My Floppy Moggy loves nothing better than to hang out at an art exhibition or curl up with a good book…

This PATTERN is well written and easy to knit up, though as the wool is slippery / fluffy it has its own challenges; yet the strand itself, is quite thick, hence the large needle size used. It is rewardingly quick to knit.

The first time I attempted this project (See brown pelt photo) I had bought a much cheaper, unsuitable faux fur/ eyelash YARN, as the book does not say for reference which yarns she actually used. However, for Christmas 2013 Hubby gave me (Bless!) 4 skeins of the luxuriously decadent Fourrere yarn that Sue Stratford’s Ravelry Moggy page recommends as the wool for the project.

When I chose the off-white, Lapin, as it seemed more natural than some of the other colours available, I hoped should be less difficult to see when making-up than black, I also find knitting black very hard to see these days, unless there is really good light. This YARN is so GORGEOUS, soft and silky that the name Dupion came to mind for this moggy. However, my first skein had a knot in the middle and joining the yarn isn’t easy.

INNER EARS. I’m using Aria, which contains mohair.

Yikes! - the main BODY pelt takes up 360g of the recommended Fourrere yarn! The remaining 40g is only enough for half a HEAD and no EARS.

I’ve made the base of the TAIL wider by 4 sts than the pattern suggests, gradually tapering by 2sts then 1 st then another 1 st, until I reached the required length and number of sts stated in pattern. I’ve reversed the shaping, so I can fold and sew the tail lengthwise, to create a better shape to the tip. Consequently my moggy has a definite front and back.

17-05-14 I’ve had to order a 5th skein! Gulp there’s only 19 yds on each 100g skein!
20.05.14 It’s arrived, though strangely, this skein doesn’t feel as silky soft as the others!

I’ve discovered that running lifelines through the work helps, if you are prone to dropping stitches. (see YouTube tutorial by Very Pink Knits). Also placing markers at strategic points will help to locate where to sew it together.

Sewing up: I’ve been using strong upholstery/ quilting thread, doubled. Each time I come to the end of a length I make sure I leave a long end before fastening off and then I can see where to start my next length of stitches before cutting off the end of the last thread. I keep my index finger between the layers so I can guide my sewing position and chose mattress stitch.
Once I had sewn the first front paw, I filled with with a bundle of 2oz polyester wadding and then sewed the second front leg and filled this, before continuing along the sides of the body and around the first back leg to the base of the tail. I then filled the back leg and returned to the second side of the body.

HEAD without filling 82g OUTER EARS 22g
I found the most challenging aspect was the HEAD and features. The head appears enormous in relation to the body, too. I decided to use felt and kid silk mohair to needle-felt the NOSE and MOUTH using ’shell’ Australian Yadeno kid mohair from my stash (sadly, no longer available) and also to needle-felt the ear linings, to cover the obvious stitches.
I needle-felted the paw pads directly into the paw, as well with a #38 felting needle.

LEGS: I would make the legs slightly longer next time, I think.

PATTERN ERRATA p82 Toes: ‘Last row before casting off should read Purl 1 row not Knit 1 row’.
Since made second moggy using cheaper wool.