Well! If you’d told me a year ago that I’d be sitting down today to tell you about a hoodie I made with a pocket for my cat… I would have been really excited about the prospect of having a cat, but I can’t say I’d have believed you… and yet here we are!
Theo is a bit of a velcro kitty. He likes to be where the people are at all times, and it is a great travesty to him that he is so small - his preferred vantage point from which to watch the world is much more human-height than cat height. What I’m saying is that he likes to be carried. He’s also - at just over 8 months old - already pushing the 5kg mark and friends, my arms are just not strong enough.
Since he was a kitten, he’s enjoyed being carried around in the baby wrap I made him. To be completely honest, I’d prefer to carry him in the baby wrap - he’s higher up, more secure, and I feel it’s a better hold for me. That said - although he does enjoy being in the wrap, he absolutely cannot stand the jostle of getting situated in there. It’s enough to put him off the whole thing. My friend Jay jokingly sent me a photo of a ready-to-wear version of a cat-pocket hoodie at the precise moment I was considering ways to solve the ‘jostle’ problem, and - well - the rest is history!
I’m sharing the method I used to create the pocket, and the logic behind the decisions I made in doing it the way I did, so that you can skip some of the problem solving on the way to your own kitty pocket! All of the RTW versions I saw had a rectangular patch pocket - the bottom, in most cases, is worked into the waist ribbing which I quite liked, but the top corners are just stitched onto the front of the hoodie. With a heavy cat, this seemed like it wouldn’t be strong enough.
Instead of attaching a patch pocket to the surface of the hoodie, I opted to integrate it into the side seams, which brings us to our second point: Adding several pounds worth of feline is going to weigh down a garment significantly. Most sweatshirts end at around hip level, and I shortened my pattern by several inches so that Theo, in his pocket, would sit over my stomach rather than over my thighs. I raised the pocket so high that in order to fit it on the hoodie, I had to bring it up past the base of the arm hole, which means the mouth of the pocket is wider than the base. The removable velvet insert, then, is sized to fit the mouth of the pocket and there’s a bit of empty space on either side.
Another thing that’s common to the RTW versions seems to be that the removable insert zips into place. My purrticular assistant loves to chew on zipper pulls so I didn’t like this idea - instead, I used KAM snaps to attach the insert, and I hid them inside of deep fold-over hems so they’re completely hidden on the outside.
Base Pattern for your Cat Pocket Hoodie
The hoodie pattern I started with is a copy of a ten year old, much loved college sweatshirt. You can add a cat pocket to any pullover pattern, but there are a few things to keep in mind:
Choosing a cropped length, or cropping your pattern, will allow your cat to sit higher on your body, which will make it easier to walk while carrying them!
Choosing a loose-fitting garment that you can use a stable sweatshirt fabric for, rather than a fabric that has more stretch, will keep the sagging to a minimum. My sweatshirt fabric has 25% horizontal and 10% vertical stretch.
You probably don’t want to add hoodie drawstrings, unless you want your cat to play with them!
I’ve found a couple solid options for patterns that would work - but if you have another one that fits the bill, you can totally go for it!
MOOD fabrics Boxwood Hoodie - I would add ribbing instead of the folded hem, but this free pattern is a great foundation.
Sew House Seven Toaster: A great raglan option to use as a base - just be sure the opening for the kitty pocket is large enough.
Sew DIY Ali Sweatshirt - a great all-round option that includes the classic kangaroo pocket.
Just a note - I haven’t made any of these patterns - the recommendation to use them is based purely on fabric requirements (something with around 20% stretch) and the shape of the line drawings.
Supplies List
You will need:
Hoodie or sweatshirt pattern
Extra hoodie fabric - enough to just about cut a second ‘front’ pattern piece
KAM snaps and installation device (pliers or snap press) -you’ll need about 14 full sets
Pattern paper
Kitty Insert fabric - a non-stretch, cozy, washable fabric (more info on fabric choice in the Kitty Insert drafting section!)
Drafting the Cat Pocket - outer piece
This isn’t a complicated process at all, I promise! Grab the front pattern piece of your sweatshirt pattern, it’s the only one you’ll need. Lay it out on a fresh piece of pattern paper and trace around the entire piece - essentially, make a duplicate of the front pattern piece. If your pattern isn’t cropped, you’ll want to do this before you draft the pocket piece. You can crop it to the waistline if one is included on your pattern, or measure from your shoulder to waistline to determine how much length to remove.
We want the final size of the pocket to be somewhere around 13” tall, so measure up from the waistline 13” (plus a seam allowance at the bottom, if your pattern includes it) and draw a horizontal line across your pattern piece. This is the mouth of the pocket. Measure up another 1.5” and extend the original line with another horizontal line - this the wide hem allowance. Depending on where along the armscye the mouth of your pocket has landed, you may need to true up the edge so that when folded, the pattern piece lines up straight. If your pattern is snugger under the arms, you may not need to go up into the armscye, and this is totally fine as long as your cat is going to be high enough up on your body, and as long as the pocket is big enough to hold them!
Next - cut out the pattern piece! That’s all there is to it! Easy, wasn’t it?
