December 2 : Free Crochet Kitten Pattern Overview
This article is a pattern overview, not a full tutorial, for Melis, a mini crochet kitten. The design comes from InArt and appeared as the December 2 entry in the Advent calendar 2017 by InArt. For the complete free pattern, follow the Original designer’s pattern and instructions.
December 2nd
Melis is a small companion made to live in a doll house. The source gives a finished height of about 8.5 cm, while noting that the result depends on the yarn and hook you choose. Because only a tiny amount of each color is needed, the project is described as perfect for leftover yarn.
Choose a hook suitable for your yarn, staying on the lower range of the recommended size for that yarn. The pattern lists a hook range of 2.0-2.5(-3.0) mm, and the sample hook size appears in the checklist below, ready to gather before starting.
- Leftover yarn, in a tiny amount of each color
- Sample yarn: light beige Schachenmayr Catania
- Hook: 2.25 mm sample, range 2.0-2.5(-3.0) mm
- Safety eyes
- Filling, such as polyester filling
- A needle
- Pink stamp or something similar, optional, for blush
- Black thread, for the sewn nose and mouth
The pattern uses regular US terms. Inc means 2 sc in one, described as an increase, and Dec means 2sc together, described as a decrease. Keep those definitions nearby when you work, because this overview does not reproduce the row by row pattern.
Crochet mini kitten/cat (Melis) : Pattern Overview
Construction starts with the head, worked in rounds from a magic ring, and the body then continues directly from the head. The safety eyes are attached between R10-11-12, set 6-7 sts apart, and filling begins at that stage. The source emphasizes filling as you go and filling the body.
The legs continue from the body and use color A. The piece is turned upside down and worked from the bottom of the body, imagining a ring of 8sts on one side and placing the hook through the two stitches closest to the center before working around like a circle. The same approach is repeated on the opposite side for the second leg.
The two arms are also worked in color A and are left unfilled, then attached to the body at the end, with loose threads fastened off, hidden inside the doll, and cut. The two ears are attached to round 6, set 12 sts apart. Optional finishing touches include pink stamp blush and a nose and mouth sewn with black thread.
As an extra, the source suggests dressing Melis with a small crochet scarf or bow to personalize the finished kitten. For exact rounds and stitch sequences, work directly from the free pattern linked above, and treat this page only as an overview for planning the project.
