Birdie's Blanket Bag

Birdie’s Blanket Bag (for cats)

This blanket was made in memory of my cat Birdie.




Birdie was a sweetheart. One of my favorite memories of her involves potato chips. She just LOVED potato chips. If someone would leave a bag out, she would help herself. One day I walked into the room to find a big bag of chips on the table and a cat butt sticking out of it. She walked right in and helped herself. It’s a happy memory, so this design is bag-like to remind me of that day.

She also loved different textures – she loved to rub up against rough textures. For the “deluxe” version of this pattern, I used bulky craft cord (which is somewhat rough) in combination with a softer yarn. The basic version of this pattern can be made with any cat friendly yarn.

Deluxe Version:
2 skeins Bonnie Craft Cord
2 skeins Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick (or similar)
1 skein Moda Dea Jai Alai (or fun fur or similar)
Q hook
N hook
H Hook
Large eye yarn needle for assembly

Base Pad:
(Using Craft Cord and the Q Hook)
Chain 22
Sc in each chain across (21 sc) ch 1 turn
Continue with rows of single crochet for a total of 30 rows. Finish off.
This completes the base pad. It will measure approximately 18” W x 21” L

Hood:
(Using Wool-Ease and N Hook)
1) ch 38, hdc in 3rd ch from end and across ( 37 hdc) ch2 turn
2) hdc across (37 hdc) ch 2 turn
3) 2 hdc in first stitch, hdc across, 2hdc in last stitch, ch 2 turn(39 hdc)
4) 2 hdc in first stitch, hdc across, 2hdc in last stitch, ch 2 turn (39 hdc) ch 2 turn
5) 2 hdc in first stitch, hdc across, 2hdc in last stitch, ch 2 turn (41 hdc) ch 2 turn
6) 2 hdc in first stitch, hdc across, 2hdc in last stitch, ch 2 turn (43 hdc) ch 2 turn
7) 2 hdc in first stitch, hdc across, 2hdc in last stitch, ch 2 turn (45 hdc) ch 2 turn
8) 2 hdc in first stitch, hdc across, 2hdc in last stitch, ch 2 turn (47 hdc) ch 2 turn
9) 2 hdc in first stitch, hdc across, 2hdc in last stitch, ch 2 turn (49 hdc) ch 2 turn
10) 2 hdc in first stitch, hdc across, 2hdc in last stitch, ch 2 turn (51 hdc) ch 2 turn
11) 2 hdc in first stitch, hdc across, 2hdc in last stitch, ch 2 turn (53 hdc) ch 2 turn
12) 2 hdc in first stitch, hdc across, 2hdc in last stitch, ch 2 turn (55 hdc) ch 2 turn
13) 2 hdc in first stitch, hdc across, 2hdc in last stitch, ch 2 turn (57 hdc) ch 2 turn
14) 2 hdc in first stitch, hdc across, 2hdc in last stitch, ch 2 turn (59 hdc) ch 2 turn
15-22) hdc across (59 hdc) ch 2 turn
23) hdc across (59 hdc), finish off

edging:
(Using 2 strands of the Jai Alai and an H hook)
Do TWO SC in each stitch along the widest side of the top (118 sc) ch 1 turn
One sc in each stitch across (118 sc) finish off.

Make two pom-poms or tassels with the Jai Alai -
Attach pom poms to the Wool-Ease
chain from one pom-pom 8-12 inches,
Attach to front of pad with a slip stitch
sc along the front of the base pad,
chain another 8-12 inches and attach second pom-pom.

Assembly:
(using matching yarn or twine and large eye needle)
Sew short side of hood to back edge of base pad.
Line up the sides and sew them so the top creates a floppy cave.








P – the cutest sheep in the world – poses in Birdie’s Blanket Bag






Scooter seems to approve






Basic Version

The deluxe version uses premium materials and is quite large (for a Gordo sized kitty). You can make a basic blanket bag with any cat-friendly yarn and in any size. Try to combine textures as cats like to rub against a more rough texture, but also like to nest in softer fabrics. Scooter, loves rolling on and licking plastic bags. It might be fun to make a version with a plastic bag base (or mixed plastic bag and yarn) for a “crunchy” base pad.

Base Pad:
If you use more than one fiber – select the more rough material for the base and an appropriate sized hook. You CAN make this entirely in a basic worsted weight yarn like Red Heart.

1) Chain a length equal to the desired width of your pad.
2) sc in 2nd chain from hook and across. Chain 1 turn.
2) Continue with rows of single crochet until you reach your desired length for the pad. Finish off.

Hood:
The hood should create a semi-circular “cave” over the base. We use a marriage of craft and math to determine its size.

1)using whatever material you choose and an appropriate sized hook, create a chain with length equal to the width of your base pad. Add another two chains
2) HDC is 3rc chain from hook and across. Chain two. Turn.
3) HDC across the row. Chain 2, turn.
3) Now stop and count the number of stitches in this first row. Multiply that number by 1.5. This is the number of stitches you will want in your final row. (If the number of stitches in the first row is the diameter of a circle - stitches * pi = circumference. Half of the circumference should be the length of the last row of the hood. Multiplying by 1.5 is a roughly the right size – if you need to round – always round up.
4) Continue with rows of HDC increasing 2 stitches in each row ( for each row do Two HDC in the first stitch, one HDC across, and Two HDC in the last stitch) until your last row is the number of stitches you calculated in step 3.
5) Now continue with rows of HDC (no more increases) until the hood is the length that you want – should be about 2/3rds the depth of the pad. Finish off.

Hood Trim:
If you choose to trim the hood with novelty yarn like Jai Alai, Fun Fur, etc, use two strands of novelty yarn and an appropriate size hook.

1) Attach the novelty yarn with a chain to the first stitch of your last row, and sc across. Depending on the size of your yarns, you may need to put 2 sc in each stitch. Eyeball it – when it looks right to you, it’s right. Chain 1 turn
2) SC across. Finish off

Base Trim:
You can trim the front of the base pad with matching or contrast color trim, and add pom poms, tassels, or spirals as attached cat toys.

1) Create 2 toys. (for pom-poms or tassels, wrap the yarn around three or four fingers several times. Run a piece of yarn through the loop and tie. Cut the opposite side. Depending on how many times you wrap, you will have a pom pom or a tassel. For a spiral: make a chain at least 4 inches long, Turn and put 2 hdc in each chain stitch. The yarn will start to create a spiral. Continue until the spiral twists 3-5 times and end off.
2) Attach your yarn to one toy, and make a chain 8-12 inches long.
3) Slip stitch to the front corner of your base pad
4) SC across the length of the base pad (do not finish off!)
5) Chain for 8-12 inches
6) Attach the second toy to the end of the chain. Finish off.


Assembly:
(using matching yarn or twine and large eye needle)
Sew short side of hood to back edge of base pad.
Line up the sides and sew them so the top creates a floppy cave.



This is an original copyrighted pattern. Please feel free to use if for personal use and for charity donations. Do not post this pattern on other sites, but feel free to posts links to this page.