Free: Mice to Weave for a Cat You Love

An opportunity to celebrate the joy, comfort, and health benefits that pets bring to our lives is coming right up: National Love Your Pet Day, observed each year on February 20, is a chance to show your pets a little extra affection and appreciation. It’s the perfect excuse for special treats, new toys, extra playtime, or even a thoughtful donation to a local shelter.

New toys? That sounds like something you could weave!

Designer Margaret Anderson has devoted a small, portable table loom entirely to monk’s belt for small items such as tea cases, cards, ornaments—and these little cat toys. She especially enjoys this structure because simply changing the pattern-weft color gives each section of fabric a new look and makes her heart soar!

Monk’s belt is a variation of overshot in which two blocks alternate throughout. Varying the sizes of the blocks creates designs with more interest than a simple checkerboard. Only one color is used for each of the mice in this project, but using different colors within the fabric for a single mouse would make weaving it even more fun!

Weave it Yourself: Project Overview

STRUCTURE
Monk‘s belt.

EQUIPMENT
4-shaft loom, 8" weaving width; 10- or 15-dent reed; 2 shuttles; sewing machine.

YARNS
Warp: 20/2 pearl cotton (8,400 yd/lb), natural, 484 yd (1 oz).
Tabby weft: 20/2 pearl cotton (8,400 yd/lb), natural, 300 yd (3/5 oz).
Pattern weft: 5/2 pearl cotton (2,100 yd/lb), red, 40 yd per 7" section; Wildflower embroidery floss (36 yd/skein), used doubled, variegated purple and variegated green, 3 skeins per 7" section (280 total yd pattern weft).

WARP LENGTH
242 ends 2 yd long (allows 2" for take-up and 28" for loom waste).

SETTS
Warp: 30 epi (3/dent in a 10-dent reed, 2/dent in a 15-dent reed). Width in the reed: 8".
Weft: 44 ppi (22 tabby, 22 pattern). Woven length (measured under tension on the loom): 46" (six 7 sections).

DIMENSIONS
Width in the reed: 11" (8-dent reed) or 10⁹⁄₁₀" (10-dent reed).
Woven length: (measured under tension on the loom) 67".
Finished size: (after wet-finishing and sewing) twelve small mice, about 3" long each.

Weave it Yourself: Project PDF Link

Visit the Handwoven library to download the project PDF for the Catnip to a Cat: Handwoven Cat Toys.