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Description
Part of the Ratha Challenge, day 12 - a free pattern to make your own little stuffed Named or Un-Named cat.

We've got a Kickstarter going to make Clare Bell's novel, Ratha's Creature into a graphic novel. It's the story of a fierce young feline whose clan struggles to survive in a dangerous prehistoric world. The Named have speech, intelligence, a culture and herd animals instead of hunting, but they are threatened by their savage distant relatives, the Un-Named, who are little more than animals - at least, that's what Ratha was always taught to believe. When she discovers how to tame her "creature" - the Red Tongue that devours all, fire - and is cast out of her clan, she discovers there's much more to the Un-Named than she realized, and has to choose where her loyalty and future lay . . .

You can check out the artwork and donate to make this a reality here: [link]

PATTERN

Page 1: [link]
Page 2: [link]

The amount of material required depends on the size of the plush you're making, and what you're using. Pattern pieces need to be laid out in a certain direction for fabric with a furry side, like faux fur, velboa, velveteen or minky. Fabric stores sell by the length of the fabric, not the width, so at the printout size (on 8.5 by 11 paper) you'll need to buy at least 1/3 yard of the light colored fur and 1/6 yard of the darker fur, which will give you enough for several plushes. Fleece and shaggy felt don't have a fur direction, so you can buy smaller pieces. I don't recommend using non-stretch material like quilting cotton or craft felt.

At the printout size you'll need 12mm safety lock eyes and cat nose, which can be easily found online. I used green cat eyes, but you can use whatever color you like best.

TOOLS

Needles (medium sized sharps)
Small, sharp scissors
Ball-headed pins
Permanent marker
Heavy cardstock or light cardboard

SKILLS

Backstitch
Ladder stitch

SUPPLIES

Dark colored fabric (body, head, face, tail)
Light colored fabric (muzzle, belly, ears)
Thread to match
Polyester Fiberfill
Plastic “beanie” pellets (optional)
Brown or black permanent marker (optional)
Brown or black embroidery thread (optional)
12 mm green cat eyes
12 mm pink cat nose

INSTRUCTIONS

Print or trace the pattern pieces onto heavy cardstock or cardboard (something like a cereal or cracker box is ideal). Cut the pieces out.

Make the body, head, face and tail from darker colored fabric and cut the ear, belly and muzzle from lighter colored fabric. In the example plush, I used dark gold and light gold short pile faux fur to make Ratha, but you can use any colors you prefer.

Lay the pattern pieces on the wrong (back) side of the fabric. Leave enough space between them so you can cut ¼ inch (6mm) outside the lines. This is called the seam allowance. Trace around the pattern pieces with a permanent marker. Be sure to copy the alignment marks.

If you're using faux fur, minky, velboa or any fabric with hairs, you'll notice the fur is smooth when you run your hand over it one way and rough when you run your hand over it the other way because the hairs all point in one direction, just like a real animal's fur. The arrows on the pattern pieces should point in the same direction as the fur.

If a pattern piece is labeled “2, 1R”, cut two with one reversed – mirror imaged. The fur direction arrow should be pointing in the same direction.

Cut out the pieces with a ¼ inch (6mm) seam allowance. Use small, sharp scissors and be care to only cut the backing fabric. Don't chop through the fur. Don't cut out the solid line on the belly piece labeled “turning opening” just yet.

Except where noted, sew the plush together using a backstitch.

Start with the tail. Fold the tail in half along the center line, with the outer side of the fabric – the right side – together (RST). Sew from A1 to A2, then sew from A3 to A4, leaving the space between A2 and A3 open.

Turn the tail right side out through the turning opening between A2 and A3. Stuff the tail lightly, leaving the end near A1/A4 almost completely unstuffed. Close the opening between A2 and A3 with a ladder stitch.

Match B1 and B2 on an ear to B1 and B2 on one of the faces. With RST, sew the ear to the face from B1 to B2. Repeat for the other side.

Match C1, C2 and C3 on one head and face, with right sides together. Sew from C1 around the ear, C2, to C3. Repeat for the other side.

Match D1 and D2 of one head assembly to D1 and D2 on the neck of a body, making sure the head is pointing to the front. With right sides together, sew the head to the body from D1 to D2, then repeat for the other side.

Match E1 and E1 on the muzzle to one of the head sides. Sew from E1 to E2 with RST, then repeat for the other side.

RST, sew the heads together from E1 through C1 and D2 all the way down to F1 on the body near the tail opening. Then sew under the jaw from E4 through E2 to D1 at the base of the neck.

