Cat Cube

A place for kitty to hide, nap, or hangout.

Materials:

1 yd of 58" or 60" wide fleece

1 3/8 yd of 1/2" thick high density foam

Serger and Sewing Machine

*If you want the outside and the lining to be two different colors, I would get an extra yard of fabric.

*Also, this is the kind of project that can cost more to make- unless you are diligent and get your foam (which can be expensive) on sale. Think Jo-Ann Fabric, they have tons of coupons, or you can catch a 50% off sale.

Measure out the foam. You will need four side pieces that are 9 1/2" x 16" and two front and back pieces that measure 9" x 9". In the photo, you will see that I cut my pieces larger than the stated measurements, but I had to cut down the foam later, so I am trying to save a step for others.

Cut the fleece as follows: Eight side pieces 10 1/2" x 17" and two front and two back pieces 10 1/2" x 10 1/2". For a total of 12 fleece pieces and 6 foam pieces.

Prepare the Front and Back Pieces:

Set aside the four 9 1/2" x 16" pieces of foam for now.  Take your front and back pieces of foam, and draw an "x" through the center to prepare the hole.

Draw a circle. This one measures 6 1/2" across. I would recommend using a similar size. Cats can fit through very small spaces, but you will also want to be able to turn this once you finish sewing.

Next, draw the same corresponding circle on two pieces of fleece. 

Put two pieces of fleece together and stitch your circle. Trim the circle out of the center of the fleece, leave about 1/4" of an inch inside the stitching. Do this whole process twice.

Cut the hole out of the foam.

Turn the fleece so the right sides face out. Wrap the fleece around the hole in the foam.

Smooth it out. If any foam is poking out around the edges trim is back. You should be able to stitch at least 1/4" all the way around.

 

Stitch around the edges of the square. This will make assembling the whole cube much easier.

Prepare the Sides:

Put two pieces of fleece together, so you have four pairs of fleece pieces. Stitch around 3 sides of each fleece pair, leaving one of the short sides open.

Serge (or stitch with a sewing machine) one of the long sides of the fleece together, until you have all pairings stitched together as shown.

Begin to shape the cube. Stitch one end of the front piece to the short end of the side piece.

Stitch the second side of the front end to another side.

Do, the same, stitch the third side in place.

Stitch the fourth side into place. Now, you can see, one whole side is still open- now is the time to stitch it up. Each time I stitch another side, I slightly overlap the previous side I just stitched. The end shape is not completely square, it is a little softer than that, and that is fine.

Last side has been stitched.

 Take your side pieces of foam, and stuff each one into a side section of the fleece. If the foam is too wide, trim it down. The foam should end about 1/2" from the edge of the fleece. If it does not trim down the foam.

This is probably the most difficult of the entire project.  Here you have all the layers of fleece plus the foam to deal with. Take your prepared back section of the fleece (with the hole and the foam) and stitch it into the sides. Try to hold the foam as flat as you can and sew slowly. Remember, the square doesn't have to be perfect.

Just be sure that none of your foam is exposed. If anything is, get that sucker back under the sewing machine, or stitch by hand. Now, since this is flexible, you can turn the entire thing right side out!

Last step: Give the owner his/her new bed. Cassidy took to it in no time!