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herb creations: crochet a catnip-filled fish toy for your kitty

My two fat kitties go gaga over catnip. This relative of the mint family is another herb that I plant, and it tends to grow wild in my yard, too. I keep it to attract the bees to my garden (it’s great for pollination) and to make my kitties happy. I harvest the plants over the summer, tie the roots together with string and let them hang upside down to dry. Then I strip the dried leaves and buds for homemade catnip toys.

This cute little fish is quick to stitch up with your leftover yarn stash. It makes up pretty fast, so put together several and make all your feline friends delirious with delight. Meow.

what you will need:

  • A small ball of yarn
  • Size G crochet hook or your favorite one (the smaller the hook, the tighter the crochet)
  • Polyester batting pieces (I used the leftover batting from my quilt projects)
  • A couple of teaspoons of dried catnip
  • Scissors or a yarn cutter
  • Yarn needle (optional)

what you will need TO DO:

SC = Single Crochet
SC2TOG= Single Crochet 2 stitches together
SL ST- Slip Stitch
HC= Half Crochet
DC= Double Crochet

Create a magic circle. See my post on making an amigurumi ball for more information.

5 SC in the circle. Pull or work the yarn tail from the magic circle to tighten the loop of stitches to be the foundation of your fish. Remember, you will be stitching around and around.

Round1/R1: 2 SC in next stitch, SC, 2 SC in next stitch, SC, 2 SC in next  stitch (8)
R2: SC in every stitch (8)
R3: (SC in next stitch, 2 SC in next stitch)* rep around (12)
R4: (SC in next stitch, SC in next stitch, 2 SC in next stitch)* rep around (16)
R5: (SC in next stitch, SC in next stitch, SC in next stitch, 2 SC in next stitch)* rep around (20)
R6: SC in every stitch (20)
R7-8: Repeat round 6 (20)
R9: (SC in next stitch, SC in next stitch, SC in next stitch, SC2TOG in next stitch)* rep around (16)
R10: (SC in next stitch, SC in next stitch, SC2TOG in next stitch)* rep around (12)
R11: (SC in next stitch, SC2TOG in next stitch)* rep around (8) Now is the time to fill the fish with your stuffing.  Take a piece of batting and roll it around 2 teaspoons of catnip and carefully stuff it into the fish body.  Add additional fiberfill to fill out the fish.

Make the fins
Chain 10
SL ST in 2nd chain from end
SL ST in 3rd chain from end
Keep working back towards body.
HC, 4 DC, HC until you get back to the body
Press body together and SC through both stitch loops across from each other 3 times
SC in last stitch
Chain 10
SL ST in 2nd chain from end
SL ST in 3rd chain from end
Keep working back towards body.
HC, 4 DC, HC until you get back to the body

Finish
SL ST to middle of fins and pull the thread through and snug it up to finish off the fish. Trim the yarn and pull the loose end into your toy to hide it.

If you don’t have any catnip, you can add a jingle bell inside instead.

For other toy ideas, check out my previous blog posts for the amigurumi small round ball and the amigurumi octopus — these would also make great catnip toys.

What do you do with your leftover yarn? Do you have any go-to small projects?