Homemade Gifts for Pet Lovers: Cat Toy and Locket Gift Set

This how-to will show you what you need to know to create a whimsical and sweet handmade gift set for your favorite pet lover '" a fun cat shaped catnip toy for the kitty and a sweet locket for their favorite human. You will need to know basic hand sewing and how to make a French knot using embroidery thread. You will also need the following materials:

Small pictures of the gift recipients, both the pet lover and cat
Locket
Paper
Pen
A good pair of scissors
2 pieces of craft felt '" 1 red and 1 grey
Black embroidery thread
Needle
Chopstick or small dowel
Fiberfill
Catnip

Cut the pictures of the pet lover and cat down to the fit inside the locket. Place them inside and then set it to one side.

Take your paper and lay it flat on the table. Free hand a few cat shaped designs onto the paper. Remember that your design will need to be at least ¼ inch bigger than what you want the finished product to be, for seam allowance. Your finished design should be at least 3 inches across at the widest point of the cat. (Feel free to have fun with the shape, as well as your stitches; it's meant to be a whimsical homemade gift.) Once you have a design that you are happy with, cut it out. Fold your felt in half. Pin the pattern you just made to the piece of red felt and cut through both thicknesses, creating two identical pieces. You now have the main pieces of the cat's body.

Now freehand a pouch shape onto the paper. Make sure this pouch is big enough to hold the locket. Use this design as the pattern for your grey felt. After cutting and unpinning, cut out a small oval of the grey for the nose of the cat. Once your pouch has been cut out, draw a heart that will fit onto the pouch on the paper. After deciding on the design, pin it to the rest of the red felt and cut it out.

Pin the red heart onto the grey pouch and sew it on, using the black embroidery thread. Cut off any stray threads as you go. Pin the grey pouch onto the front side of one piece of your red body. Using the black embroidery thread, sew the pouch to the front of the cat body. Remember to leave the top open; do not sew it, so that the locket can be placed inside the pouch. Sew the felt nose onto the face of the cat. Embroider a few whiskers coming out from the nose using your preferred stitch. Place French knots to either side of the nose for eyes. Embroider on a black collar to complete the look for the front of the body.

Flip the embroidered front of the body to face the other piece of red felt. Pin these together. Using a simple back stitch, stitch the two side of the body together. Leave an inch or so of space at either the bottom or the side of the body. Flip the entire thing right side out, using the chopstick or dowel to push out any stubborn areas. Fill the body with catnip and fiberfill, alternating one on top of the other, until slightly overstuffed. Use more black embroidery thread to finish the seam. You're now done with the body of the catnip toy. Place the locket inside the gray pouch.

You now have a wonderful handmade gift set that any pet lover would be thrilled to receive. Put the cat toy and locket inside a small gift box, wrap, and present the gift. For an extra touch, wrap it in paper that has pictures of cats or cat paw prints. This gift set can also be made using an engraved cat collar tag instead of the picture filled locket for new pet owners.