Jingle_Mouse_Cat_Toy

Jingle Mouse
A cute little cat toy pattern that has a bell ball inside for extra playtime fun.
Consider making one for a kitty in need!
The Basics:
You’ll need to know:
knit (knit)
knit front and back (kfb)
knit two together (k2tog)
slip slip knit (ssk)
These are all pretty easy stitches, but if any of them are new or unfamiliar to you I’d
suggest looking them up on YouTube, it’s the best place to find instructions for knitting
techniques. Mostly in this pattern you will just be using the knit stitch.
A Dooley & Spud Knitting Pattern – 2012

Have any questions, or need help? -> [email protected]
Materials:
 A set of size 5 double pointed needles.

 1 skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light, Steel Cut Oats: 4214 (for the body).
 1 skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light, Buckwheat: 4204 (for tail and ears).
Yarn note: I chose this yarn because it is cheap, as well as less processed and made
of 50% alpaca and 50% Peruvian wool, so the naturalness of the yarn is more
attractive to some cats. One skein of each color is enough yarn to make many of the
jingle mice. If you’re looking to substitute the skeins I got were: 1.75 oz (50g), and
144 yds (133m).
 A few stitch markers.
 A standard bell in ball cat toy (easily found in any pet or even grocery store). Try a few
out if they’re available, you want one that makes a good strong and pleasing sound. I
used “Grreat Choice™ Multi-Color Lattice Balls Cat Toys” from Petsmart.
 A small amount of some form of fiber stuffing. Again the same rule applies, the more
natural the fiber the more attractive it can be to cats. But the synthetic “Poly-Fil” stuff
works just fine too!
Included at the very end of this pattern is my guide to basic toy stuffing, please give
it a quick read before you begin any of the stuffing steps on this pattern. Don’t
worry, I’ll remind you later too.
 A tapestry or yarn needle (optional, helps pull yarn through when finishing).
 An embroidery needle (for adding the eyes and nose).
 A small amount of black embroidery thread (for the eyes).
 A small amount of pink embroidery thread (for the nose).
Feel free to sell any of the Jingle Mice you make yourself, but please do not distribute this
pattern without my permission. Also remember that these toys make great donations for
some lonely kitties at your local shelter!

The Pattern:
knit (knit)
knit front and back (kfb)
knit two together (k2tog)
slip slip knit (ssk)
Forming the Mouse Butt:

 Cast on 6 stitches, 2 on each of three double pointed needles in the Berroco Ultra
Alpaca Light, Steel Cut Oats: 4214 yarn (this can
be tricky with so few stitches on each needle, try
casting all six onto one needle, and then moving the
other stitches to the right needles, be very careful
not to twist the stitches when joining).
 Round 1: Join in the round, knit.

 Round 2: (knit 1, kfb) repeat until the end of the round (9 stitches).
 Round 3: (knit 1, kfb, knit 1) repeat until the
end of the round (12 stitches).
 Round 4: (kfb, knit 2, kfb) repeat until the end
of the round (18 stitches).
 Round 5: (knit 2, kfb 2, knit 2) repeat until the
end of the round (24 stitches).
 Round 6: (kfb, knit 6, kfb) repeat until the end
of the round (30 stitches).

The Mouse Body:
 Place a marker at the beginning of the round.
 Knit to the end of the round.
 Continue knitting in rounds until the mouse
body measures approximately one inch from
the marker you placed (approximately 6
rounds).
The Face Decrease:

 Round 1: (knit 8, k2tog) repeat until the end of the round.
 Round 2: knit.
 Round 3: knit.
 Round 5: knit.
 Round 6: knit.
 Begin stuffing, and insert the cat toy, making sure that the toy is surrounded by a
layer of stuffing. For further instruction please read
my introduction to toy stuffing section at the end
of this pattern.

 Round 8: knit.
 Round 9: knit.
 Round 11: knit.
 Round 12: knit.
 Continue stuffing.
 Round 14: knit.

