Catnip Fish Toy Free Tutorial

Catnip Fish Toy Tutorial - source: angharad

(original post:http://angharadhandmade.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/recipe-for-happy-cat.html)

Ingredients:

fabric offcut and thread

dried catnip

rice

length of grosgrain ribbon

cat

1) Take one offcut of fabric (mine is Amy Butler furnishing weight fabric), fold in half right sides together and pin,

2) Freehand a fish shape with some tailor's chalk or a fabric marker.

3) Insert your long length of grosgrain ribbon at the mouth of the fish, long ends inside so that it will be stitched through when you sew around the fish. Sew around the fish shape leaving a couple of inches open to turn.

4) Cut away or pink the excess fabric around 5 mm from the stitching line, clipping corners.

5) Turn right side out and stuff with a mixture of dried catnip and rice - not too full as the fish is much more pleasingly floppy (and lighter to throw around if you are a cat) if you don't overfill it. Pin the opening shut.

6) Either hand sew the turning gap, or topstitch around the entire fish as close to the edge as possible, closing the turning gap in the process.

Set your camera on its fastest shutter speed then snap your kitty as she snaps at the fish.