I hope you have already had a chance to make a Felt Kitty Friend. This variation is a little more complicated than the basic version, because the arms, legs and body are all separate pieces. Using pipe cleaners instead of wooden pieces for structure makes the doll more flexible. (Thanks to Betsy-TN from Hittygirls for this idea!) I have also included instructions for an embroidered face. Flexible Kitty Friends take a little more time to sew than Felt Kitty Friends, but the result will be a doll that’s a lot of fun to play with.
The two Flexible Kitty Friends pictured with Kitty are named Chloe and Maxine (Max for short). Chloe is an Ice Fairy from Saskatchewan, Canada (Read “Kitty Meets an Ice Fairy”), and Max is from Utah. They both love winter and the great outdoors.
Aisling from Ireland is my newest Kitty Friend. She loves to make jewelry (Read “Charming Necklaces”), and she belongs to a group of musicians called, “Celtic Friends.”
Download the Flexible Kitty Friend Pattern Here!
Flexible Kitty Friends Instructions
Doll Materials:
Skin color felt fabric
Needles for hand-sewing and embroidery
Sewing thread to match felt
Contrast color thread for basting
Four tiny buttons (1/4” diameter) for joints
Strong quilting thread to match body color
Fray-check fabric sealer or Elmer’s Glue-All
Straight pins
Embroidery thread for face
Black Pilot Frixion erasable pen (or other fabric marking pen)
Craft scissors for cutting out pattern
Small embroidery scissors for cutting fabric
Seam ripper
Iron and ironing board
Premium quality polyester stuffing
Hemostat clamps
Three 12” long chenille stem pipe cleaners
Ruler
NOTE: Please supervise children and take safety precautions when using an iron and/or sewing machine.
STITCH DIAGRAMS
CUTTING OUT FELT PIECES
Download and print the “Flexible Kitty Friend Pattern.” Cut carefully around the outline of each pattern piece with craft scissors (save the good scissors for fabric so they won’t become dull). One 9” x 12” sheet of ordinary craft felt is enough to make a doll. NOTE: I used glitter felt for Chloe. It wasn’t as stretchy as normal felt, so she turned out a little smaller than Max.
Pin all the pieces for the doll on a single layer of the felt fabric and use the embroidery scissors to cut out the shapes. Remove the pins and make sure the pattern doesn’t need any trimming or adjusting (sometimes the pins distort the shape a bit). Mark the black dots on the arms and legs using a Frixion erasable pen or other fabric marking pen. Notice that the “Face” pattern piece has three triangle-shaped areas, called darts. Cut the top dart on the black line, but do not cut out the chin darts.
BASTING LAYERS TOGETHER
Place the felt “Body” piece on top of a second, slightly larger piece of felt. The best way to hold these together while sewing is to hand baste a line of stitching in the center of the body. A contrast color thread makes the stitches easy to see and remove later. After you have basted the “Body” to another piece of felt, do the same for the “Right Arm,” “Left Arm,” “Right Leg” and “Left Leg.”
MARKING THE FACIAL FEATURES
Place the “Face” pattern on top of the piece of felt piece you just cut out. You are going to use this pattern as a template to position the eyes and mouth. The easiest way to mark the position for the features is to poke a pin through both the eye dots and the center of the mouth on the pattern piece.
At the exact spot where the pin comes through, use the Frixion marking pen to make small dots for the eyes and mouth. Check with a ruler to make sure the dots are centered.
Use one strand of doubled embroidery thread to embroider the eyes and mouth, following the diagram below.
For the eyes, use a double knotted strand of embroidery floss in the color of your choice. Make 4 stitches in an “asterisk” pattern. The lips are made using a double knotted strand of embroidery floss. Make 3 small stitches in a curved shape, then make a second stitch overtop of the middle stitch.
HAND SEWING VS. MACHINE SEWING
This tutorial will focus on hand-sewing techniques. All those tiny curves around the hands and feet can be hard to sew accurately with a machine, unless you have some experience. If you are a beginning sewer, it will probably work better for you to hand-sew the pieces together. However, if you feel like your machine-sewing skills are up to the challenge, go for it! Just make sure to go very slowly and use a shorter than normal stitch length. You will need a 1/8″ seam allowance.
