Tube Buddy: Hoodie Kitty

A chibi kitty, 3⅛ in tall, made from one paper tube: a girl in a hoodie with cat ears on the hood, spotted like a calico cat. The ears form on their own — you push the top of the tube in at the back and front. The arms and tail are small pieces.

• Easy
• 1 tube
• 3 small pieces
• 2 Letter sheets

Make it with your phone cameraLesson code: 3238

On VanGami the template appears over your sheet through your phone camera — no printer needed. Trace it, cut, fold and glue. Below are all the steps in text.

What you’ll need

• 2 Letter sheets — office paper, 80 gsm (20 lb)
• Markers
• Pencil — and eraser
• Scissors — small
• Glue stick — or PVA glue
• Glass — phone stand

Steps

Trace

1. Sturdy sheet from two. Apply glue stick over the whole surface of a sheet of printer paper, press a second sheet onto it, and smooth with your palm from the middle to the edges. You'll get a thick sheet — work on that one. Put it back in the same spot, edge to edge; don't move the phone.
2. Strip: outline. Trace the strip with the tab above the middle in a solid line — you’ll cut along this line.
3. Strip: ear arcs. The dashed arcs at the top are the ear folds. Trace them pressing hard: the top will then fold evenly along the scored line. Don’t cut along them.
4. Strip: drawing. Copy in thin lines: the face inside the hood trim, the bangs, eyes, spots, the pocket with a paw, the drawstrings with bells, the shoes, and the inner ears. Extend the spots by the ears to the top edge: above the arcs is the top of the head, and it shows from above. Don’t draw on the white area on the left — it goes under the seam.
5. Small parts: outlines. Trace the two arms and the tail with its tab in a solid line.
6. Small parts: fold lines. The fold lines are dash-dot lines: these are valley folds. Don’t cut along them.
7. Small parts: drawing. On the arms: a cuff and a paw with little toes. On the tail: two stripes and a white tip.

Color

8. Color: strip. The hoodie stays white. Patches with the orange ear and the orange patches on the side and back, the hood trim, and the drawstrings — orange; patches with the other ear and on the right side, the bangs, and the shoes — brown; eyes — green; ear centers, blush, and the paw — pink; the bells — yellow. Leave a narrow white stripe along the dashed arcs, and outline the contours, pupils, and lashes in black.
9. Color: small parts. Tail — orange, its stripes — brown, tip white. Cuffs — orange; the sleeves and paws stay white. Don’t color the tail tab. Outlines — black.

Cut

10. Cut out: strip. Cut out the strip together with the tab above the face. Cut into the corners by the tab from both sides.
11. Cut out: small pieces — 3 pcs. Cut out the two arms and the tail together with the tail’s tab.
12. Back of the tail. Flip the tail and color its back orange: it’s visible from both sides. Don’t color the tab.

Roll

13. Roll the tube. Apply glue to the white area on the left. Roll the strip with the drawing facing out and lay the right edge over that area, up to the line. Press the seam for 10 seconds.

Fold

14. Ears: top at the back. Turn the tube with the seam facing you. Press your finger on the top edge above the seam: it will dent inward along the scored arc, and the ear tips will pop up at the sides.
15. Ears: top at the front. Turn the kitty to face you. Apply glue to the tab above the face, on its back side, inside the tube, and push in the front of the top the same way: the tab will lie on top of the back half.

Assemble

16. Arms. Apply glue to the back of the sleeve from the shoulder to the cuff; don’t glue the paw. Glue one arm to the left side, paw down toward the pocket, and the other to the right side, paw up toward the cheek: the kitty is waving.
17. Tail. Fold the tail tab toward you along the dash-dot line, apply glue to its back, and glue it to the back on the left, right at the bottom. The tail sticks out backward and curls up.

Check

18. Stand it on the table. Stand the kitty on the table: she stays up on her own. Turn her all the way around: the ears are sharp, and the seam and tail are at the back.

Done. The kitty is done. Let the glue dry for 10 minutes — then you can put her on a shelf.

Make it with your phone camera

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