You Will Need
​YARN: 4 ply worsted yarn. 
CROCHET HOOK: C/2 (2.5mm).
TAIL: 8” (203mm) cord, rawhide or yarn
POLYFIL: Small quantity for body.
CATNIP: 2-3 tablespoons of premium organic catnip.
Cats are LOVING this stuff! 
DETAIL: Black and pink embroidery floss or yarn for eyes and nose.

Enjoy this FREE PATTERN!
​Or, follow this link to download a handy 2 page pdf with all the details for printing  for $1.95!

This pattern is fun and easy for beginner or advanced crocheters alike. Its small size makes this the purrfect car or travel project; especially if you're visiting friends with a cat!

❍ FASTEN OFF, leaving approx. 9” (228mm) yarn to sew each ear into the body.
❍ MARK PLACEMENT of the ears with pins (around rows 6-8).
❍ SEW EARS IN PLACE nice and tight using the yarn tails. Adjust eye pins for placement, then embroider in black for each eye, and pink for the nose and inside ears with yarn or embroidery floss. ​

Your Catnip Mouse is Ready to Play!

This may be obvious, but it's key. I used stash-yarn because I had lots of navy yarn that went with my living room decor. It always begins that way, right?

It didn't take long to realize I had miscalculated the yarn and needed several more skeins and could only get it on-line (two orders!). So much for stash busting. This pattern requires a LOT of yarn.

After that experience I'd recommend using a value yarn like the Red Heart Supersaver® yarn designated on the pattern. At least for the main portion of the couch (and, I'm not a RH ambassador) but after all, it IS their pattern! It's affordable, washable, durable and easy to find for most. Choose a color similar to your cats dominant color so shedded fur doesn’t show as much. 

After completion I had used approximately 35 ozs. of #4 worsted; just under five 7oz. Red Heart Super-Saver® skeins for the base color (gray alone). The picture doesn't look like it takes a lot of yarn, but there is a lot of relaxing crochet that's invisable until you start making the individual pieces!

I realized the “foam foundation” (couch form) should be made before any crochet begins. That way, you can hold each piece up against the corresponding part of the couch to confirm it fits correctly as you go, saving time and frogging. The foam foundation instructions are on page 5 of the pattern –skip to that part first.

On-line, the upholstery foam would cost  $60+/- which I expected. After trips to Joanne and Hobby Lobby coupons in-hand, I found upholstery foam to be costly there too, so I resorted to some old cushion foam stashed at home.

I'd had two pieces of high-density foam in the attic. Not the precise measurements, in two different colors, but perfefct for this foam foundation considering the savings. High density upholstery foam is firmer and more expensive, but it's not really necessary for this project because most cats are light, right? If you have something that works, use it.

Following the foam foundation instructions (pgs. 5, 4), mark the exact measurements on craft paper (or newsprint, etc), and cut out pattern pieces. This step makes it easy to lay the pattern out on the foam to see the best cutting layout.

Place the largest pattern pieces on your foam first, then the smaller pieces, moving the pattern parts like a jigsaw puzzle to fit every piece before cutting the foam.

Then, take a sharpie pen and mark each pattern piece directly onto foam. If you have a key piece that’s a bit too small, consider piecing it with a leftover piece of foam, it won’t show even if the seaming is a bit uneven after gluing. As you can see below, I reallly got piece-happy and saved $60. Remember to cut 2 pieces of foam for armrest.

Cut the foam with a serrated knife, cutting the sides with the straightest right angles possible, trying not to slope those sides as you cut. Relax! With a nice big serrated bread or steak knife, it’s easier than you think. Your crocheted slip cover will be forgiving and cover little irregularities as these photos attest.

The older pattern (that I started with) specified foam glue for assembly. I purchased the upholstery foam glue which looked like Elmers® or tacky glue. It didn’t  fuse well, taking over 2 days to dry completely.

The updated pattern (shown above) specified a hot glue gun👍🏻, so I reinforced the weak spots with my hot glue and it bonded firmly, immediately. Don’t use foam glue, it’s inferior to hot glue.

Concerned the navy (stash-buster) yarn I chose for my cover would show the (lighter) foam underneath through my stitching, I painted the foam foundation with navy (water based, LATEX) paint. It dried in approx 24 hrs. while I happily crocheted.

In the end, I discovered that the foam didn't show through my stitches, but  my sad looking patchwork foundation looked  a lot nicer, and I stopped worrying about show through! An easy option if you’re concerned about that.

Final foam note: I used 1/2” foam for the cushions as specified in the first pattern. The revised pattern calls for six pieces of quilt batting, stacking 3 layers in each cushion.  Because I had neither on hand, I chose foam for a spongy, firmer cushion –more like an actual couch cushion.

Once the base perimeter strip was attached to the couch, be sure turn the cover right side out, then fit it over the foam foundation permanently. I found it better to skip adding the dust ruffle at this stage, and “sewed the bottom to lower edge of base” first.

Next pin fit the dust ruffle attaching it last. This way, you can be sure the ruffle just barely and evenly meets the floor. Using my slip stitch join on the dust ruffle join made a cording-like finished look, much like a real couch dust ruffle seam. These last 2 joins were made with the lightweight couch sitting easily in my lap.