TacoCat

Are you ever looking for a new toy for your cat but find all of them boring and ugly? By following along with this instructable i will help you make this awesome TacoCat play tube. I made mine to fit my parents cat Flip, but you could always scale this taco to fit your pet. Like a really small one for a mouse or a big one for a large dog. Please let me know if you made one yourself and if your pet liked it as much as my cat did.

Thanks in advance and i hope you like my instructable. Made for the Instructable Pet Contest.

Supplies

These are the parts you will be needing to make the same size taco i made for my cat. I used synthetic felt because it was a fabric my cat really likes but also because it is cheap, colorful, strong and easy to work with. I made my taco about 66cm*45cm*22cm large.
I hope you like my instructable and if you made one yourself please let me know what you thought of it and if your pet likes it as much as my cat does. I have made this Instructable for the Pet Contest, please consider voting for me.

You will need:

Materials:

1 taco shell. Orange/yellow synthetic felt about 101cm*66cm large.

1 extra ring from the same orange/yellow felt around 5cm wide to inclose a plastic tube which will be used to keep the taco in its shape. I cut my ring from 4 pieces to better fit my felt sheet.

1 taco filling from brown synthetic felt about 19cm*90cm. This will be used to sew the lettuce and tomato to.

10-14 pieces of lettuce made from green synthetic felt each around 12cm*12cm wide. To add some character to your taco you can make the lettuce each a bit different.

4-5 pieces of tomato made from red synthetic felt each around 10cm*20cm wide.

2 divisible zippers each 90cm long. Mine are brown to fit the taco filling.

1 sturdy plastic tube 5mm in diameter and about 6 meters long. But the length really depends on the diameter of the tube.

A lot of sewing thread.

Step 1: Step 1: the Taco Shell

To make the taco shell we start by preparing the parts.

You’ll need 1 large piece of orange/yellow felt of 101cm*66cm large with rounded corners. This makes a oval with a diameter of 66cm and 2 straight edges of 35cm long.

Next you will have to make a ring from the same felt to later inclose a plastic tube in to. I cut mine form 4 separate pieces to reduce in material but this does leave some gaps in between them. I made my ring 5cm wide but that depends on the size of your tube.

Last you will need the plastic tube and zippers. Start by sewing the outside edges of the felt shell and the ring pieces together. I used yellow thread to better disguise the seem. Next lay your plastic tube in the pocket you have just created and secure it with pins. The next pass with the sewing machine will be connecting the inside edge of the felt ring with the felt shell trapping the plastic tube inside. If you are not to familiar with a sewing machine i would suggest first sewing these parts together before adding the zipper on top. But i know it is possible if you take your time to attach all parts at the same time. Make sure to put the zipper the right way on the taco!

Step 2: Step 2: Taco Filling

For the taco filling we’ll first start again by preparing the parts.

You’ll need the large brown felt taco filling piece of 19cm*90cm, the lettuce and tomato pieces and the other ends of both zippers. You could cut a half circle out of the short sides of the brown piece if you want your final hole to be perfectly round but i chose not to do this because it leaves a weird edge were the zipper meets the end of the felt.

Start by sewing the zippers to the 2 long edges of the brown taco filling piece. Be really careful about the orientation and maybe test fit everything before sewing. After you have sown the zippers to the felt you can add the lettuce and tomato pieces to the other side. Try randomizing the pieces as best as possible were all of the pieces hang downwards except for the bottom row. these should point upwards.

Step 3: Step 3: Assembly and Testing

The last step in this process is assembly of the 2 pieces by zipping them together and testing it with your pet.

My cat is one of those “Sleep all day, party never” cats who are looking for the mythical 25th hour in the day to sleep some more. but for some reason he absolutely loves the heck out of this taco. He gets all playful and starts running around in it. That's why i made this instructable, for other other pet owners who like there pet but hate the look of most pet toys.

I hope you liked my instructable of this TacoCat play tube and if you did please concider voting for me in the Instructable Pet constest.

Thank you very much!