May 9, 2013

Liz makes a grumpy cat plush

All day yesterday, I attempted to make the grumpy cat. It's not perfect, and there are things I would do differently if I were to make it again, but I think I did an okay job at making the celebrity cat into a plush cat. It took awhile to figure out how to make it, but I finally got it down. I even made a tutorial so you can make one yourself! Here we go:

First, you'll need this pattern. (I hand drew my shapes to the best of my ability, so feel free to do the same if you don't like my pattern. I didn't draw a pattern for the tail, because I didn't have room, but we'll get to the tail later.) 
You'll also need:
2 sheets white felt, 1 sheet brown felt, 1 sheet tan felt, 1 sheet pink felt, 1 sheet blue felt, 1 sheet black felt, needle, white thread, black thread, tacky glue (optional), pins, scissors, poly-fil and a sewing machine.

You'll need to cut out the body shape. Since the rest of the pattern is inside of the body shape, you'll cut those out after you cut the felt for the body. Make sure to cut out two body shapes (in white)!
Now you can cut out the rest of the shapes. Be sure to cut out four brown ears, two tan ears, two blue eye pieces, two black eye pieces, two brown eye pieces and one mouth. You'll also need to cut out a tail. I cut the first one just by freehand, then I placed that onto another piece of felt and cut around it so I had two pieces that matched. (By this point, I had no pink felt!)
Now you can get out a needle and both white and black thread. First, using white thread, sew the tan ear pieces on two of the brown ear pieces. Then, using black thread, sew the black eye pieces onto the blue eye pieces.
Now get your tail pieces, place them together, sew using a sewing machine and turn inside out. Do the same with the ear pieces. You should also sew the mouth on at this point. I sewed mine on by hand, because sewing with a machine would have taken for. ev. er.
Now sew the eyes onto the body of the cat, using black thread in your sewing machine. Sew around both the blue parts and the brown parts. Make sure to go very slowly around curves and lift your presser foot to turn the cat as needed.
Now pin the other white body piece to the one with the eyes sewn on. Make sure to place the already stuffed ears and tails inside beforehand. MAKE SURE THEY ARE STUFFED BEFORE YOU START SEWING!
Sew all the way around, making sure to leave an opening at the bottom of the cat. Turn right side out.
Stuff the cat with poly-fil! I originally didn't stuff mine enough, so later I went back, undid the stitches, stuffed it some more and sewed it back. So always make sure you're happy with the amount of stuffing before sewing.
Fold over the edges and pin shut. Pinning isn't always necessary, but I find it helps a ton.
Now sew shut! I used a ladder stitch. That works wonderfully when closing seams.
You're done! Now you can set him on your window-sill...
...Or on the back of your couch!
...Or on your internet router!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. It took a lot of thought, hard work and patience, but it was worth it in the end! As always, if I didn't make something clear in the tutorial, feel free to leave a comment asking your question below and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Have a great rest of the week!
Love, Liz

32 comments:

  1. This is just to cute!! Perfect, I would love to have one.

    Have a lovely day,
    allthatglittersnotgold.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks Patricia! You should try your hand at making one.. It really wasn't TOO difficult, and it was a lot of fun!
      Liz

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  2. It's awesome!! I am a grumpy cat fan & I love it even it acts so bad.

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    1. Thanks Areeba! I'm a grumpy cat fan too.
      Liz

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  3. this is great!! so cute!!

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  4. Oh my, I adore this!! Brilliant idea! xx

    http://thehonestfox.blogspot.com

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  5. Oh my goodness! It's so cute! It looks so much like grumpy!

    Kisses
    Sofia G

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    1. I hoped it would! Thanks for stopping by!
      Liz

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  6. No way! This is just so cute and so so funny! You are soooo creative.

    xoxo
    Juliette Laura
    http://juliettelaura.blogspot.com

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  7. That's so cute! It looks just like Grumpy Cat! Great job!

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    1. Thanks so much Emily! The more I look at it, the less it looks like grumpy cat.. But oh well!
      Liz

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  8. What an awesome Grumpy Cat!! I've thought about crocheting one, but this seems even better!

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    1. Thank you Heather! Crocheting one sounds fun too!
      Liz

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  9. no way! I love this soooo much! i will have to make him! thanks for sharing!

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  10. Ahh! It's so cute, I want to squeeze it :)

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  11. It's SO adorable! But would grumpy cat approve? I think he would.

    xxLiora
    i-wasnt-there.blogspot.com

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  12. This is awesome! I made one using your tutorial, but I didn't have pink felt so I improvised using pink embroidery thread. See it here: http://instagram.com/p/ZZVEP5kVdz/
    Thanks for the awesome tutorial! This was so much fun to make and the friend I'm gifting it to is gonna flip when she gets it lol.

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    1. Thanks! And oh my goodness, it looks great! You know, I totally like the embroidery thread way better! Awesome job!
      Liz

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  13. Haha SO CUTE.....GREAT POST:)
    Your blog is so wonderful..Do you have twitter or fb??

    If you want some cute Swedish decor inspiration...check out my blog:)

    Have a great day dear

    LOVE Maria at inredningsvis.se
    (sweden)

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    1. Thanks so much! I do have a facebook page..
      https://www.facebook.com/lizmakesblog
      Thanks for stopping by!
      Liz

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  14. I love this! You did a great job in capturing her expression. I made my own version for a friend. I featured this tutorial in a post on my blog here: http://artsyfartsycraftywafty.blogspot.com/2013/05/grumpy-cat-where-your-legs-at.html
    Thanks for the awesome instructions!

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    1. Oh yours is so awesome! Thanks so much for featuring me. :) And you're welcome!
      Liz

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