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Embroidered Cozy Cat Tunnel

Embroidered Cozy Cat Tunnel

Make your favorite feline friend a fun and cozy spot for taking a "catnap" or playing hide and seek.


Line it with a soft, fuzzy faux fur, and your kitties will be thrilled.
Add stylish accent fabric embellished with embroidery, and it will make quite a fashion statement amongst home decor!

Now, if you have a cat, you know that the more expensive the toy, the less likely they are to actually play with it. We've forked over bags and bags of money on pricey catnip wonders only to have little kitty ignore it in favor of a rubber band or twist tie. So we put this cat tunnel to the test with Ms. Chloe (left) who prefers Q-tips to rubber mousies. And guess what? She likes it, she really does!

Supplies & Materials:

Supplies

  • 1 1/4 yard faux fur
  • 1 yard outer shell fabric
  • 1 yard accent fabric (for 2 colors, use 1/2 yard each)
  • Cut-away stabilizer
  • Spray adhesive
  • Air-erase pen

Designs Used:

** Spoiled Kitty (med), large or small

** Cat Track Border 

Gather Materials:

All measurements in these instructions include a half-inch seam allowance.


Measure and cut a piece of the outer shell fabric to 25 x 41 inches. We chose a quilted cotton fabric for our tunnel.


Lay the fabric with a short end toward you. Measure the width and the length and divide each by two to find and mark the center point. Then draw a center line through the middle.

A hand holds a pen, drawing a line along a long metal ruler placed on a quilted cream-colored fabric on a wooden table.

Print full-size paper templates of the designs using embroidery software. Trim around the designs for easier placement, and position them along the center line.


We are positioning the Spoiled Kitty design in the center, with the Cat Track Border design starting 1-1/4 inches away on either side.


When all the designs are positioned, mark all of the center points by poking a hole in the center of the template and marking the fabric. Mark the horizontal and vertical axis points as well.

A hand drawing black paw prints on white fabric with a purple pen; next to it is a paper with a gray cat illustration and word "Spoiled.


Remove the templates and draw lines connecting the vertical axis lines. These lines are for hooping. You may need to draw them out far enough to reach the edge of your hoop

Hand holding blue pen marks center cross on quilted beige fabric with ruler placed beside it on a blue surface.

Spray a piece of cutaway stabilizer with adhesive and hoop it with the fabric. Align the marks on the hoop with the lines on the fabric.

Embroidery hoop with fabric stretched inside, showing a beige quilted pattern with faint purple grid lines and dots. Wood surface partially visible.

Start Embroidering:

Attach the hoop to the machine, load the design, align the needle directly over the center point and embroider the design. Repeat the hooping, aligning and embroidering process for each design.

Embroidery machine stitching five purple paw prints in a vertical line on tan fabric, secured in a white rectangular embroidery hoop, with cloth beneath.

When all of the designs have finished sewing, carefully trim away the excess stabilizer.

Close-up of a hand using scissors to cut a small white fabric strip embroidered with brown paw prints, placed on a light beige hexagon-patterned fabric.

We chose a fun plaid print and a solid cotton print for our accent fabric.


Cut two 5 x 41-inch strips of each fabric for a total of four strips.

Two fabric pieces, brown sewn and pink plaid, lie on a wooden table with black and gray scissors with orange accents resting on the brown fabric.

Take strip of each color, and lay them, right sides together. Pin along one long side.

Two fabric strips pinned together, one pink and white plaid and the other solid brown, laid on a dark wooden surface.

Sew a half-inch seam along the pinned side.

Close-up of a sewing machine needle stitching brown fabric with a red pin on the right side, focused on the presser foot and needle area.

Open the seam and press it flat.


Lay the two remaining strips together. Pin, sew, and press the same way as the first set.


Close-up of a piece of pink plaid fabric with an iron pressing the edge over a solid brown fabric on a grid cutting mat.

Lay the outer shell fabric (with the embroidery) right side up. Decide which color of the accent fabric will be next to the outer shell fabric, and place that side on the outer edge of the outer shell, right sides together. After sewing, that side will be next to the outer shell fabric.


Align the long edges of the accent fabric with edges of the outer shell fabric. Pin in place.

Partially assembled fabric quilt with pink plaid, brown, and white quilted sections on a wooden table; embroidery reads "Spoiled" with a small dog above it.

Sew a half-inch seam along both edges. Then open the seams and press.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching pink and beige plaid fabric. The needle is engaged in sewing with the presser foot lowered, under bright light.

Fold the entire completed outer shell and accent fabric in half, right sides together. Pin in place. 

Pieces of fabric laid out on a wooden surface with pins holding layers together; fabrics include white quilted, brown, and pink plaid patterns.

Sew a half-inch seam along the pinned edge.


Close-up of a sewing machine stitching hexagon shapes on white fabric; fabric is pinned with yellow and black-headed pins; focused on needle area.

Measure and cut a piece of faux fur, 41x 41 inches.


Fold in half, right sides together, and pin in place.

Fabric panel with brown and cream zebra-like stripes folded on a wooden table. Blue wall and partial shelving visible in background.

Sew a half-inch seam along the pinned edge.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching brown thread on beige fabric with a dark brown embroidered pattern resembling a cat's face and ears.

Slide the outer shell inside the inner lining with right sides together. Align the ends and pin in place.

Partially sewn tunnel-shaped fabric piece with tiger stripe pattern outside and solid brown lining inside, laid open on wooden surface.

Sew a half-inch seam along the pinned edge.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching brown fabric with a dark geometric pattern; fabric is pinned with a white-headed pin near the needle.

Pull the outer shell out from the inner lining so they are both laying flat.

Two folded fabrics on a table: one brown with dark tiger stripes, the other white quilted with a pink plaid border and a small label with three cat icons.

Pull the outer shell over the inner lining. Pin the sewn end in place.


Quilted beige fabric with embroidered paw prints and brown cat on table; pink plaid and brown borders; inside lined with tiger-striped fur fabric.

Top stitch a half-inch seam around the end.

Close-up of a sewing machine needle stitching dark brown fabric, with a glimpse of a pink and white checkered fabric underneath.

On the opposite end, align the inner lining with the outer shell. Fold each layer inward 1/4 inch and pin in place.

Close-up of a brown fabric piece pinned with red, blue, and pink sewing pins, layered over faux fur fabric and a pink plaid textile background.

Top stitch all around the pinned edge as close to the edge as possible. Then, stitch a 1/2 inch seam all around the end, right next to the first seam.

Close-up of tan fabric under the presser foot of a sewing machine with stitching in progress, on a wooden table background.


Chloe gives this project two paws up!

The completed cat tunnel is 40 x 20 inches. Chloe is pleasantly plump, adjust the size of the fabric as needed.

Calico cat with orange, black, and white fur paws a brown, pink, and beige plaid fabric piece on a patterned rug background.