All about cat pillows

Cats are the most mysterious animals. They undoubtedly have subtle intuition, understand and share the mood of the owner, and their purr can relieve stress and soothe. At the same time, there is no more wayward creature - they themselves come up to receive a portion of affection, and leave if they do not need it. Forcing a cat to do something is almost impossible.

Nevertheless, a cat can be found in every second house. If you don't have the opportunity to make a furry friend yet, you can make it yourself - in the form of a pillow.

Cat pillows have several distinct properties.

• Originality. Most of such products are distinguished by an unusual, creative design and funny appearance - it is difficult to be sad when looking at a cat!
• Functionality. If you choose a pillow of the correct shape and with high-quality hypoallergenic filler, then it will not only please, but also help you to sleep well, not only at home, but also on the road - in a car or an airplane.
• Versatility. Despite the frivolous "appearance", cat pillows are suitable not only for children, but also for adults.

It is very difficult to cover all the existing varieties of cat pillows. It is most convenient to classify models by the material from which they are made and by their purpose.

The simplest separation is sewn or knitted items. However, this classification is not accurate, because pillows are sewn from felt, cotton, silk, and many other materials.

• Felt pillows - more dense, are, rather, decorative in nature, because they are not suitable for sleeping. Felt perfectly holds its shape, especially with the correct selection of filler.It is better to sew models from such material without small printed parts. It is more convenient to cut the ears and legs together with the body and head of the cat. The smaller the part, the more difficult it will be to turn it out after stitching, since felt is a non-plastic material.

• Fleece - tactilely very pleasant, soft and warm fabric. The pillow from it will turn out to be just wonderful. Due to the fact that the material is elastic, the product can be given any shape - from a long cat-hug to a round headrest with a cheerful face and long legs. It should be noted that some types of fleece strongly accumulate static electricity, which means that the product will have to be washed regularly with special liquid detergents to neutralize the charge. Therefore, you need to either choose a filler that is not afraid of the washing machine, or sew not a pillow from the fleece, but a removable cover on it, then at any time it will be possible to clean it without harm to the product.

• For knitted products it is recommended to choose soft threads, not prickly. For example, you should use clean wool with care - firstly, it is uncomfortable to the touch, and secondly, it shrinks when washing, often even in cold water.

• Acrylic, bamboo, cotton, iris (multi-fold) - these are the threads that make beautiful soft and pleasant to the touch pillows. They do not deform, do not stretch and do not shrink during washing. It is convenient to embroider on a canvas made of these threads - a cat's face or mustache.

All types of "cat" pillows can be conditionally divided into three: anti-stress pillow, children's pillow and interior pillow. The first assignment is easily combined with both the second and the third.

• Models designed to deal with stress must have some kind of filler. - either free-flowing, or made of synthetic winterizer balls, or another that can be crumpled and squeezed. The cover must be elastic enough so that it does not deform or lose its attractive appearance from external influences.
• Interior pillow cover - sofa or decorative - must have greater strength, not stretch, wrinkle and not form creases. The size of such products can be any - from a round "donut" cat to a roller that fits the entire sofa seat.
• Children's products are brighter, funny design and an abundance of details - long "hugging" paws, wiggling tail or huge eyes. Cotton and knitwear are perfect for them, but it is better to choose a filler not only hypoallergenic, but also with antimicrobial effect. Then the child will never part with a hug pillow!

A pillow in the shape of a cat can be made in any technique - sew, knit, combine both techniques, embroider ... You can put an image of an animal on a pillowcase in a traditional rectangular or square shape, or you can give a fantasy or, conversely, an emphasized realistic shape to the product.

You can make one of the familiar cartoon characters - the cat Matroskin, Leopold or Tom. Or you can create your own cat - black or red, the one you like the most. For dreamers and those who like to think outside the box, it can be blue or yellow, or from fabric with a print with stripes or polka dots.

You can apply a picture in the form of a cat's silhouette or its face on a fabric cover using a stencil with acrylic paints. A large number of ready-made stencils are sold in specialized stores, but you can make it yourself in the form that you need.

If you don't want to draw a cat, but make it, then you need a pattern.

The selection of material for the future product is a very important matter, you need to take into account its purpose. Sleeping on a felt or silk pillow will be uncomfortable, but fleece or knitwear is perfect for this purpose. But if you need an interior decoration - a decorative pillow, then it is better to choose a denser fabric - felt or footer will be very good. Sintepon, synthetic winterizer or holofiber are optimal as a filler - they are environmentally friendly, hypoallergenic and not too susceptible to dust accumulation.

All parts of the pattern must be attached to the seamy surface of the material, circled with a pencil or a piece of soap and cut out, not forgetting about the seam allowances. Next, the parts are cut out and each sewn together, leaving a small area unstitched - for further turning out and stuffing with filler. You can sew both manually and with a typewriter. If the parts are joined by hand, the stitches must be made small, frequent, so that there is a minimum of unstitched space.

After all the parts are stitched, turned out and stuffed, they should be connected together. If the decoration of the pillow is provided, it is carried out at the end of the assembly. The cat's face can be embroidered or painted with an indelible marker or paints.

Also, the pillow can be knitted - using a crochet hook or knitting needles. If knitting needles are used to create a cat, then either two squares or a rectangle are knitted, which is subsequently folded in half. It is not recommended to take needles that are too thick, since the canvas will turn out to be loose, and the filler will be visible through it. It is better to use knitting needles of medium thickness. The thread color can be any, you can combine several shades. Knitting of such pillows is great for "disposal" of the accumulated remnants of tangles.

You can knit by combining tools: for example, knit the product itself on knitting needles, and create small parts - ears, tail - with a crochet hook. Embroidered or felted decorative elements also look interesting on interior pillows.

For craftswomen who own a crochet, knitting a cat will happen a little differently. Initially, the product should be set to its final shape - a ball, cylinder or other shape. Then it remains only to fill it with filler.

Toys connected in the "amigurumi" technique also look very nice. - from motives, which are subsequently combined with each other, forming figures of animals.

The so-called "grandmother's" square is a common motive for knitting blankets and square pillows. But why not use it to create a cat? The result is both stylish and very original product.

The easiest way to create unusual interior pillows is as follows: in any photo studio, print on the fabric the images of the cats you like (or funny memes with their participation), cut them into squares and create your own collection of decorative items. Nobody will have such, and pillows will make every guest in the house smile.

There is always an opportunity to look at ready-made examples and try to make something of your own based on them.

• A cute cat family will decorate any nursery.

• A charismatic knitted cat will take root both in the apartment and in the country, very cute!

• It is not immediately clear that this cat is not real, its image is so realistic.

• You can decorate the back of a chair in an original way with a couple of cats on your own.

• These soft seals can even be pulled by their tails.