Now. You’re going to need to use your judgement a bit here, depending on the size of your cat and the size of your hoodie. Theo is still growing and he’s above average weight for his age at 5kg, so I wanted as big of a pocket as possible, but I’m also a pretty small person - my usual US dress size is around a 2 or 4, I think. If you are worried that your cat pocket looks too wide for you, or for your cat, just draft it the same as above, but run a row of topstitching down either side so that the actual opening area is around 18” - easy!
Hot tip! Don’t make yours crooked like my silly little sketch :) I’ll learn how to use my drawing app properly one of these days..
Drafting the Cat Pocket - Kitty Insert
The main benefit of having a separate Kitty Insert is definitely washability - the pocket insert is the part your cat will touch, so it makes sense to be able to turn it inside out and wash it separately. In addition to this, it adds to the structure of the pocket: be sure to choose a fabric that is non-stretch for this part, or line it with something that isn’t stretchy so you can get that support!
Additionally, this allows you to choose something cozy that your cat will love to snuggle. I chose this soft polyester velvet because I know that Theo adores the feeling of velvet (don’t ask me how I know that, it’s a very long answer!) - and I knew he’d be more likely to see this pocket as a sleep area rather than a play area if I used velvet. RTW examples use faux shearling, you could also use fleece - I suggest choosing something that feels similar to the fabric your cat’s favourite bed is made from, or something you know they like.
To draft the pocket, we’re simply going to make a rectangle out of the pocket we drafted above. You’ll create a duplicate of that pattern piece, chop off anything that is wider than the armscye (or wider than your topstitching, if you followed the last paragraph of the above section) and add in some side seam allowances. I added enough to use french seams so that everything was neatly enclosed.
Sewing the Cat Pocket Hoodie
You’re done with the drafting! Congratulations! I’m going to assume you’re following your pattern instructions to sew your hoodie together, so this section only covers the sewing modifications specific to the cat pocket.
First, sew the Kitty Insert together (with french seams) and press the mouth opening 1/4” followed by 1 1/4” - don’t topstitch that closed just yet! Open the hem out and Measure out every 7cm or so, and install KAM snaps around the top edge of the opening. You want these to be centered within that 1 1/4” section - between the two crease lines you ironed. There are three very important things to keep in mind here:
Make sure all the KAM snaps you install on your kitty insert are the same type - either all “male” or all “female” - not a mix of both.
Make sure the business end of the snap is on the right side of the fabric - the cap will be enclosed in the hem.
Make sure that the snaps on the front and back of the kitty insert are identical in placement - this will allow you to insert the pocket in either direction when the hoodie is done, rather than having it only fit one way.
Next, prep the outer pocket: Press the mouth edge down 1/4” and then 1/14”, the same way you did for the insert. Measure every 7cm or so along the length of the mouth edge, and install a row of KAM snaps in the same manner you used for the insert - you can use the insert to help with alignment if you like. Make sure your snaps are all the same style, and all the opposite style of whatever you used for the insert!
Transfer markings - also using the insert as a guide - to the front pattern piece itself. At this stage, I cut a strip of the sweatshirt fabric and installed my row of KAM snaps through both layers for added durability - you could also use interfacing here. This is particularly fiddly if you’re using KAM pliers (I don’t own a snap press… yet!) but it’s definitely achievable!
Once all your snaps are installed, you can topstitch the folded hems for both the kitty insert and the outer pocket - hiding the caps of the KAM snaps neatly inside.
Note: I didn’t do this, but you may wish to add an elastic drawcord and toggle to the outer pocket - when worn, the pocket does hang open a bit, and a drawstring would definitely help snug it up. I quite like how it hangs open and Theo likes to rest his chin on the edge, but you could certainly add one if you like! To do this, stitch two buttonholes in the centre of the outer pocket and thread a drawcord through - securing it in each side seam.
Set your kitty insert aside for now - it’s all finished - and lay the outer pocket on top of your main sweatshirt front pattern piece. Baste the edges, making sure to stay inside the seam allowances, and add the two rows of topstitching if you chose to include them. From here, you’ll follow the construction for your sweatshirt as normal, catching the base of the pocket in the ribbing when you add it to the hem. That’s really all there is to it! Once you’re finished, just snap that insert into place and go find your kitty!
As an aside, I find the ‘cat gogurt’ style lick-able treat tubes really handy for Theo’s stay-in-place training. I give them to him in situations where I want him to do something/be somewhere, and they take a while to eat so if he wants the treat he can’t leave. Things like getting his feet wet in the bath for the first time, and learning to sit on my shoulder. If you feel like your cat might be unsure about the hoodie pocket, maybe pop a cat gogurt in that kangaroo pocket just in case!
Enjoy your Cat Pocket Hoodie, and please tag me on Instagram or Tiktok (I’m @kat.makes in both places!) if you make one - I’d love to see it!
If you enjoyed this tutorial and would like to show your appreciation, sharing on social media is a great free way to do that, but you can also buy me a kofi. Your support helps pay for blog hosting so I can continue to share tutorials, and proceeds from this post will also be going into the Theo-toy-making fund!
