Unicorn Kitty

pillow plush
a free sewing pattern by
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 2 free sewing tutorial

unicorn kitty pillow plush

A super cute plush that's big and cuddly
enough to be a pillow! This simple stuffed cat
skills used:
is sure to warm the heart of any magic-lover • Fusible web applique
with its majestic unicorn features. • Sewing small pieces
It includes pretty two-tone bangs, striped tail, • Basting
spiral horn, and cute front and back paws. • Gathering stitch, gathering
difficulty: • Sewing curves
• Ladder stitch
• Whip stitch
This plush is pretty simple, though you might
have troubles with the smaller details like the
hair stripes and the small feet. And the sheer
size of the body will take some extra time to
fill.

makes:
One plush: 13" tall, 9" wide, and 9" long

sew desu ne?

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// ©2016
©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 3 free sewing tutorial

materials & tools:

• ½ yd. of fabric for main body
• ¼ yd. of accent fabric for bangs & tail
• 8" x 8" piece of accent fabric for optional hair stripes
• 6" x 6" piece of accent fabric for horn
• 3” x 5” piece of black applique fabric (felt, cotton, etc.)
for eyes and optional mouth
• 3" x 3" piece of white applique fabric (felt, cotton, etc.)
for eye shines
• 4" x 4" piece of pink applique fabric (felt, cotton, etc.) for
paw pads and optional blush marks, nose
• 6” x 6” piece of light or heavy duty fusible web
• sewing thread to match main fabric and applique
fabrics
• poly-fil stuffing
• basic sewing tools (sewing machine, scissors, iron,
needles, pins, fabric marker, seam ripper)

suggested fabrics:
Plush, stretchy fabrics such as fleece or minky
faux fur are suggested. The variations of fleece and minky
mentioned to the left would work well, but really
any plushy fabric with a bit of stretch on the cross-
minky wise grain would be well-suited.
Stretch fabrics like fleece or minky will create
a more squat, round shape when stuffed.
Non-stretchy fabrics, like felt or cotton, won’t
cuddle fleece stretch when stuffed so the resulting plush will look
elongated as shown.

micro fleece minky vs. felt

anti-pill fleece

fleece

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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 4 free sewing tutorial

printing the pattern:

To print the pattern, set your computer to print pages 18-22. If you’re unfamiliar with printing
and assembling a .pdf pattern, read the steps below.

1 2 3
At the print dialog box, check the box Print the pages needed for the file. You It’s likely your printer will have a
that says print at “Actual Size” or 100%. might have one or more. Either way, margin that ensures your image
Any other selection (such as “Fit to be sure you have the full collection by doesn’t print to the very edge.
page”) will distort the pattern so it’s noting the page numbers in the corner. Assembly will be easier if you trim off
slightly larger or smaller and we don’t this blank margin edge. This will give
want that. you pages that overlap slightly during
assembly. If you trim across the gray
outline boxes, this will give you pages
that don’t overlap but rather butt
against each other.

4 5
To line up the pattern pages, match up the corresponding You can trace the patterns onto a different paper, or you can
diamond shapes. Each diamond will have a letter, so it’s also just cut them straight from the printer paper -- be sure
simply a matter of matching A1 to A2, B3 to B4 and so on. that each piece is fully taped together along the joins so
The faint gray lines indicate the border of every page, you they don’t fall apart when you cut them.
should be able to line those up as well. When the diamond
goes together, tape it in place.
If you have many pages, it’s easier to tape up the pages into
rows first. Then tape the rows together into a full block.

sew desu ne?

