Lucy's Kitty Bed -- Felted Cat Bed for the Kitty Who Has Everything! Visit the kitty bed gallery here! There is a translation of this pattern into Norwegian here! I think of this as a Kitty Pi, because the shaping is based on the increases used in Elizabeth Zimmerman's Pi Shawl. Think of it as a pie shell with your kitty as the filling! You can use any bulky weight 100% wool yarn that will felt. Materials Noro Big Kureyon (bulky weight wool, 176 yards/skein) -- 2 skeins (I used less than half of the second skein Eyelash yarn (optional, for trim) US size 11 (or larger!) dpns and 24" circular needle   Directions With Kureyon, cast on 9 stitches on dpns Knit 1 round Knit 1 round, increasing by knitting into the front and back of each stitch -- 18 stitches And here's what it looks like at this point:                       Knit 3 rounds Knit 1 round, increasing by knitting into the front and back of each stitch -- 36 stitches Knit 6 rounds Knit 1 round, increasing by knitting into the front and back of each stitch -- 72 stitches Knit 12 rounds Knit 1 round, increasing by knitting into the front and back of each stitch -- 144 stitches You can switch to your circular needle at this point. Knit 30 rounds (or enough to get the prefelted diameter you want) Next round: (Knit 10, knit 2 together) 12 times Knit 9 rounds straight. Next round: (Knit 9, knit 2 together) 12 times Knit five additional rounds holding one strand of eyelash yarn together with the bulky wool, and cast off on the 5th round Here it is after knitting -- it's about 28" in diameter, not including the sides. And the side view: Weave in all yarn ends. Felt the bed by placing it in a zippered pillowcase cover and washing it in the washing machine on a hot wash/cold rinse cycle with a bath towel in the washer for added friction, until it reaches the finished size you want. I ran mine through two cycles. Then I stretched it over a Tupperware pie carrier with a bath towel folded up and taped around it. And put it on top of a box and left it to dry. The finished size is approximately 17" in diameter. Note: I was a bit over-zealous in my blocking the first time around. But that's the beauty of felting -- after going through another cycle in the washer, it's at the size I want now -- about 15" in diameter. © 2003-2006 Wendy D. Johnson  - Permission to redistribute for non-commercial use is granted provided that this copyright notice is included.