Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Kitty Cat Collars, Back from the Finishers!! UPDATE




Cara & Mia are pleased to announce that their lovely needlepoint collars are, at long last, back from the finishers! Creation of these collars was a new challenge for Stitch by Stitch's finishers, but I am proud and thrilled with the result.

Cat collars, for those of you who may not know, MUST for safety reasons be break away. I did some internet research to find the correct hardware to create these collars for my girls. Cats have a tendency to get themselves into small spaces where they just might get their collars caught on something, which could have a very bad ending. Therefore, all cat collars must either be elastic (so they can come over the cat's head when pulled) or come apart easily when pulled (and not pulled that hard, either). Cara & Mia are small cats, neither of them weighing more than 7 lbs (Cara coming in at 5.8), so a collar mounted on leather would have weighed them down. You can see the special breakaway hardware in the photos.

I am so proud of what was done. The cats are thrilled with their new looks. The collars were specially painted for them, as I wanted them to be thinner than the usual dog collar; these are less than 3/4" wide. Cara's has a light green Vineyard Silk background, to match her eyes; Mia's has a beautiful blue background, to match her eyes. Neither one of them wanted to pose with their eyes open; in fact, Mia closed hers completely!

I have been told that there isn't as much demand for cat collars; somehow I find this hard to believe! In any event, I am so happy that Stitch by Stitch got this done with their efforts & that of their finishers! Excellent!!

Denise

PS: A lot of you have asked, so I am actually putting my comment here too, for those who don't read the comments. It's for the safety of the beloved kitties:

To all interested in cat collars; check with your LNS. There are plenty of dog collars; see if you find one you like, & they can ask the artist to make it narrower & maybe longer if necessary (my girls are petite, I had them 1/2" & about 12" or so long). Depends on the size of your cat. Take into account that with breakaway collars there is some foldover.

It is IMPERATIVE that you get the collars finished with break away clasps. DO NOT use regular buckles. Your cat can be strangled by a regular buckle collar. Stitch by Stitch was able to get their finisher to make them correctly; I did send them an old collar to study.

9 comments:

Robin said...

Denise, these are WONDERFUL. You thought of everything... the size, the bell, the quick-release. Throw in some Neon Rays NP300 Glow in the Dark and you've got the next Million $$ seller.

Shelly Wurtele said...

LOVE the middle picture. Adorable. I enjoy your blog also. I look forward to seeing your next projects!

Napa Needlepoint said...

Denise --

These are stunning.

As someone with three cats, I've thought about stitching them collars many times but two things have stopped me.

1. The need for breakaway hardware and the fact that no canvas I saw advertised as a cat collar would work if finished this way. I'm so glad you showed us it could be done.

2. My cats seem incapable of keeping their collars on for more than a day or two, so I had to waste all that work.

But I'm now reconsidering.

THANK YOU!

Keep Stitching,
Janet

SharonG Needlepoint said...

Stunning collars for your stunning girls.

Nannette said...

So beautiful, both the girls and the collars. But if I ever tried to put collars on my boys I would come away with two bloody stumps for hands.

Anne Stradal said...

I'm inspired! Maybe there is hope for my stitching collars for my canine girls yet!

Anonymous said...

LOVE them. so cute.My kids would LOVE them too!
Jeannine
BeStitched Needlepoint

Anonymous said...

i love the collars - I would like to make a collar my
cat sugar plum - How would I make one ?
Thank you - Jennifer Smith - needlepointfairy@yahoo.com

Denise & Linda said...

To all interested in cat collars; check with your LNS. There are plenty of dog collars; see if you find one you like, & they can ask the artist to make it narrower & maybe longer if necessary (my girls are petite, I had them 1/2" & about 12" or so long).

It is IMPERATIVE that you get the collars finished with break away clasps. DO NOT use regular buckles. Your cat can be strangled by a regular buckle collar. Stitch by Stitch was able to get their finisher to make them correctly; I did send them an old collar to study. Denise