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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 5 free sewing tutorial

cutting the fabric:

1 2 3 4
Place pattern on the fabric, Pin the pattern in place, use Using the paper as a For all fur fabrics, shake the
and make sure the stretch pattern weights, or trace the template, cut out the fabric. excess fuzz away.
line matches the stretch outline of the pattern with a Cut the required amount
of the fabric. The nap line washable marker. according to the pattern.
should go in the direction of
the fur.

cutting layout:
main body fabric STRE TCH

½ yd.; 18” long

C
A A
NAP

D D D D B B B B
36” wide

stripe fabric hair fabric

horn fabric
¼ yd. 9” long
8” long
6” long

F E1 E1
NAP

E2
G1 G1
NA P

NA P

G2

6” wide
8” wide 18” wide

before you begin:

• Briefly read the project instructions so you know what to expect.
• If desired, mark the cut fabric pieces with the markings and symbols from the pattern. Or wait
until the applicable step before transferring.
• Note that the seam allowance used is ¼” throughout the project.
sew desu ne?
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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 6 free sewing tutorial

fuse onto hold applique

trace onto applique fabric while pulling
paper side paper away

1 . prepare the face applique

• Take your fusible web and trace all your applique pieces onto the smooth (paper) side. You should
have 2 eyes, 2 eye shines, and also a mouth, nose, and/or blush marks as you prefer.
• Fuse the bumpy (adhesive) side onto the wrong side of your applique fabric. The eyes/mouth go onto
black, the eye shines on white, and the blush/nose on pink
• Cut out the eye pieces and arrange them on the Front/Back (A) piece of your main fabric. You can
do this by setting your paper pattern on top of the fabric piece (right sides up), align the eye piece on
top where the placement markings are, then carefully pull the paper pattern away while holding the
applique piece in place.

fuse eyes right side of

first (tuck blush add eye shines, zigzag lands just
under if using) mouth, nose next outside applique

2. fuse the applique

• Fuse the eye pieces in place with your iron (use a press cloth -- such as a scrap piece of cotton -- if
you’re using a polyester or fur fabric like minky).
• Next, move onto the smaller pieces, such as the eye shines, nose, or mouth. Fuse them much the
same way as you did the eyes, using the paper pattern and photos as a guide.
• If you used heavy duty fusible web, you can keep the pieces fused without sewing, or you can sew
them in place a number of ways. I’ve used a zigzag stitch here. This will now be your front piece,
leaving the other blank side to be the back.
→→ Refer to the next step for some other applique options.

sew desu ne?

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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 7 free sewing tutorial

4
2
straight stitch; applique 3
great for felt whipstitch 1

2a. other applique options

Other good options for applique include a straight stitch, which involves sewing around the edge of the
applique pieces with a straight stitch using matching thread -- about 1/8” in from the edge.
You can also applique by hand; I prefer a whipstitch. Thread a hand-sewing needle with some matching
thread and knot it. Bring the thread up from the back of the project; about 1/8” in from the edge of the
applique shape. Bring it down perpendicular from the curve, just outside of the applique shape. This
completes one stitch.
For the next stitch, bring the needle back up about 1/8” away from the previous stitch and 1/8” in from
the edge just as in the first stitch. Once again, bring it down just outside the applique shape. Continue
this way until you’ve sewn around the shape.

leave open
place with right for turning
sides together

3. sew the front feet

• Grab your Front Feet pieces (B). Take two of them and align them with right sides facing and raw
edges matching up.
• Sew them together along the curved edge, leaving the straight edge free for turning right side out.
• Turn the foot right side out. Repeat with the remaining two Front Feet pieces so you have two
complete feet total.

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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 8 free sewing tutorial

baste across the

stuff the feet opening to hold
hold the
foot closed closed

4. stuff the feet

• Take each front foot piece and stuff them semi-firmly with stuffing. basting:
• To keep the stuffing from leaking out while you sew it to your cat, I A form of temporary
sewing meant to hold pieces
like to baste it closed by sewing across the opening either by hand or in place. A long stitch length is
quickly by machine. Hold the opening closed and pin it. often used for this reason. The
• Then stitch across the straight edge to secure all the stuffing inside. finished result is not meant
to be seen and sometimes
Repeat with the other foot so both front feet are complete. is even removed later
(depending on your
project).

align basted end

of feet between
placement
markings

baste feet in
place

5. baste the feet

• If you haven't already, locate the foot placement lines found on the Front/Back paper pattern. Transfer
them over to the right side of your front piece. Align the stitched edge of the foot piece between these
placement lines. Pin them in place.
• Stitch across the edge of the front piece to baste the feet in place.

sew desu ne?

