I am an unapologetic cat person. Two kitties rule our household, and the critters have graciously allowed my husband and me to be their “staff”. And I love to embroider. So when I saw the patterns for Forest Friends soft toys – Gracie & Cecil by Kathy Schmitz, I knew they would be fun to make!
I had some vintage linen in my stash, which I love for hand embroidery. The even weave makes it easy to make even stitches – I can count threads if I need to. For the threads, I ordered a collection of 12-weight Valdani perle cotton.
When the threads arrived, I spotted a dark variegated blue with some pop that I wanted to use for the pants on the feller. I substituted that for the color the pattern recommends. After all, what self-respecting kitty doesn’t wear blue jeans? I hope he has good luck fishing!
Gracie never goes anywhere without her handbag – a very queenly kitty! I was very pleased with the quality of the transfer in the pattern. The lines transferred to the fabric clearly and easily – perfect stitching guides. Clear instructions emphasized basting part of the center back seam for easy turning.
If I could change anything on the pattern, I would print the thread number alongside the description for recommended colors. As I stitched, I admired the lovely threads that were the perfect weight for the embroidery. For the most part, I like to follow color recommendations, but you can go wild with thread colors!
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Gracie & Cecil bid you a fond farewell. They have had a busy day. Happy stitching!
Browse through all of the embroidery inspiration on Create Whimsy! See some other patterns in the forest friend collection.