Category: Craft

The Saga of the Snuffle Mat

On By CarynIn Craft, dog

Since little miss snuffle-for-snacks likes to, well, snuffle, I decided to make her a snuffle mat. I looked at some online tutorials, consulted my sister who has made one, and purchased two yards of fleece fabric and an anti-fatigue mat.

One of the things I didn’t see in the tutorials I read was that the direction the fleece strips are cut matters. If you cut strips in the direction of the greatest stretch, the strip will curl up when you pull on it. If you cut it perpendicular to the direction of the greatest stretch, the strips will not curl. I chose the no curl method.

Two pieces of fleece, demonstrating what happens if you pull in the direction of the greatest stretch

I used unconventional measurements for the fleece strips; the length of my thumb to the first joint (about 1.25”) for the width, and the width of my outstretched hand (about 7.75”) for the length, mainly because I couldn’t find a ruler (I know I have at least 15 in the house, where do they all go?). I read articles recommending double knotting the strips in the mat, and some saying a single knot is enough. I tend toward the double knotted club, but Missy “helped” me test the single knot on the first strip, and it held just fine.

Missy helping test the strength of a single knot
I had to take a break from knotting because the rubber mat was too stimulating

I was able to start knotting the strips while Missy slept, but each time she woke, I had to take a break because she was obsessed with the mat! Since I couldn’t knot, I took the four selvedges I cut off and made a four strand round braid with knotted ends: she likes it.

Pull toy made from fleece scrap
An unexpected delay in production

My cat Izzy also delayed knotting by deciding it was time for a nap on my lap. On the mat.

Missy thought the strip pile was fun

Because I wasn’t sure how much fabric I would need, I cut the long strips, but didn’t cut short strips until I was ready to tie. I figured that if I had left over fabric, I could make more pull toys. Missy thought the fabric strip pile by my chair was exciting too.

After a couple of days tying in fits and starts, I hear my eldest yell “She just peed on the rug!” Yup. On the unfinished hand-tied snuffle mat. I had left it beside my chair, and while potty training is progressing, she is obviously not at 100%. It was time to wash the rug!

Cutting the rug

This actually worked out OK. I realized that if I made it much bigger it wouldn’t fit in the washer. I cut off the rubber mat so that finished (and unfinished) mat would fit in the washer. I washed it in deep water with a vinegar presoak (I put the vinegar in the bleach dispenser) and an extra rinse. I dried it on low, which worked well.

Back side of mat showing hole pattern

After the mat dried, I tied on the remaining strips. I started with four per large hole, but felt it was thin, so added a couple to each small hole. Because my mat has small holes and large holes, I could have done more, but I didn’t have enough fleece! As it was, I used up all two yards on a 16 inch by 16 inch mat. Missy likes it! But it only goes on the floor strictly supervised.

Finished snuffle mat

Yup. I couldn’t get pictures without the puppy. She makes the pictures cuter anyway.

Recovering my hope chest

On By CarynIn Cats, Craft

My cat loves to sharpen her claws on the cushioned top of my hope chest. Luckily, it is easy to recover! (Although I admit it stayed in the frayed state for a couple years.)

Hope chest with cat damage

I removed the screws holding the cushion to the lid, then used a staple gun to attach the new fabric over the old. When screwing the lid back on, it helps to clamp it in place until you get a few screws set. The whole project took about 30 minutes. The fabric is indoor/outdoor fabric that I hope will hold up to the cat’s attentions, if not, I will recover it again later!

Underside of cushioned top, ready for new fabric
Recovered hope chest

And of course, the first thing that happens is that my cat throws up on it. The easy clean fabric was a good choice. Oi.

Tea towel toy

On By CarynIn Craft, dog

So little miss mystery pup found a tea towel hanging up to dry and happily made off with it. After retrieving the towel and hanging it higher, I rummaged through the rag bin for an old tea towel. I cut it into four pieces lengthwise, rolled each strip into a tight tube, and did a four strand round braid with knots on each end. I will be keeping an eye on it to make sure she doesn’t get loose threads or pieces off, but I think it is safe to say she likes it.

Missy with a toy made from a braided and knotted tea towel.

Princess Pup

On By CarynIn Craft, dog
Puppy peaking out from under a blanket

Little Miss Mystery Pup likes to snuggle under feet to sleep. She also likes to snuggle under blankets and stick her nose out. A snooze on toes is cute, but dangerous with rocking chairs and recliners, so I made her a little country princess bed (princess because of the canopy, country because the canopy is made of undyed cotton drop cloth). The bed keeps her out from under feet when she is sleeping, and is just so stinking cute.

Missy sleeping in her princess bed

The whole thing was made with scraps from my craft room. The fake fur top is scrap from a Halloween costume. The bottom of the pad cover and the canopy are from a heavy duty cotton drop cloth. The zipper (the cover needs a zipper so it can be removed and washed in case of accident) is from my stash of old zippers. The pad itself is egg crate foam left over from the crate pad I made for my old dog. I used lucet cord to gather and bind the canopy, then tied it to my end table to make the tent. She likes it, but still prefers to sleep on my feet. Training continues.

“Canopy” bed rigged up on the end of the side table

Mask conundrum

On By CarynIn Craft

So I’m sure you have seen articles on the new study on a low cost method of testing masks by Duke University that showed neck gaiter masks may be worse than no mask at all. If not, the published scientific article is here. The conundrum (quite apart from the frustrations of language and the use of “fleece” for something that is neither warm nor fluffy), is that the neck gaiter (some twitches linguistically here too, gaiters are for ankles, but this usage shift is at least logical) is the only type of mask I can get my youngest to wear. The valve type masks have already been banned at the doctor’s offices. So what to do? While making masks for my eldest for school, I had an idea. Patch it.

Neck gaiter style mask with cotton fabric patch for nose and mouth

I had already ordered stretchy swimsuit material to make neck gaiters for my youngest, so I sewed a tube, then sewed on a rectangle of woven cotton fabric. (Don’t even get me started on the “hold it to the light” test, and all that vague verbiage.) We tested the patched neck gaiter on a trip to the doctor’s, and the fit works OK (I made the first one a little big), and it is a little trickier to get the patch in the right place, but she can still breathe, and her mouth is covered. Do I think it will be effective? I hope we don’t have to test that hypothesis. But it keeps her hands out of her mouth, and brings awareness for keeping distance. I have only seen a few people people properly wearing medical PPE: a dental hygienist and a phlebotomist. All these other people with their paper masks with gaping holes at the sides and around the nose, well, the effectiveness must be from awareness and not actual virus blocking. (Opinion only, not research backed, nor scientifically studied with proper peer review. Like all my stuff.)