SEWING THE BODY
Thread a needle and make a knot at the end of a double length of thread about 15” long. Anything longer than this is likely to get twisted up as you sew. Trim off the ends close to the knot. Start at one of the neck edges and secure the end well by making one or two backstitches at the top of the neck. Then sew 1/8” from the edge of the body, using a backstitch. If you have trouble judging how much 1/8” is, use your paper pattern for reference. Try to keep all your stitches the same distance from the edge, if possible. Remember to pull the thread tight after every stitch. Sometimes, the thread will get caught or twisted. If that happens, you may have to pull on each thread separately. When you have only about 2” of thread left, insert the needle between the layers of felt and make a knot. Cut the thread, then start stitching with another double length of knotted thread.
After you have sewn all around the body to the other side of the neck, secure the top edge of the neck with a couple backstitches. DO NOT SEW THE TOP OF THE NECK CLOSED. You need to leave this open for stuffing. Finally, tie a knot and clip off the extra thread.
SEWING THE ARMS AND LEGS
Sew the arms and legs in the same manner as the body. Start at one of the black dots and sew all the way around until you reach the other black dot. Leave the top of the arms and legs open for stuffing.
TRIMMING THE PIECES
Trim off the excess felt from all the pieces.
REMOVING THE BASTING STITCHES
You can now remove the basting stitches. This is easy if you have a stitch remover called a seam ripper. Pull up one of the loose stitches with the seam ripper, and keep going until you have removed all the stitches.
IRONING THE PIECES
Set the iron to the polyester heat setting. Do not use a cotton setting, because it may melt the felt. Iron the body, arms and legs flat.
Do a final trim all around the seams, clipping them as close to the stitching as you can (but not less than 1/16” from the seam-line).
SEWING THE HEAD
To sew the darts on the “Face” piece, begin with the larger dart in the top of the head. Fold the “Face” in half with the right sides together (embroidered features will be on the inside) and align the outer edges of the dart. Take a knotted length of double thread and start sewing through both layers of felt 1/8” from the outside edge, moving towards the point of the dart. Make a couple backstitches as you begin, and continue with very small backstitches all the way until you get to the point. Take a stitch at the end and then start working a couple small stitches back the other way to make the dart more secure. Tie a knot and cut the extra thread.
For the chin darts, use a fabric marking pen to mark the edges of the darts. Then fold one of the darts in the middle and backstitch from the outside edge towards the point of the dart. Sew the second chin dart in the same manner.
The “Head Back” has a dart also. Sew the top dart just as you did for the face. With the iron on low heat, press the seams of the top darts open to make them flatter. Do not trim the chin darts, just press them both towards the center of the face. The heat will also remove your marks if you used a heat-sensitive marking pen.
SEWING THE HEAD TOGETHER
Put the “Face” and “Head Back” together (with darts on the inside), matching the two darts at the top. Use a pin or a basting stitch to hold the two pieces together. Align the lower edge of the “Head Back” with the chin dart on the “Face” piece.
Start sewing the “Face” and “Head Back” together, 1/8” from the edge. Secure thread with a backstitch, and then continue sewing with a backstitch all around the head. When you get to the pin at the top of the head, remove it and keep going until you reach the bottom edge of the head. Secure the end of threads with a knot and another backstitch.
The head is now complete.
PIPE CLEANERS
Adding chenille stem pipe cleaners to fit inside the arms, legs and body will allow the doll to pose. Use craft scissors to cut the pieces of pipe cleaner. DO NOT USE FABRIC SCISSORS for this because it can damage the blades. You can also use wire cutters if you prefer.
Cut two 4 1/2” long pieces for arms.
Cut two 5 1/2” long pieces for legs.
Cut one 7 1/2” long piece for body.
Follow the steps below for each pipe cleaner.
- Fold each pipe cleaner in half.
- Start twisting the wires together starting at the top, working all the way down to the bottom.
- Fold the cut ends of the pipe cleaners up about 1/2” from the bottom.
- Press the wires together to bury the cut ends.
STUFFING THE BODY
Use a hemostat clamp to push some stuffing through the neck and down to the hips. If you don’t have any hemostats, you can use use the rounded end of a bamboo skewer.
