Experimenting With Really Small Cats (no animals were harmed during the creation process)

What?! No air holes?

Don't worry darling we'll get you out!

People say I look like Hello Kitty but I think I'm more like Grace Kelly. 

Tiny rocks.  So I tried my hand at thread embroidery last week.  This was the result: 

I used the thinnest thread I had on hand and she turned out measuring (H) 9.5cm, (W) 6.5cm.  Hardly mini... Ms Bikini Cat can lose a few stitches, especially from her giant oval head.  Some experimentation was in order.  

In my bottomless stash of yarns and threads, I found a bunch of crochet thread I bought more than 10 years ago down some backstreet in Paris.  They were on some dusty shelf presided by a scary French matron.  The only reason why I dared to even go in the shop was because the threads were 10 Francs each (that was like 1 British pound at the time).  Bargains are worth braving scary matrons over.  

Copying the structure but reducing the number of stitches, I tried to make as small a version of Ms Bikini Cat as possible.  I started the legs out with 5 stitches and the arms with 4, stitched the body together, gauged its size and made a suitably sized head to match.  

Dude! A giant thumb!

The problems were the ears and eyes, because the head is so small the ears were just 4 stitches, aka the size of a gnat's bum.  Imagine sewing that onto the head.  The eyes were also difficult because micro cat here is black.  A black thread knot wouldn't show and a blue or green knot made him look comically evil.  So I settled for a black-on-white felt alternative.  He ended up looking a bit bog eyed but that slightly surprised look's kinda cute.  

He wasn't entirely perfect though.  I crocheted his head separately from his body.  Which I realised was unnecessary.  I could just crochet the head directly from the neck opening.  His body lacked shape. I want his upper body to be slightly smaller than his bum.  He was also quite difficult to make because I used a 0.9mm hook, a tad too big which meant I had to yank the hook out after every stitch. I raided my local and found a 0.6mm hook (it has a pink handle too so cute) and some even thinner threads in beige and pink.  

This time, the crochet was easier.  Thinner threads meant the cat can be the same size with more stitches, so I needn't sacrifice so much detail.  I also crocheted the head directly from the body this time to save on faffing around sewing it on afterwards.  

The eyes were black thread knots so her nose and mouth can be the usual white felt and embroidery affair.  There was even room for me to crochet her a skirt, by beginning on the join between her body and legs.  

Hubby Oli suggested I put wings on her, then suspend her from the stopper to make her a flying angel. That might be a fun idea.  Having noted the pattern I tried a boy version.  This time with a tail and braces: 

I swear ladies I'm bigger in real life. 

They could almost be Hansel and Gretel.  I'll just need a witch.  That'll be my next project!