With right sides together, match up the body assembly and belly, D1 at the neck and F2 at the bum, and all along the outlines of the paws. Sew around the outside – it's generally best to start at D1 and go to F2 on one side, then D1 to F2 again on the other side, leaving the space between F1 and F2 labeled “tail” open.

Carefully cut the turning opening slit along the bell. Insert the tail into the turning opening so the seam allowance of the tail between F1 and A1/A4 sticks out between F1 and F2, matching F1 on the tail and body, and A1/A4 with F2 on the body. Sew between F1 and F2, trapping the tail in the seam.

With an awl or the tips of the scissors, very gently make a hole on each side of the face area marked “eye” and on the muzzle just above E4.

Push the ears into the head (right side out).Take a few stitches from back to front at the bases of the ears (marked with a grayed-out dotted line) to keep stuffing from getting into them.

Turn the plush right side out through the turning opening on the belly, hind legs first, then front legs, and lastly the head.

Insert the stem of the safety lock nose into the hole at E4, and slip the washer onto the stem from inside the plush (the little teeth will point down the stem away from the nose). Make sure the nose is not crooked before locking it tight.

Insert the stem of a safety eye into the holes marked “eye” and slip a washer onto the stem from inside the plush. If you're using the slitted cat style eyes, be careful the pupil is vertical. Repeat for the other eye.

Stuff the head very firmly with polyester fiberfill. Use a stuffing tool, such as the eraser end of a pencil, to pack small pieces of stuffing careful into small areas like the muzzle. If you're using plastic “beanie” pellets, fill the paws with pellets ( a paper funnel makes this much easier) and stuff the body and legs loosely with a mix of pellets and fiberfill. If you're only using fiberfill, stuff the paw firmly and the legs and body lightly so your plush is nice and floppy.

To set the eyes more deeply into the head, take a few stitches across the top of the muzzle from the inside corner of one eye to the other. Pull the thread tight, then knot and cut off.

I finished off my plush by adding markings on the face and tail tip with brown permanent marker. The mouth was drawn in the same way, but you can also embroider it.

RIGHTS

Ratha's Creature and the Named belong to Clare Bell.
Pattern by L. Lashmit (c) 2013
Pattern is free for personal use only. Pattern may not be resold.

Description
Part of the Ratha Challenge, day 12 - a free pattern to make your own little stuffed Named or Un-Named cat.

We've got a Kickstarter going to make Clare Bell's novel, Ratha's Creature into a graphic novel. It's the story of a fierce young feline whose clan struggles to survive in a dangerous prehistoric world. The Named have speech, intelligence, a culture and herd animals instead of hunting, but they are threatened by their savage distant relatives, the Un-Named, who are little more than animals - at least, that's what Ratha was always taught to believe. When she discovers how to tame her "creature" - the Red Tongue that devours all, fire - and is cast out of her clan, she discovers there's much more to the Un-Named than she realized, and has to choose where her loyalty and future lay . . .

You can check out the artwork and donate to make this a reality here: [link]

PATTERN

Page 1: [link]
Page 2: [link]

The amount of material required depends on the size of the plush you're making, and what you're using. Pattern pieces need to be laid out in a certain direction for fabric with a furry side, like faux fur, velboa, velveteen or minky. Fabric stores sell by the length of the fabric, not the width, so at the printout size (on 8.5 by 11 paper) you'll need to buy at least 1/3 yard of the light colored fur and 1/6 yard of the darker fur, which will give you enough for several plushes. Fleece and shaggy felt don't have a fur direction, so you can buy smaller pieces. I don't recommend using non-stretch material like quilting cotton or craft felt.

At the printout size you'll need 12mm safety lock eyes and cat nose, which can be easily found online. I used green cat eyes, but you can use whatever color you like best.

TOOLS

Needles (medium sized sharps)
Small, sharp scissors
Ball-headed pins
Permanent marker
Heavy cardstock or light cardboard

SKILLS

Backstitch
Ladder stitch

SUPPLIES

Dark colored fabric (body, head, face, tail)
Light colored fabric (muzzle, belly, ears)
Thread to match
Polyester Fiberfill
Plastic “beanie” pellets (optional)
Brown or black permanent marker (optional)
Brown or black embroidery thread (optional)
12 mm green cat eyes
12 mm pink cat nose

INSTRUCTIONS

Print or trace the pattern pieces onto heavy cardstock or cardboard (something like a cereal or cracker box is ideal). Cut the pieces out.