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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 9 free sewing tutorial

leave opening
for turning
clip inner
corners

6. sew the front to the back

leave open for
bottom

• Grab your blank back piece and layer it over the front piece with right sides facing and raw edges
matching up.
• If you haven't already, locate the opening for turning markings on the front/back paper pattern.
Transfer them over to the wrong side of the fabric.
Sew around the long curved edge of the front/back pieces, being sure to leave both the opening for
turning in the side, and the bottom straight edge open. Don't forget to pivot near the ears.
• Clip the seam allowance near the ear corners to increase the flexibility of the ears once they're turned.

circle markings:
match up with side sew around
seams bottom
notches: match
up with front/back
notches

7. attach the bottom

• Grab your Bottom piece (C). If you haven't already, locate the placement markings on the Bottom
paper pattern. The circle markings indicate the sides, while the notches indicate the front and the
back.
Line up the circle markings with the side seams of the Front/Back. Line up the notch markings with
the notch markings found on the Front/Back. Pin the Bottom piece in place around the perimeter.
• Sew the Bottom to the Front/Back all the way around

sew desu ne?

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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 10 free sewing tutorial

stuff
bottom and insert needle from
ears first inside of opening

ladder
stitch closed
8 . stuff and sew closed
• Stuff the body semi-firmly with stuffing. Start by pushing toward the bottom until it looks full and
round, then work your way up. Shove more stuffing into the ears, then finally fill in the center and face
area.
• Once the plush is stuffed, make sure the seam allowances in the opening are tucked inside and
prepare to ladder stitch it closed. Thread a hand-sewing needle and knot it at the end. Insert the
needle from the inside of the opening and out of the plush near one edge of the opening. This will
leave the knot inside the plush.
• Continue from here doing a ladder stitch. Take a 1/8” stitch into the fold of one side of the opening,
then go across and take another. Keep going down the opening until you reach the end.
→→ See the illustration below for more help.

bring hold thread

needle out taut while
clipping
2 1 1-2" away

4
3 seam allowance
(folded inside)

9. clip the threads

• When you’re finished, stitch a knot into the end of the seam. Then insert the needle near the finished
knot and out of the plush about 1-2” away.
• Pull the thread through and hold it taut while snipping the thread. The excess thread should sink back
inside the plush -- all hidden!

sew desu ne?

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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 11 free sewing tutorial

match blank foot cut through

w/ appliqued foot blank layer only

10. sew the back feet

• Grab your Back Feet pieces (D). Applique the paw pad shapes onto two of them following the same
techniques shown in steps 1 & 2:
→→ Trace two foot pads and six toe pads onto the paper side of your fusible web. Fuse the adhesive
to your pink applique fabric. Cut out the appliques and fuse them to two Back Feet pieces. Leave
as is or sew them in place as desired.
• Take one blank Back Foot and one appliqued one and align them with right sides facing.
• Sew around the perimeter of the foot.
• To turn the foot, cut a small 1" slit down the center of the foot. Repeat with the remaining two foot
pieces for two completed feet total.

ladder stitch
around perimeter

place at center
back of bottom
11. attach the back feet
• Turn the feet right side out.
• Place the pair of feet on the bottom of the plush with the appliqued side facing out. The paper pattern
has placement guides, but they're basically centered near the back of the bottom nestled right against
each other. Be sure that the toes are pointing toward the front of the plush.
Pin them in place by sticking pins through the feet down into the plush.
• Sew the feet in place by using a ladder stitch around the perimeter of each foot.

sew desu ne?

