When I first saw this cute pattern, I knew I wanted to make it. I’m all about everything cats, so this pillow caught my attention right away. Plus, I had never made a pillow, and knitted stuff for the home is all the rage right now. Pillows, blankets (especially that Cozy Memories Blanket), placemats, etc. This kind of thing is extremely popular right now.
Meet the Mini Kitty Pouf, a sweet pillow knitting pattern from Molly Rivera and knitted in Knit Picks The Big Cozy Yarn.
This pattern gave me a chance to try out making something completely new to me, a pillow, while still using mostly familiar techniques. It also gave me the opportunity to load up on some of that gorgeous Big Cozy Yarn from Knit Picks. It’s beautiful stuff! It’s a super bulky weight roving wool style yarn. You have to be quite purposeful in your stitches, or else it’s very easy to let it get totally splity, splity.
This is when it’s time to slow down your knitting, make sure you have nicely pointy needles, and good lighting! This makes the case for the craft light I told you about in my KnitBOX Guide. Don’t have one yet? It’s free! Just click here, sign up and come back to finish this article. I’ll wait.
Ain’t nobody got time for splitting their yarn! Get your needles and your light right.
I LOVE this yarn. It’s sooooo soft. The colors are gorgeous. They are all pretty heathers, and have lovely depth. They all work well together, too. You could easily pair anything in the line with anything else in the line, and it’s going to look good. That’s always nice! I thought the stitch definition was great, and as someone who knits and designs a LOT in the super bulky weight yarn category, I thought The Big Cozy was a very nice offering. It’s not the strongest yarn in the world, so I wouldn’t recommend it for something you need to have wear like iron. But special accessories? Yeah, this stuff is great. It does have a tendency to shed a bit, so I thought pairing with cat inspired patterns was the way to go!
I knitted my Mini Kitty Pouf on Chia Goo size 15US 40″ cable needles. I only like the Chia Goo’s with the red cable, and I knitted this pattern as a big magic loop project on one cable needle. I’ve decided I only want to knit on this style cable needle going forward. The cables on everything else just gets on my nerves. I like the needle portion of cable needles on plenty of products out there, but the cables are fiddly and twisty and aggravating. The struggle is REAL, people.
I’ve only used the Stainless Steel Lace needles, personally. I like the long straight needles that are attached to the cable. I definitely prefer a longer needle to the short ones. If my needles are too short, my knitting gets kind of loose and sloppy.
Sloppy stitches have no place in my knitting life.
For this kitty I used Hare Heather and Briar Heather colorways. Hare Heather is the lighter shade. To be honest with you, I don’t use a whole lot of neutrals in my knitting, but these I LOVE!! Soooooo pretty! The stitch definition is gorgeous, too. I knitted this on my 15’s US, and it made a quite thick fabric. I tend to knit on the tighter end of things, though.
The kitty took the entire bag of stuffing! I was so surprised it used the whole bag. It could have taken more to get it to look more like the pattern photo, but I had to be careful with how I stuffed the pillow. It got lumpy if I stuffed too much in one spot.
Who wants a lumpy cat?
I used the recommended Tuff Puff yarn, also from Knit Picks, to make the whiskers and eyes. I have been wanting to try it out as well, so it seemed like a good time to order a few skeins to try out. I used pink yarn I had in stash for the nose. It was the same stuff I used for the nose on the My Little Kitten knitting pattern I designed. I liked the pink nose, myself. But you could do anything. The face is pretty easy to personalize.
The Mini Kitty Pouf pattern is a great pattern for a newish knitter. If you can knit-in-the-round you can make this pillow. If you are unfamiliar with striping, this is a good pattern to develop that skill. And you can get in some practice counting your rows without it being an overwhelming task.
I firmly believe in learning new skills and techniques in small, bite-sized chunks.
The only difficulty I had with this pattern is in the final finishing. I simply do not understand how to run the yarn though the Bound off stitches to gather the pillow at either end. I couldn’t get it to work. I asked several people on Ravelry about how to do it and they were either really general in the explanation or didn’t get back to me. So, I still don’t understand how to do it. I wound up just sewing the ends together and stuffing the kitty. It’s not exactly right, but it still gave me a really cute pillow.
I used up pretty much all of the Hare Heather Skein. I used a whole skein plus a little bit more in the Briar Heather colorway. I used only a little bit of the Tuff Puff in black for the face, so I’ll have to knit another project to use up that yarn. The total cost for the project with 3 skeins of yarn plus the stuffing and the pattern came in around $30. I think it’s well worth it! It’s so cute, and it’s a pretty big pillow.
I photographed it with my model friend, Eugenia, to give you a sense of size.
He’s bigger than you thought, isn’t he? That’s why I like to always photograph my work with a model. It’s just too hard to get a sense of scale otherwise. I think this makes a really nice sized project. It’s perfect for a bedroom or an office. I’ve named him Harvey, and he lives in my office with me.
If you are looking for a cute pattern and like cats, then the Mini Kitty Pouf pattern is definitely for you! I want to make Harvey a friend, and bought the yarn to do so already. It came with the initial order I made. I think I’m going to CO a few less stitches and make his friend a little bit smaller. I’ll probably finish the second cat the same way I did this one so they match. However, if you understand how to get the ends to gather, please leave me a comment below! I’d like to know how to do that.
The pattern is definitely worth adding to your library, and I think you’ll enjoy it. Molly designed a very sweet pattern, and I like to support my fellow indie designers where ever possible.
I simply had to pair my cat hat design with the cat pillow for this photo setup, because it was too cute not to put them together. The hat is knit from Wool and the Gang yarn, and I’m going to publish that as a written pattern this summer. It’s also a fun summer knit, because it’s an accessory which is always a great project for sitting in the air conditioning watching movies. By August it’s too hot to do too much else. And if you make your hat then, it’s ready to go when fall gets here. So get ready for that! I’m predicting a KAL for this one.
Have you made pillows or other projects to use in your house? This was my first pillow, and I really enjoyed the process. I can’t wait to make the friend! Let me know in the comments what kinds of housewares you’ve made. Also, let me know what you think about having a late summer KAL for the cat hat. It would be my first! And I’d love it if you made one with me!
Until then, “Meow!”
LOL I think your pillow came out wonderful! Thanks for the great review! I never do KAls but I may do this with you. It’s so cute!!
Thank you so much GG!!! I’ve never done a KAL, so maybe this is my first one. I’m so shy about putting myself out there on Ravelry….and on video. You constantly inspire me to try new things and not be afraid of it. You’re such a fast knitter, you can probably make this guy in a couple of nights!
He is sooo cute! I’ll have to give it a try. It’s been a while since I did any knitting, this might help me get back into it.
I think that’s great Francine! I’m thinking about running my first Knit Along in August to make him. Would you be interested in doing that? I’ve never done one, so this would be a good way for me to learn how to do them. I’ll have to set up a group on Ravelry to do it, and I want to do that anyway. You can make some many more things than the same old scarves and hats and stuff like that. I think that’s such a cool thing about it!