 Round 16: knit.
 Continue stuffing.
 Round 18: kint.
 Finish stuffing.
 Cut the yarn, and pull the tail through the
remaining stitches, closing the mouse face and
then weave the end back into the mouse (the
best way to do this is to take the yarn on a
needle, and then poke the needle through the
mouse stuffing until the end of the yarn in lost
inside the actual stuffing of the mouse, rather
than just woven into the knitting on the side).
The Tail:
 Pick up 4 stitches at the base of the mouse, 2 on each needle.
 Pick up the Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light,
Buckwheat: 4204 yarn and knit in the round until the
tail measures approximately the same length of the
mouse body (this can be difficult because when
you’re starting with the yarn, it isn’t tied down and it
will get away from you a little bit, be patient, treat it
like you’d normally knit with a yarn, and again
YouTube videos if you’re having difficulty).
 Cut the yarn and pull the end through the
remaining stitches, then weave the ends in.

The Ears:
 Pick up 10 stitches on one side of the mouse
face, 5 stitches on each needle. To help the
ears be curved and stand up better when
finished, try to pick up the first and last stitch
on each needle in the row in front of the other
stitches.
 Round 1: Begin knitting the first round with
Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light, Buckwheat: 4204
yarn.
 Round 2: knit.
 Round 3: knit.
 Round 4: (ssk, knit 1, k2tog) repeat until the
end of the round.
 Cut the yarn and pull the end through the
remaining stitches, finishing off the ear. Weave
the ends in.
 Repeat for the second ear on the other side.
The Face:
 Start with the black embroidery thread and begin stitching on small circular black
eyes on the mouse. Make sure to try to keep them
as even and symmetrical as possible, so that the
mouse face ends up looking as cute as possible.
Try marking the
eye locations
first, to make
sure you like
the placement
on the face.
 Use the pink embroidery thread to add a small
pink triangular nose at the tip of the mouse.

Introduction to Toy Stuffing:
Knitted toy stuffing seems easy enough, but there are some basic concerns and
troubleshooting that you should learn to correct.
The number one issue with stuffing a knitting project is stuffing it too full. Usually you do
want to get a nice firm stuffing feeling, but a common mistake is stuffing too tightly, where
the knitted fabric is stretched and distorted in an extremely unattractive way, and it will ruin
the look of your project. The stretching creates holes that are both ugly, and often let the
stuffing leak out.
When you knit toys they generally go through a lot of wear and tear, squeezing, hugging,
tossing, chewing, and loving. Because when you knit the fabric you create has holes, and has
the ability to lose shape, I often use pantyhose as a form of lining. It’s fairly simple, and
especially helpful with something like pet toys. Cut off a leg of an old pair of pantyhose (or
new ones, cheap drug store ones are great) and when you go to begin stuffing the toy, insert
the pantyhose sock into the toy, and stuff directly into it. This creates a lining that helps
keep the stuffing in shape and in place through wear and tear. When you get to closing up
the toy, just tie a knot in the end of the pantyhose and close the knitting around it.
Happy stuffing!


Jingle_Mouse_Cat_Toy

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Jingle_Mouse_Cat_Toy

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Jingle_Mouse_Cat_Toy

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Jingle Mouse

A Dooley & Spud Knitting Pattern – 2012

 A set of size 5 double pointed needles.

A Dooley & Spud Knitting Pattern – 2012

Forming the Mouse Butt:

 Round 1: Join in the round, knit.

A Dooley & Spud Knitting Pattern – 2012

The Face Decrease:

 Round 7: (knit 6, k2tog) repeat until the end of the round.

A Dooley & Spud Knitting Pattern – 2012

A Dooley & Spud Knitting Pattern – 2012

A Dooley & Spud Knitting Pattern – 2012

A Dooley & Spud Knitting Pattern – 2012

You might also like