Fall Cat

Designers: Tammy Johnson and Avis Shirer (Joined at the Hip)

• 1 yard of black felted wool for appliqué foundation
• 3⁄4 yard of blue felted wool for appliqué foundation
• 1⁄4 yard of brown plaid felted wool for tongue appliqués
• 8×12" rectangle of orange plaid felted wool for large pumpkin appliqué
• 8" square of solid orange felted wool for small pumpkin appliqué
• 14" square of dark brown plaid felted wool for cat appliqué
• 12" square of gold felted wool for sunflower appliqués
• 6" square of brown felted wool for sunflower center appliqués
• Scrap of gray-green felted wool for pumpkin stem appliqués
• 1⁄4 yard of green tweed felted wool for leaf and flower stem appliqués
• Scrap of pink felted wool for cat nose appliqué
• 2-1⁄2"-diameter cream buttons for cat eyes
• 1⁄2 yard of black 1⁄8"-wide rickrack for cat's whiskers
• 1⁄3 yard of blue ticking for binding
• 1 yard of backing fabric
• 3 yards of fusible web

Finished quilt: 25" square

Quantities specified for 44/45"-wide, 100% cotton fabrics.

All measurements include a 1⁄4" seam allowance.  Sew with right sides together unless otherwise stated.

To felt wool, machine-wash it in a hot-water-wash, cool-rinse cycle with a small amount of detergent; machine-dry it on high heat and steam-press.

To make the best use of your fabrics, cut the pieces in the order that follows. Click on "Download this Project" above for pattern pieces. It is not necessary to add seam allowances when cutting out the appliqué pieces. Since felted wool doesn't ravel, there are no edges to turn under. Cut the edges cleanly, keeping them as smooth as possible.

To use fusible web for appliquéing, as was done with this project, complete the following steps. Also, the blue felted wool 20- 1⁄2" square is backed with fusible web, trimmed to 20" square, and then fused to the black felted wool foundation.

1.    Lay the fusible web, paper side up, over the patterns. Use a pencil to trace each pattern the number of times indicated, leaving 1⁄2" between tracings. Cut out each piece roughly 1⁄4" outside the traced lines.

2.    Following the manufacturer's instructions, press the fusible-web shapes onto the back of the designated fabric; let cool. Cut out the fabric shapes on the drawn lines. Peel off the paper backings.

From black felted wool, cut:

• 1--25 -1⁄2" square

From blue felted wool, cut:

• 1--20 -1⁄2" square

From brown plaid felted wool, cut:

• 24 of Pattern A

From orange plaid felted wool, cut:

• 1 of Pattern B

From solid orange felted wool, cut:

• 1 of Pattern C

From dark brown plaid felted wool, cut:

• 1 each of patterns D and E

From gold felted wool, cut:

• 2 of Pattern F

From brown felted wool, cut:

• 2 of Pattern G

From gray-green felted wool scrap, cut:

• 1 each of patterns H and I

From green tweed felted wool, cut:

• 2--1×16 -1⁄2" strips
• 4 of Pattern J

From pink felted wool scrap, cut:

• 1 of Pattern K

From blue ticking, cut:

• 3--2 -1⁄2×42" binding strips

1.    Referring to the photograph and the Appliqué Placement Diagram, position the brown plaid felted wool tongue appliqués on the black felted wool appliqué foundation. Fuse the pieces in place. Using tan thread, machine-blanket stitch around the edges of the tongues.

2.    Position the blue felted wool 20" square on the black felted wool appliqué foundation; fuse in place. Place the remaining appliqué pieces on the blue felted wool square.  Note: The green tweed felted wool flower stems have a gentle curve created by steam pressing the 1×16 -1⁄2" strips.

3.    Working from the bottom layer to the top layer, fuse the pieces in place, except for the pink felted wool cat nose. Using matching threads, machine-blanket-stitch around the edges of each piece, beginning with the bottom layer and working toward the top.

4.    Cut the black 1⁄8"-wide rickrack into three 4"-long strips. Referring to the photograph and the Appliqué Placement Diagram, position the rickrack in a crisscross pattern and tack down each end. Fuse the pink felted wool cat nose over the rickrack and machine-blanket-stitch around it with pink thread.

5.    Sew the 1⁄2"-wide cream buttons to the cat appliqué to make the eyes. Machine-stitch down the center of each leaf, and machine-stitch lines through the small and large pumpkins to complete the quilt top.

Layer the quilt top and backing. Use the blue ticking 2- 1⁄2×42" strips to bind the quilt.