The cat basket is finished. The lovely boy in the basket is Miche. Chaton Minet is the name I ended up giving to this cat basket. It is also the title of a famous French Nursery rhyme. I thought the name suited the whimsical spirit of the basket. I really like the chevrons, and the edges which I curled into shape.
The basket is knit in the round, and there is no seaming to do! The basket is then felted.
I hope you will have fun knitting it, and that your feline friends will love it!
Chaton Minet
Materials: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted, 2 of each color: M-18 Khaki, M-13 Sun Yellow, M-52 Spruce, M-120 Limeade.
Needle: 29" US 13
Finished size after stretching and shaping 17" diameter
Chevron Pattern:
R1: *K1 f&b, K9, SL2, K1, P2SSO, K9, K1f&b* Repeat from * to *
R2: Purl
Please note that the whole basket is knit in garter stitch using 2 strands of yarn held together. The garter stitch felts thicker, and gives the basket a firm texture.
With Spruce, CO 161 stitches. Join round. Knit 6 rows in garter stitch.
Start chevron pattern above in following order of colors:
*4 rounds limeade, 4 rounds khaki, 4 rounds sun yellow, 2 rounds spruce* This forms 1 color pattern repeat. Knit a total of 3 color pattern repeats. On the last color pattern repeat replace the last 2 rounds of spruce, with 6 rounds of plain garter stitch with no chevron in Spruce.
Base decreases:
Base is knit in Khaki.
R1: K2tog, *Knit8, K2TOG* Repeat from *
R2: and all even rounds purl
R3: Knit
R5: Knit
R7:*K7 , K2TOG*Repeat
R9: Knit
R11:Knit
R13:*K6, K2TOG*Repeat
R15: Knit
R17: Knit
R19:*K5, K2TOG* Repeat
R21:*K4, K2TOG* Repeat
R23:*K3, K2TOG* Repeat
R25:*K2, K2TOG* Repeat
R27:*K1, K2TOG* Repeat
R29:*K2TOG*
Repeat R29 until 5-7 stitches remain. Gather remaining stitches with a darning needle.
Weave in ends.
Put the basket in a zippered pillow case, and throw in wash in hot water with laundry detergent, monitoring the progress.
The basket will be crumpled, and somewhat wavy because of the chevron and will need to be shaped, pulled, and tugged on. If you don't believe me look at this picture.I find that paying a lot of attention to the shaping really pays off, and our feline babies deserve only the best!
Copyright, Caroline Dlugy-Hegwer 2008. This pattern is for personal use only.
25 comments:
Just lovely! (Both the basket and the cat) I've done the Kitty Pi felted cat bed 4 times. Well, 3 and a half time; I'm still working on the fourth and going brain dead from the never-ending garter stitch.
I'll definitely try this pattern next. The chevron pattern will keep me interested and I'll be able to use up a lot of Cascade 220 leftovers from sweaters.
I LOVE this kitty bed and I bet my "Rosie" would too!!! I'm definitely putting it on my project wishlist!
What a cool basket! How old is Miche? He is such a beautiful cat!
This a fun basket! I bet it's a quick knit too.
I am going to start one tonight!
This is really lovely, thank you very much for posting the pattern. I was wondering, is this knit throughout with just one strand of worsted, or do you use it doubled with that size of needle?
I really like the colours that you have used, and it appears that Miche loves it!
The cat is beautiful and so is his basket. Will he sleep in it though? Our cats sleep on:
the fridge
top of the boiler
windowsill (depending on where the sun is)
any box that someone leaves open
large shopping & handbags (if they can fit in)
Top of someone's wardrobe (it's fun to jump off and land on a human in the middle of the night and scare them half to death)
under the hedge
newly washed clothes (especially those in a contrasting colour to the fur, so shed hairs are more visible)
knitting (of course)
etc etc, but I doubt they would sleep in anything intended for that purpose.
Enjoy you basket & kitty.
Alison (UK)
So cute (kitty & basket). I made the kitty-pi when our Gerorgi was a kiten, but he's to big for it now ... I shall have to give this one whirl for our sweet boy!
This is so great! I'm going to have to add this to my list of must-knits.
I would love to try this pattern but what does K F&B mean?
This is such a wonderful pattern - many thanks for making it available via Ravelry! It's a gift for another cat .. but both of mine, including my very particular Calico have taken ownership. Looks like it's time to start another one!
Thank you for the lovely feedback.
SockPixie, may I applaud your talent in designing this wonderful pattern. I made one already and I was thrilled with the outcome. "Sylvester" is thrilled with it too. I am starting another one for "Vinnie" and I have one question: When you refer to "rounds of the chevron pattern" would a round include the row of chevron followed by row of purl??
Hi. Thanks so much for this great pattern. I have two new kittens who will love this basket. One quick question: I'm a relatively new knitter and am wondering about needle length. I have a size 13, 24" needles, but not 29". Will the 24" inch work? Thanks again! Cynthia
Using Chevron and the colors to make the zigzag in a felted garment is brilliant. Thanks for the inspiration!
oh, my goodness! I love this cat bowl! It's very colorful and my cats would probably fight over it ... thanks so much for sharing!
Dear Sockpixie,
A beautiful basket indeed! I need your help... i would like to make a smaller version of ths basket as a birthday gift.... can you pls guide me on how to scale it down?
thanks in advance.
Hi Avanti,
The chevron pattern is a multiple of 23 (161=23*7).
To get a smaller basket just cast on a number of stitches that is a smaller multiple of 23.
I hope this helps.
Caroline
thanks a million!! :)
You are welcome Avanti!Happy Knitting!
Hi Caroline,
I'm finding it difficult to knit with circular needles....is it possible to knit this basket using a pair of straight needles?
thanks,
avanti
Got to make 2 for Bonnie and Clyde...they are going to love them...
I love this cat bed... I have made a few kitty pi ones...but this one is really super neat! Will be making it!!
What a lovely bed - I love the yarn you have used and the shape of it - it reminds me of an open flower. Your cat is also very cute. I laughed in agreement about what Alison wrote (post from 2008), about cats sleeping just about anywhere you want them to, the trick with making them beds etc, is put them in/on the places they like to sleep and I find they will eventually accept them , though in some cases, some cats do take much longer to accept new things.
Thank you for sharing. I follow this site continuously
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