Add a 1/4” deep layer of stuffing at the bottom of the body. Then insert the longest pipe cleaner, folded end first. The top of the pipe cleaner should stick out of the neck by about 1/2”. Now add more stuffing around the pipe cleaner with the hemostat clamp. The body should feel feel firm and not too soft. Make sure there is some stuffing in the neck area as well.
STUFFING THE HEAD
Use the hemostat clamp or your finger to add small bits of stuffing inside the head until it is nicely shaped. It should feel firm and not too soft. Fold under the 1/8” seam at the bottom edges of the neck opening.
SEWING THE HEAD ONTO THE BODY
Place the head on top of the neck. You will need a double length of knotted thread to sew the head onto the neck. Start at the back of the head. Use a ladder stitch to sew the head to the neck all the way around. You might even want to sew around the head twice to make sure it is secure. Then tie a knot at the back of the head and hide it underneath the seam.
BLUSH
A bit of blush on the cheeks will make your doll’s face come to life. Chalk pastels (also called soft pastels or Conté crayons) in pink or salmon colors work best. Rub a little bit on a scrap piece of felt to test the color. Then apply the pastel to the cheek areas of your doll until you are happy with the color.
STUFFING THE ARMS
Use a hemostat clamp to push a pea-sized ball of stuffing all the way to the end of the arm to shape the hand and thumb.
Insert one of the two shortest pipe cleaners in the arm. Add a small amount of stuffing in the arm, just enough to cushion the pipe cleaner. Repeat for the other arm.
STUFFING THE LEGS
Use a hemostat clamp to push a small ball of stuffing, about pea-sized, through the top opening and all the way down to the toes. Insert one of the twisted pipe cleaners into the leg. Add a small amount of stuffing in the leg, just enough to cushion the pipe cleaner. Repeat for the other leg.
ATTACHING THE ARMS AND LEGS
Flexible Kitty Friends are jointed which allows for more movement than Felt Kitty Friends. I found small buttons at Hobby Lobby for the joints, but any 1/4” diameter small button will work.
Use a Frixion pen or other marking pen to mark the attachment points on the front of the body, arms and legs.
With a double knotted length of strong quilting thread, attach arms and legs with buttons, following the diagram.
1. With the button placed on the inside front of the arm/leg, insert the needle through one of the buttonholes.
2. Pass the thread through the back of the body near the attachment point, around the front, and back through the other hole in the button.
3. Pull the thread tight so that there is no slack. Tie a square knot to secure the thread.
Try moving the arms and legs. If any of the limbs are too loose or too tight, cut the thread and try again. When the joints are all working properly, cut off the excess thread. Put a small bead of Fray-check or Elmer’s Glue-All on the ends of the thread to keep them from coming untied.
CLOSING ARMS AND LEGS
Add a pea-sized bit of stuffing at the top of the arms and legs to cushion the buttons.
Using a double length of knotted sewing thread, whipstitch to close the openings of the tops of arms and legs. Use the heat of an iron to remove any remaining marks on the front side.
Now your doll is complete and ready for hair.
Wig Materials
Size 3 or 4 (sport or medium weight) yarn for Maxine’s hair
Lace weight yarn for Aisling’s hair
Needle for hand-sewing
Sewing thread to match yarn color
Fake fur or curly fleece for Chloe’s hair
Cardboard
Sewing machine
1/8” wide ribbon for Aising’s hair
Note: All Kitty Friends use the same head pattern pieces, so you can also use the hairstyles from the Felt Kitty Friend tutorial.
CHLOE’S WIG
Chloe’s wig is made from a novelty knit fabric, cut from a 2-piece pattern. The wig pattern is the same one used for David and Jordan’s hair. Most fur has a “nap.” The nap should flow downward to match the directional arrow on the pattern. You can brush against the fur fabric with your finger to see which way feels the smoothest. Arrange the “Wig Front” and “Wig Back” pattern pieces on the fabric and cut them out. Cut carefully through the fabric backing and try not to cut through any of the strands. Pull off any loose strands around the edges of the wig pieces.
Mark the middle triangle on both pieces with a fabric marking pen.
