It is nesting season, and I prefer my kitties to stay mostly indoors, though they are allowed out around midday when birds are less likely to be on the ground. They also wear bigger bells when outside to help keep birds safe.
Today, while I was making bread and waiting for it to prove, I managed to crochet some simple collars with decent-sized bells.
I was actually quite excited to make them, and it only took about an hour.
I used cotton yarn and a 3.5 mm hook.
One thing I innovated myself was using elastic thread to connect the collars. I tested them to make sure they were snappable, so they could easily break away if the cats ever got stuck.
I started by measuring their neck circumference using a piece of yarn.
Coco sat by the window and stayed still during the measurement, which made it very easy.
Blu, however, thought it was a toy, so it took a while as he kept chasing the yarn!
Once the measurements were done, I started crocheting.
First, I made a chain to match their neck size.
Then I worked single crochet stitches into the back loop until I reached the right thickness. I tucked in all the excess yarn afterward.
By the time the bread was done proofing, I was nearly finished with the second collar.
Then I lightly stitched both ends together using the snappable elastic thread.
I had two pink bells and wanted one in blue, so I painted one with nail varnish.
and it worked perfectly.
After attaching the bells, I called my kitties over to try them on before going outside.
We even did a bit of outdoor photography, and they looked proud in their new collars. They also seemed to enjoy the bell sound.
The collars fitted nicely and looked comfortable.
Coco tried her collar by climbing and jumping from branch to branch and was ok.
Meanwhile, Blue waited patiently on the bench.
While Coco was enjoying up the tree.
I was really pleased with this quick and easy cat collar that I can remake easily if they lose one.
Have a lovely day everyone,
Mariah 😸