Friday 16 September 2016

Free pattern Friday: 10 free DIY cat toys!

It's pretty late, but I still think I can squeeze some free patterns in today. 

I absolutely love spoiling my cats. A lot of the time, I buy them toys (crinkly balls? Giant sparkly pom poms? Ikea mice, which are Luna's favourites?) but I also enjoy occasionally making the toys myself.

I've seen quite a few patterns/how to's online for making cat toys and other cat paraphernalia. For now, I've compiled a list of DIY cat toys here for you so that you too can feel the joy of indulging your little sweet furbabes!

(These include sewn, crocheted, felted, etc. toys, as I am not specific to my method of crafting!)


10 Free DIY Cat Toys!


1. Crocheted sardines in a crocheted tin can


You may need to create an account to see this pattern, but it is free and totally worth it to create a Lion Brand accounts. And of course, fill it with lots of catnip!

2. Sewn felt "fishing rod" style toy


I've made toys similar to this using pom poms on string, and my cats (mostly Luna though) go crazy for them! You can also crochet a fish with this free pattern to attach to the rod.

3. Felt catnip-filled "junk food" 


These are just too cute, and you could easily make any food with these methods!

4. Recycled toilet paper tube toy



This toy is not only easy to make, but you can recycle toilet paper tubes, bells, and even leftover scrap yarn!


5. Door knob hanging cat toy

This toy is good for cats that like danglies, but are alone a lot.


Sometimes, just a simple pouch of catnip is all you need! You can also make a pouch out of recycled material, as demonstrated in this diy.

7. Knitted mouse toy

What cat toy collection would be complete without some mice?

8. Felt mouse toy

For those who don't knit or are better at sewing, a felt mouse toy!

9. Felt gingerbread man cat toy

Christmas might still be far away, but you can still get a head start on Christmas-y gifts for all the kitties in your life with this cute pattern.

10. And last but not least... Our own eyeball pattern from our tumblr!

This one is especially appropriate for this time of year. Who doesn't want eyeballs rolling around their house for Halloween? Just add catnip and let your cats have some spooky fun! You can even get a little gruesome and add some red curlicues for the optic nerve :)

You can similarly turn many crochet patterns into cat toys just by filling them with catnip and letting your cats have at them. Just make sure the toy is safe for your cat and has nothing they could get caught on. Crochet them little vegetables and pretend they aren't carnivores! Crochet tiny people they can chew on! The possibilities are endless.

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Have fun with these and spoil your cats! If you make any and share them on social media (especially the eyeballs!) please tag us @Cutieshack so we can see the good work!


<3B






Tuesday 13 September 2016

I feel like every time K or I post, we're saying "It's been so long! We'll be better, I promise!".... Whoops hahaha.



We just moved though! That's exciting! And we moved from a cave in a basement to a bright sunny apartment. What a change! And with that change will come more change, hopefully, Like regular updates!! Hehehe.

What's going on in our lives right now? I'll let K fill in his half. But for me, I finished my Master's degree last year and I've just been working full-time as a barista since. 

I just recently reduced my hours to part time, however. In part, this was so that I could dedicate more time to my loves, arts and crafts, and to Cutieshack and you lovely readers! But also in part, it was so that I could dedicate more time towards my goal of getting into vet school. For me at least, it's hard to have all this going at once! I only have so much energy in a day, and it's not much! Hehehe.

What I hope to have in store this week is a collection of my favourite crocheted and crafted cat toy patterns! So cute <3
In the future, maybe weekly themes? Youtube tutorials? I won't have a time-frame for these because I don't want to disappoint anyone, but they'll happen.

For now, this sleepy puppy is going up in the shop!




So stay tuned for more regular updates on here! And if you haven't already, follow us on...
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(And feel free to view our photostream on Flickr if you're bored).

Love, B