This tutorial is for the mini sized quilt only. It measures 21″ square and has a total of nine cats. A basic knowledge of piecing and quilting is required.

Supplies:

• Background fabric – fat quarter or (2) 3 1/2″ strips x w.o.f.*
• 9 different fabrics for cats – 3 1/2″ x 12″ strip of each
• 3/4 yards for back
• 24″ square of batting
• binding fabric – about 5″ x w.o.f.*

*w.o.f. = width of fabric

CUT from background fabric:

• (4) rectangles 3 1/2″ x 9 1/2″
• (10) squares 3 1/2″
• (18) rectangles 1 1/2″ x 3 1/2″

BEFORE cutting the pieces for the cats, consider the diagram below. Notice there are two cats whose heads and bodies are separate pieces. Sorry kitties, it was necessary to avoid partial seams and facilitate the assembly! Decide which fabrics those will be – I suggest using small, busy prints here so that the seams won’t be noticeable.

CUT from those two fabrics:

• (1) square 3 1/2″
• (1) rectangle 2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″
• (2) rectangles 1 1/2″ x 3 1/2″
• (2) squares 1 1/2″

CUT from the remaining seven fabrics:

• (1) rectangles 5 1/2″ x 3 1/2″
• (2) rectangles 1 1/2″ x 3 1/2″
• (2) squares 1 1/2″

SEWING THE PIECES TOGETHER 

• All seams are 1/4″
• Press seams towards the darker fabric.

UNIT A: Make two of these

• Make two “legs” squares by sewing together three 1 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ strips – two of the same print with a background in between.
• Sew a 3 1/2″ background square to either side of the legs square, be sure the legs are parallel to the seams.

• Make the ears by sewing two 1 1/2″ print squares to either side of a 1 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ strip. Mark a diagonal line through the corners, stitch on the line and trim to 1/4″. I like to press the seams open here.

• Sew an “ears” and  a “legs” to either side of a 5 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ rectangle (using all the same fabrics) to create a complete cat section.
• Sew a 3 1/2″ x 9 1/2″ background rectangle to the left side of the cat section and the legs section from steps 1 and 2 to the right side of the cat section.

UNIT B – Make three of these

Repeat the first and second steps in Unit A to create three more cat sections.

UNIT C – make two of these

• Repeat the first and second steps in Unit A to create two more cat sections.
• Sew the cat heads by sewing an ear section to a 2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ rectangle of the same print.
• Sew a 3 1/2″ background square to either side of the cat head square.
• Sew a 3 1/2″ x 9 1/2″ background rectangle to the right side of a cat section.
• Sew the head section to the left side of the cat section, the cat ears face towards the center.

And lastly, sew a 3 1/2″ background square to a 3 1/2″ square of each of the two fabrics that you used for the heads in Unit C.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Refer to the arrows in the diagram for the order to sew the sections together. Once the horizontal seams are sewn, sew the three columns together, lining up the seams where the legs and heads meet the bodies.

FINISHING UP

As with any quilting project, press well and trim excess threads. Cut a 27″ square of backing fabric and a 24″ square of batting. Layer the back, batting and top; baste together. Quilt any way that you like, I simply stitched vertical lines spaced about 1/2″ apart.

You will need to cut two strips for the binding, one was a smidgen short! Cut in the width you prefer, I used 2 1/4″ since I hand stitched the binding.

Once again, here is a photo of the actual mini quilt:

I hope that you enjoyed the tutorial. Please contact me with any questions or comments!!