Felted seating pads for cold cat lovers

I have accepted a challenge to make some things for our local cat shelter. They are in need of things to sell on their annual market. Therefore there will be some cat related things coming up here on my blog. First things I made were these felted seating pads. They are very quick to make, since you use thick yarn, and a big crochet hook. Here in Norway it is very popular to bring these out on skiing trips or other trips out in nature. They will keep you nice and warm, if you want to sit out in the cold seasons. I have crocheted them in wool yarn, and then felted on the appliquetions with loose wool. When you are felting things in the washing machine, the results are quite unpredictable, but that's half the fun I think. Even so, you can not count on getting the same measurements on your pad, as me. It all depends on what machine you have, what program you use, and how much you put into the machine.

What you need: 

Apxm 150 grams of wool yarn. (It is important that it is 100 % wool, and that it is NOT superwash, otherwise they will not felt. It should fit crochet hook 8mm, mine is 55 meters per 50 gram bundle.) 1 crochet hook 8 mm, some loose wool (5-10 grams) of  a different colour than the yarn, a needle to secure loose ends,  a felting needle and some latex foam, or similar, to have under your pad when felting on the wool.

How to do it:

1. Make a magic ring. If you don't know how, there's a good tutorial here. Make 5 sc in the ring, and tighten it.
2.Make 2 sc in each stitch = 10 stitches
3.  Make 1 sc in the first st, then 2 in the second, and so on around the ring = 15 stitches.
4. Make 1 sc in the first 2 st, then 2 sc in the third st. Repeat all the way around = 20 stitches
5. Make 1 sc in the first 3 st, then 2 sc in the forth st. Repeat all the way around = 25 stitches
6. Repeat like this until you have 5 x 25 st around = 125 st. Cut the thread and pull it through the loop. Secure the ends.. This will make a pentagon shaped seating pad. If you want a round one, you should move the extra stitches for each round. Place them randomly around.. Use a marker to show the beginning of the round to help you increase enough stitches.

7. Now choose a pattern you like.. For this blue one, I went with a kitten's face.. Then use your loose wool, and the felting needle, and foam underneath, to pin it into your pad.. You need to pin a lot of times in order to make it stick..  Put your work into the washing machine.. I used a sportswear programme and 40 degrees for this one, your machine may be different.. When I took it out of the machine, the whiskers of the cat were not the way I wanted them to be, so I used the felting needle again, and washed it once more on 30 degrees.. Remember to use a detergent that is made for wool 😃
8. After washing it the 2nd time, I noticed it had become a bit smaller, but if you pull it a bit when it's wet, you can increase the size..
After all, I'm quite happy with the result..