Place the “Wig Front” and “Wig Back” pieces together, with triangles aligned and with RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER. Sew the two pieces together along the top edge with a whipstitch, which finishes the raw edges.
Next, keeping RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER, sew the back of the wig together with a whipstitch.
Turn the finished wig right side out and try it on your doll’s head. After you have placed it in position, sew all around the edge to attach the wig to the head.
MAXINE’S WIG
Maxine has a simple, “mop” style yarn wig which requires only hand sewing. You can vary the length of the strands of yarn to make long or short hair.
When choosing yarn for your doll’s wig, look for soft, fluffy acrylic or wool blends in natural hair colors. The size of the yarn is not that critical, but a smaller diameter yarn, such as sport weight, will look more realistic. If you think a yarn looks too thick, you can separate the strands by slowing untwisting and pulling them apart.
Cut a piece of cardboard 2” by 2 3/4”. Wrap yarn around the shorter side of the cardboard until you have a strip that is 1 3/4” wide. Try not to wrap it too tightly.
Carefully cut the strands in half and remove them from cardboard.
I decided to untwist and separate the strands to make them thinner. This part is optional if you are happy with the thickness of your yarn.
Cut another strand of yarn 10” long. Center the strands of yard all along the yarn strip.
Use the long strip to tie the strands together into a loose bundle. Do not tie the yarn too tightly. The strands should be able to spread out a bit.
Put the bundle of yarn on top of the head, with the tied strip lined up along the seam on top of the head. Sew the wig on to the head with a double length of knotted thread that matches the hair color.
Pull on the strands of yarn to see if any are loose. If one can be pulled free, go back over that area of the wig with more stitches to secure the strands. When all your strands are secure, tie a knot and clip off the thread. Spread out the hair on the head to distribute the strands evenly. Trim off any messy bits with scissors and even out the strands.
Max is an active girl, so her hair has a tendency to get messy. Smooth it down if you like, or leave it wild!
AISLING’S WIG
This wig is similar to Olivia’s, with the addition of curly bangs and pigtails. It does require a sewing machine, but it uses a basic straight stitch. If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can sew the yarn strands on by hand, although it will take longer.
When choosing yarn for your doll’s wig, look for soft, fluffy acrylic or wool blends in natural hair colors. The lace weight yarn has a delicate feel that will look more realistic than thicker yarns. If you can’t find lace weight yarn, try using embroidery floss.
AISLING’S BANGS
Cut a piece of cardboard 1 1/2” by 1/2”. Cut a piece of yarn about 4” long and place it on top of the cardboard. Wrap yarn around the shorter side of the cardboard, covering the strand of yarn, until you have a 1/2” wide section of yarn. Loosely tie the ends of the strand together.
Remove loops from the cardboard. Then tie a tight knot to hold the loops securely.
Sew the knotted loops on the top of Aisling’s head, centered on the front side of the seam.
Aisling’s Hair
Cut a piece of cardboard 3” by 4”. Wrap yarn around the longer side of the cardboard until you have a 2” wide section of yarn. Add tape near one edge on both sides of cardboard.
Carefully cut the yarn in half at the bottom edge and remove from cardboard.
Straighten yarn strands on either side of tape. Sew a straight machine stitch down the center of the yarn strands, in between the pieces of tape. Backstitch at the start and ends of the strands. Remove tape.
Place the hair on the head. The center part should start at the front of the bangs and continue to the back of the neck. Make sure the part is centered on the head, and use a backstitch to sew it in place with a needle and a double length of knotted thread.
Gather the strands of yarn together on one side of the hair to make a pigtail. Cut a 6” long piece of yarn and tie the pigtail close to her head. To make it even more secure, wrap the yarn around a couple more times and tie another knot. Do the same thing for the other pigtail.
Take a piece of ribbon and tie a bow around the pigtail. Repeat for the other pigtail. Trim off any stray yarn ends.
You’re Done!
Now you have your very own Flexible Kitty Friend!
I have done my best to make the instructions complete and accurate. If you have any corrections, questions or comments about the tutorial, please Contact Me. And if you want to be informed when I add new patterns for Kitty Friends clothing or accessories, please Subscribe.
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