Make the body, head, face and tail from darker colored fabric and cut the ear, belly and muzzle from lighter colored fabric. In the example plush, I used dark gold and light gold short pile faux fur to make Ratha, but you can use any colors you prefer.

Lay the pattern pieces on the wrong (back) side of the fabric. Leave enough space between them so you can cut ¼ inch (6mm) outside the lines. This is called the seam allowance. Trace around the pattern pieces with a permanent marker. Be sure to copy the alignment marks.

If you're using faux fur, minky, velboa or any fabric with hairs, you'll notice the fur is smooth when you run your hand over it one way and rough when you run your hand over it the other way because the hairs all point in one direction, just like a real animal's fur. The arrows on the pattern pieces should point in the same direction as the fur.

If a pattern piece is labeled “2, 1R”, cut two with one reversed – mirror imaged. The fur direction arrow should be pointing in the same direction.

Cut out the pieces with a ¼ inch (6mm) seam allowance. Use small, sharp scissors and be care to only cut the backing fabric. Don't chop through the fur. Don't cut out the solid line on the belly piece labeled “turning opening” just yet.

Except where noted, sew the plush together using a backstitch.

Start with the tail. Fold the tail in half along the center line, with the outer side of the fabric – the right side – together (RST). Sew from A1 to A2, then sew from A3 to A4, leaving the space between A2 and A3 open.

Turn the tail right side out through the turning opening between A2 and A3. Stuff the tail lightly, leaving the end near A1/A4 almost completely unstuffed. Close the opening between A2 and A3 with a ladder stitch.

Match B1 and B2 on an ear to B1 and B2 on one of the faces. With RST, sew the ear to the face from B1 to B2. Repeat for the other side.

Match C1, C2 and C3 on one head and face, with right sides together. Sew from C1 around the ear, C2, to C3. Repeat for the other side.

Match D1 and D2 of one head assembly to D1 and D2 on the neck of a body, making sure the head is pointing to the front. With right sides together, sew the head to the body from D1 to D2, then repeat for the other side.

Match E1 and E1 on the muzzle to one of the head sides. Sew from E1 to E2 with RST, then repeat for the other side.

RST, sew the heads together from E1 through C1 and D2 all the way down to F1 on the body near the tail opening. Then sew under the jaw from E4 through E2 to D1 at the base of the neck.

With right sides together, match up the body assembly and belly, D1 at the neck and F2 at the bum, and all along the outlines of the paws. Sew around the outside – it's generally best to start at D1 and go to F2 on one side, then D1 to F2 again on the other side, leaving the space between F1 and F2 labeled “tail” open.

Carefully cut the turning opening slit along the bell. Insert the tail into the turning opening so the seam allowance of the tail between F1 and A1/A4 sticks out between F1 and F2, matching F1 on the tail and body, and A1/A4 with F2 on the body. Sew between F1 and F2, trapping the tail in the seam.

With an awl or the tips of the scissors, very gently make a hole on each side of the face area marked “eye” and on the muzzle just above E4.

Push the ears into the head (right side out).Take a few stitches from back to front at the bases of the ears (marked with a grayed-out dotted line) to keep stuffing from getting into them.

Turn the plush right side out through the turning opening on the belly, hind legs first, then front legs, and lastly the head.

Insert the stem of the safety lock nose into the hole at E4, and slip the washer onto the stem from inside the plush (the little teeth will point down the stem away from the nose). Make sure the nose is not crooked before locking it tight.

Insert the stem of a safety eye into the holes marked “eye” and slip a washer onto the stem from inside the plush. If you're using the slitted cat style eyes, be careful the pupil is vertical. Repeat for the other eye.

Stuff the head very firmly with polyester fiberfill. Use a stuffing tool, such as the eraser end of a pencil, to pack small pieces of stuffing careful into small areas like the muzzle. If you're using plastic “beanie” pellets, fill the paws with pellets ( a paper funnel makes this much easier) and stuff the body and legs loosely with a mix of pellets and fiberfill. If you're only using fiberfill, stuff the paw firmly and the legs and body lightly so your plush is nice and floppy.

To set the eyes more deeply into the head, take a few stitches across the top of the muzzle from the inside corner of one eye to the other. Pull the thread tight, then knot and cut off.

I finished off my plush by adding markings on the face and tail tip with brown permanent marker. The mouth was drawn in the same way, but you can also embroider it.

RIGHTS

Ratha's Creature and the Named belong to Clare Bell.
Pattern by L. Lashmit (c) 2013
Pattern is free for personal use only. Pattern may not be resold.