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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 12 free sewing tutorial

layer stripe on
top of bangs

match blank
piece with
striped piece
12. sew the bangs stripe
• Grab your Bangs pieces (E1 & E2). Take one of the bangs and your stripe piece. Align the stripe on top
of the bangs so it's centered. Refer to the placement lines found on the paper pattern for help. Pin the
stripe in place, or use a bit of glue stick for a stronger hold.
• Stitch the stripe in place around the perimeter using either a zigzag stitch or a straight stitch as you
prefer.
• Take the striped piece and the remaining blank piece and align them together with right sides facing
and raw edges matching up.

cut through one

layer only

trim seam
allowance at tip
13. sew the bangs
• Sew around the perimeter of the bangs.
• Trim the excess seam allowance found near the tip of the bangs to reduce bulk.
• To turn the bangs, cut a small slit in the middle of the bangs through the blank piece only. Don't cut
the side with the stripe.

sew desu ne?

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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 13 free sewing tutorial

place between ears,

1" below top seam stitch around
top area

14. attach the bangs

• Turn the bangs right side out and define the point with a chopstick or similar turning tool.
• Place the bangs on the front of the cat about 1" beneath the top seam so the tip is pointing downward.
The paper pattern also has guidelines for extra help. Hold it in place by putting pins down through the
bangs into the body of the plush.
• Stitch around the round part of the bangs with a ladder stitch to hold it in place, similar to how you did
back in step 8. I like to let the curled tip of the bangs be free for a more 3D look.

trace paper for

stitching lines
bring
slanted
edges
together

leave open for

15. sew the horn turning

• Grab your Horn piece (F). If you haven't already, locate the spiral stitching lines found on the paper
pattern. Transfer them over to the right side of the fabric. I find it's easier to do this by trimming the
pattern along the stitching lines and tracing the paper edge.
• Fold the horn in half lengthwise to make it into a skinner triangle. Bring right sides together and align
the diagonal edges.
• Sew the horn along this edge, leaving the bottom curved edge free for turning later.

sew desu ne?

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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 14 free sewing tutorial

trim close
to tip stuff tip with
small bits first

16. turn & stuff the horn

• Trim the excess seam allowance near the tip of the horn to reduce bulk.
• Turn the horn right side out and define the point with a chopstick or similar turning tool.
• Stuff the horn lightly with stuffing. Be sure to put small bits in the tip to start, then work your way up.

stitch around
open edge of sew gathering
horn cinch thread stitch along
to close up stitching lines
bottom

17. cinch the horn closed

• Thread a hand-sewing needle and knot the end. Run a gathering:
gathering stitch around the opening of the horn. The process of shortening the
length of a piece of fabric by sewing
• Pull at the thread to cinch the horn closed. Tuck in the fabric long stitches through it. When the
edges so nothing is poking out. thread is pulled, it forms small folds that
ruffle the fabric.
• Next, sew a gathering stitch along the stitch lines you traced
earlier. Start from the bottom working around the horn. Try gathering stitch:
to make the stitches slightly shorter and more even for the A long version of the running stitch, which
best look. Pull at the thread lightly to form the horn spiral. is a stitch done by weaving the needle
in and out of a length of fabric going
→→ Finish the horn in the next step. along a line. The long stitches
(about ¼”-½” long) gather the
fabric when pulled later.

sew desu ne?

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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 15 free sewing tutorial

pull at thread center horn

lightly to form on bangs ladder stitch
spirals around base

18. attach the horn

• Keep working in a spiral making gathering stitches all the way to the top of the horn. Pull at the thread
lightly to form the spirals and stitch a knot in the top of the horn while the thread is lightly cinched.
Clip the thread the same when you finish a ladder stitch; bring the needle out about 1" away and pull
while clipping.
• Place the cinched bottom of the horn in the middle of the bangs, ideally with the horn seam pointing
up. Pin the horn in place by sticking pins down into the base of the horn into the plush body.
• Stitch around the base of the horn with a ladder stitch similar to how you did back in step 11.

layer stripe
over tail

match blank piece

19 . sew the tail stripe

with striped piece

• Grab your Tail pieces (G1 & G2). Take one of the tails and your stripe piece. Align the stripe on top of
the tail so it's centered. Refer to the placement lines found on the paper pattern for help. Pin the stripe
in place, or use a bit of glue stick for a stronger hold.
• Stitch the stripe in place around the perimeter using either a zigzag stitch or a straight stitch as you
prefer.
• Take the striped piece and the remaining blank piece and align them together with right sides facing
and raw edges matching up.

sew desu ne?

