Craft:

Every other week, CRAFT's awesome interns tell about the projects they're building in the Craft: Labs, the trouble they've gotten into, and what they'll make next.

By Lindsey North, projects intern

On my first day as an official CRAFT intern I entered the lab for the first time. It was like entering a new dimension, a creative person's dream. There were supplies everywhere; you could build just about anything out of what you found in there. And in this lab I received my first assignment: I was to build miniature kittens dressed in little dresses.

I was later shocked to see my mini kitties featured on the cover of Volume 03 of CRAFT magazine. Turns out they're Japanese imports: we excerpted the patterns for White Cat, Striped Cat, and Black Cat from Aranzi Aronzo's The Cute Book (Random House).

When completed, each of these little creations made of felt were smaller than the width of my hand. It's surprisingly difficult to sew small pieces of felt together when you plan on stuffing them. You have to sew close enough to the edge so that you still have room to fill with stuffing, but you can't get too close to the edge or else the stitches will pull out when you try to stuff the mini kitty.

I ended up making six of these little fellows, and it took me several days to complete them all. Your fingers can get really sore trying to sew through layers of felt, so take breaks in between kitties if you choose to make a litter.

These cute little creatures make amazing presents, the purrfect addition to any gift. It's fun to play around with the felt colors. Try crafting a few!

Your CRAFT intern,
Lindsey