarn single, while using the same gauge hook. If you want a stronger tail, you could consider holding it double for the tail too!

I love the feel of the velvet yarn, but secretly wish that I could have used a different colour. I am afraid that the white will get dirty quickly, especially with little hands. To be fair, it is washable, but I think that repeated washings might take away from the magic of a lovey. If you are also planning to gift it to a little one, consider making a cute grey or black cat instead!

As always, I struggle with facial features, but I think the closed eyes and whiskers are passable. I did have a moment of crisis where I thought that the finished product looked too much like a mouse, and not enough like a cat, but my friends reassured me that their first impression was of a cat. If I could make changes, I think that I would go for pointier ears, as cat ears tend to be more triangular, while mouse ears are depicted as rounder. The other comment was that cat whiskers are rarely black, but with the white face, I didn’t really have a lot of options to work around. I think even choosing a lighter grey instead of black may have helped it seem more cat-like. It’s so fascinating how these little changes can make a big difference in the overall appearance. Do you excel at making faces, or do you struggle with it like I do?

Until next time, happy crafting!

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