DIY Black Cat Costume – FREE Pattern

[Savvy Nana]

I just love cats! We’ve always had cats in our house. I think the love of cats, and all critters, for that matter must run in our family. We all have at least a pet or two, except in my house we can be a bit extreme. At one point we actually had a dog, a cat, a rabbit, and a horse living with us! Thankfully my husband saw reason and we now only have a cat and dog in residence.

My love for these cute fur balls sometimes is reflected in my crafts. For this Halloween I made this adorable black cat costume for my year old granddaughter, Harper. I think she looks perfect!

For the hat I used my favorite pattern from Ravelry by Christins from My Sweet Potato 3 and added the ears, bow, and cat face.

The tutu is made by crocheting a waist band and knotting strips of tulle ribbon I got at Walmart.

Here are instructions for the hat and tutu. I made the hat size 12-24 months and will fit up to 19″ head circumference, the tutu is for an 18″ waist. But you can make them any size you want. You can even use your favorite basic hat pattern and just add the appliques.

To download a free pdf version click here!

Cat Hat:

Hook size K 6.50mm
Hook size F 3.75mm
#4 Worsted Yarn in white, black, pink, and purple
Tapestry Needle

Instructions:

Make a hat with earflaps with black yarn. If you need a pattern here’s a free one from Christins of My Sweet Potato 3!

Ears – Make 2 – Ears use 2 strands of black yarn together to make the ears stiff enough to stand up.

Hook size K

Ch 4

Row 1: 7hdc in 3rd. ch from hook, ch 1, turn

Row 2: 2sc in 1st. st, sc in next st, 2dc in next st, 2sc in next st, sc in next st, 2sc in last st (12sts)
Fasten off leaving 6″ tail for sewing

Inner Ear: – Make 2 – Work same as ears above with 1 strand of pink yarn using Hook size F

Eyes – Make 2 – Hook size F

Ch 2 with black yarn

Rd. 1: 6sc in 2nd. chain from hook, do not join, change to white (6sc)

Rd. 2: 2sc in each stitch all the way around – (12sc)

Bow – With Purple yarn and Hook size K

Ch 17

Row 1: sc in 3rd. ch from hook (ch 2 counts as 1 sc), sc in each st across, ch 2, turn (15sc)

Row 2 & 3: sc in each st across, ch 2, turn (15sc)

Row 4: fsc in each st across ending in sc in last st, ch 2 turn, (15sc)

Row 5 & 6: repeat row 2, fasten off and weave in ends.

You should now have a rectangle. With the ridged side as the front of your bow.

With ridged side facing you wind yarn tightly around the middle of your bow. Pull the bow into shape as you wind yarn. Wind yarn at least 10 times then knot in the back leaving 2 strands of yarn each 6″ long for securing to hat.

Assemble

With tapestry needle and front of hat facing you sew on ears to the top of the hat. Refer to photo for positioning.

Sew on eyes.

With pink yarn make nose using satin stitch

With white yarn embroider whiskers with straight stitches

Sew inner ear to outer ear.

Sew ear to top of hat – see photo for placement.

Attach bow to right ear as you see in the picture. You can sew it on if you like or tie it on by pulling the 2 strands thru to the inside of hat and knotting securely.

Braided Ties:

Cut 3 foot lengths of yarn – 3 lengths of yarn per section

Cut 18 lengths of black yarn – separate into 6 sections of three strands each

Fold section in half to form loop at the top, thread loop end thru bottom edge of earflap, thread cut ends of strand into loop and pull tight making a knot. Repeat with other 2 sections. You should have 3 sections of yarn in the earflap.

Braid yarn and secure at the end. Trim fringes even.

Repeat with remaining yarn in the second ear flap.

Tutu:

I crocheted the waist band for the tutu, but you can use an elastic headband instead. To crochet the tutu waist band measure the waist – with size K hook chain st to the size of the waist + 1 inch

Join to first chain to form a large ring

Ch 2, SC in each chain around, join to top of first chain you made, fasten off, weave in ends.

I used 6″ tulle ribbon I found at Walmart. I measured the desired length then cut the ribbon in half lengthwise ending up with 3″ wide strips.

I took 3-4 strips of tulle, fold in half to form loop, thread loop thru stitch, pulled cut ends in loop, pulled tight to form a knot. I alternated colors and pulled strips of tulle thru every stitch around the waist band.

For a better tutorial click here for My Frugal Family’s tutorial with pictures!

If you don’t have time to make this cute black cat hat or the tutu you can order it from my Etsy Shop Savvy Nana Crafts!