Stitch up this DIY cat ornament tutorial for a festive reindeer kitty hanging on your tree!

I’ve been meaning to add a holiday twist to my most popular pattern, the pocket kitty, for years and finally made it happen this year! It’s two simple twists that don’t add a ton of stitching or busy work; two cute reindeer antlers and then a shiny, gaudy belly full of sequins and beads! You could use these as a toy like the original but I created ours as ornaments to hang on the tree instead.

While you’re here, check out some of these other posts too:

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First up is a wintery, ice kitty! I had fun choosing these blue tones.

The pink version has a ‘more is more’ vibe with pink, red, green, and gold that was even more fun to make. My brain is working on other ornaments I could make with this mega-bead style because it is really fun to lay out and color coordinate. Ready to make your own?

Pin this DIY cat ornament tutorial with this link or photo:

DIY cat ornament tutorial

Supplies

• Wool blend felt in solid colors & metallic – I use this shop’s stuff all the time
• Fabri-solvy/stick & stitch: Sulky – Amazon – Etsy
• My favorite embroidery needles: Amazon – Etsy
• Special beading needles if you’re using the bugle beeds: Amazon
• Embroidery floss – I’m using Sulky petite cottons here: Sulky – Amazon – Etsy
• Microtip scissors: Amazon
• Seed beads: Amazon — Etsy
• Bugle beads (long seed beads): Amazon
• Plain glue stick
• Sequins – *general shape: Amazon –  *flowers: Etsy *flat sunbursts: Etsy
• PDF pattern-sign up for my newsletter and get the free download once you confirm your subscription! If you’re already a subscriber, you can access the pattern with the password in each newsletter, in the resource library.

Steps

I took more photos than I normally would since I know lots of folks make ornaments who don’t craft often year round, let me know if you have any questions though!

Step 1- Use the transfer paper to make the face and stitch on the eyes and nose.

Step 2- Cut carefully on the line to make the face shape and then trim off excess transfer paper.

Step 3- Wash away the stabilizer, let the face dry.

Step 4- Next, cut out the rest of the kitty! Using metallic or glitter felt means they’re thick enough to stand alone with a single layer; if you’re using plain wool felt I’d recommend cutting 2 mirror pairs for each antler and stitching them together before insertion.

 

Step 5-Use a running stitch and attach the face and bellow to one body front.

Step 6- Cut out another face from the transfer paper and layer it on top, stitching the whiskers on and washing the transfer paper away again.

Step 7- Time to sequin & bead! I experimented with different strategies and found my favorite was to start with the long bugle beads, then add flowers/larger sequins, and lastly add the tiny seed beads in all around. Keep in mind with sequins you’ll want to add a seed bead on top to anchor it.

Step 8- Use a glue stick on the backs of the antler bottoms and then secure, centered on the plain kitty body.

 

Step 9- Match up the back and front with the antler edges hidden and face out, then stitch all the way around. When you have a 1.5 inch gap, gently insert stuffing and then finish sewing.

Step 10- If you’re hanging it as an ornament, just loop an extra length of thread through the back and you’re set!

Say hello to your new Christmas kitties!