Fabric Affair Show & Tell - Kitty Hideaway

Kitty Hideaway

I was poking around the catalogue for Birch Street Clothing Patterns, and found this pattern for a "Pet Pop Up Tent". My email pal Ken Porter has a cat named Nimbus and his roommates have a cat named Galadriel, so I figured it might be fun to make a gift for the pets.

To the right, you see Nimbus "modeling" her tent. I chose a spider-themed print, as her favorite "snack attack" is to go out into the garage and catch the spiders lurking behind the washing machine. Ummm, Good! Ken tells me that the cats know which tent belongs to whom. Nimbus likes to sit in hers under the television, and watch the couch potato activity across the room.

Next in the series is Galadriel's. It is being "modeled" by the Fabric Affair stuffed bunny. Galadriel likes her tent okay, but her uncle Ken reports that she doesn't want anyone to know it. Hence, it is hard to capture her on film. In any case, as her "mom" likes sun/moon/star themed items and is also a purple junkie, I chose this colorful sun/moon/stars print.

The entire tent is only about 14" tall and the floor is only 14" square. Thus, a large cat (or in this case, a large stuffed rabbit) doesn't fit too well. But I think more average-sized cats will fit quite handily. Nimbus' dad says that at her last "weigh-in" at the vets, she weighed ten pounds, if that helps you determine "kitty scale."

I used a double layer of Malden Mills PolarTec 200 fleece from Fabric Affair for the floor of the tent. Nimbus likes rubbing her face on "Auntie Linda's" velvet cape. I'm hoping the velvet-like texture of the PolarTec will lure her away from the cape and encourage her to rub her kitty boogers in here instead. The top of the ten is made from regular 100% cotton quilting fabric. The wires holding the tent up are supposed to be covered with bias cut quilting cotton, but I decided to use some cotton knit instead. I figured it would bend just as well or better than bias cut woven fabric.

The whole thing was constructed on my serger in quick time. One "design change" that I made was to make the front panel a double layer, stitched together right sides together and then turned. I figure the edges of the door are apt to get a lot of stress from entrances and exits.

Cheryl will be getting in some of these patterns at Fabric Affair. If you'ld like one to make a house for a favorite pet or a camping tent for a favorite family doll (one young visitor to the store wanted one for her American Girl doll to go on campouts!) Drop Cheryl an email and ask her to let you know when they arrive.

This page updated 09/27/99

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