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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 16 free sewing tutorial

trim seam
allowance
near tip

cut through blank

20 . sew the tail

layer only

• Sew around the perimeter of the tail.

• Trim the excess seam allowance found near the tip of the tail to reduce bulk and increase flexibility
when turned.
• To turn the tail, cut a small slit in the base of the tail through the blank piece only. Don't cut the side
with the stripe.

stuff small bits into whip stitch closed

tip before the rest

21 . stuff & close the tail

• Turn the tail right side out. Poke out the top with a chopstick or similar whip
turning tool.
stitch:
• Stuff the tail lightly with stuffing. Be sure to get small bits in the tip A kind of overhand stitch
before filling the larger areas. where the needle is brought
from the back of the project to
• Close up the opening with a simple whip stitch; nothing too fancy since the front. The thread wraps
the stitching won't be seen. around the fabric edge and
the process is repeated
for each stitch.

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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 unicorn kitty pillow plush 17 free sewing tutorial

place on stitch around

bottom back base first fold back tip and
stitch across

22 . attach the tail

• Place the tail so the whip stitched side is facing the back of the body. It should be centered near the
bottom with the curly tip pointing up. The paper pattern also has a guideline for extra help. Pin the tail
in place by sticking pins down through the tail and right into the body.
• Sew around the base of the tail with a ladder stitch similar to the bangs. Sew around the rounded part
first. Stop when you get to the curly tip area.
• Flip the curly tip part of the tail down and sew across. This leaves the tip free for more of a 3D look.

congrats!
this completes
your plush! Now
give it a big hug!

sew desu ne?

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// ©2017 Choly Knight // Items made using this pattern may be sold. Credit to “Choly Knight” or “Sew Desu Ne?” is appreciated.
You may not reproduce, share, freely distribute, or sell this pattern as your own in digital or printed form.
 STRETCH
placement

NAP
applique
FRONT FOOT (B)
Cut 4 from main fabric ¼” seam allowance
¼” seam allowance Cut 4 from main fabric

NAP
BACK FOOT (D)

STRETCH

B1 B2

bangs
placement
NAP
pg. 1/5

applique
placement
A1 A2
 /5
applique
placement

A1 A2
STRETCH

tail
placement
B3 B4
Unicorn Kitty Pillow Plush
P A T T E R N
www.cholyknight.com
FRONT/BACK (A)
Cut 2 from main fabric
¼” seam allowance

center
front/back

front foot placement front foot placement

pg. 2/5
 center
front

Unicorn Kitty Pillow Plush

NAP
P A T T E R N
www.cholyknight.com
BOTTOM (C)
Cut 1 from main fabric
¼” seam allowance

STRETCH

side side

B1 B2

back foot back foot

placement placement
pg. 3/5

center
C1 C2
 B3 B4
/5 pg. 4/5

ing
r turn
ing fo
open

C1 C2

C
TAuILt 1 from a
STRccent fa
IPE bric
(G2) C3 C4
center
back

TAIL (G1)
Cut 2 from accent fabric
¼” seam allowance

STRETCH
NAP

stripe
placement
/5 pg. 5/5

stripe
placement

STRETCH
horn
placement

NAP
Cu BAN
¼” from GS
t2
sea ac (E
m a cen 1) P
llow t fab
anc ric NA
e

e
spiral stitching lin
Cut 1 from accent fabric
¼” seam allowance
HORN (F)

TCH E
STR
C3 C4

BANGS STRIPE (E2)

Cut 1 from accent fabric NOSE
trace & cut 1
FOOT PADS from pink
trace & cut 2 TOE PADS
from pink trace & cut 6
from pink

MOUTH
trace & cut 1
BLUSH from black
MARKS
trace & cut 2
from pink

EYES
trace & cut 1 EYE SHINES
each from trace & cut 2
black from white