Pretty Kitty, oops, I should say Jaguar

[FrankEV]

Sorry, this is a long story.

I found this free SVG pattern of this Jaguar on a website called www.craftsmanspace.com and it was specifically stated as a scroll saw pattern.   I’m including a photo file of the presented finished product as shown on the website for you to look at very carefully.  If you study the photo you will see that there are many parts of the pattern that are “islands” (eyes, whiskers, fuzzy chin, area above the neck and lower right area).  I really do not think this should be touted as a scroll saw pattern, but I liked the image and I decided to try to make it usable.

The original SVG pattern was positioned within an A4 border,and when printed, a lot of the cut lines were touching.  Many of the cut areas were shown with very wiggly edges (I presume to depict fur). Even when resized and repositioned to suit an 11X14 panel, the pattern is filled with extremely  small details that were even smaller that the width of a Pegas 2/0 spiral blade, which I used to cut the panel.

Before attempting to use the pattern I spent a lot of hours in Inkscape reworking the pattern to add bridges between “islands” where I could and slightly modifying the pattern.  I did not try to add bridges to the eyes and had to glue them to the backer individually.   I also added a 1/4” wide perimeter frame as part of the cut panel to allow the panel to lay properly when framed.

Using the modified pattern, I cut 1/8” BB Plywood and applied it to a 1/4” BB Plywood backer painted black.  After cutting the panel is very flimsy and I had to use a lot of painter tape to hold the cut area together while sanding and staining.  Boy of boy, those whiskers were not easy to cut!!!

So, following the original photo, I selectively bleached and stained the cut panel.  I used Minwax Natural stain tinted with a little orange and brown oil based paint.  The eyes are painted with Acrylic craft paint.  The 1/4” perimeter cut frame was painted black so it would not be seen under the frame.  The panel was finished with spray Lacquer.

Again, like I have done before, I made a simple poplar frame and painted it with rattle can Black gloss spray to maintain the illusion of the Pretty Kitty emerging from the darkness. Here is my finished product.   Anyone wanting my modified pattern, feel free to message me.

Edited December 2, 2020 by FrankEV

[Scrappile]

Beautiful job, Frank.  Love the way you colored it also...

[smayne]

Great job. Frank

[Rockytime]

Wonderfully done. I especially like the way you finished it, the eyes and the colored tint.

[meflick]

What a beautiful piece you crafted.

[wombatie]

That is a lot of work for a free pattern.    But the end result was worth it.  Well done.

Marg

[Woodrush]

12 hours ago, FrankEV said:

Sorry, this is a long story.

I found this free SVG pattern of this Jaguar on a website called www.craftsmanspace.com and it was specifically stated as a scroll saw pattern.   I’m including a photo file of the presented finished product as shown on the website for you to look at very carefully.  If you study the photo you will see that there are many parts of the pattern that are “islands” (eyes, whiskers, fuzzy chin, area above the neck and lower right area).  I really do not think this should be touted as a scroll saw pattern, but I liked the image and I decided to try to make it usable.

The original SVG pattern was positioned within an A4 border,and when printed, a lot of the cut lines were touching.  Many of the cut areas were shown with very wiggly edges (I presume to depict fur). Even when resized and repositioned to suit an 11X14 panel, the pattern is filled with extremely  small details that were even smaller that the width of a Pegas 2/0 spiral blade, which I used to cut the panel.

Before attempting to use the pattern I spent a lot of hours in Inkscape reworking the pattern to add bridges between “islands” where I could and slightly modifying the pattern.  I did not try to add bridges to the eyes and had to glue them to the backer individually.   I also added a 1/4” wide perimeter frame as part of the cut panel to allow the panel to lay properly when framed.

Using the modified pattern, I cut 1/8” BB Plywood and applied it to a 1/4” BB Plywood backer painted black.  After cutting the panel is very flimsy and I had to use a lot of painter tape to hold the cut area together while sanding and staining.  Boy of boy, those whiskers were not easy to cut!!!

So, following the original photo, I selectively bleached and stained the cut panel.  I used Minwax Natural stain tinted with a little orange and brown oil based paint.  The eyes are painted with Acrylic craft paint.  The 1/4” perimeter cut frame was painted black so it would not be seen under the frame.  The panel was finished with spray Lacquer.

Again, like I have done before, I made a simple poplar frame and painted it with rattle can Black gloss spray to maintain the illusion of the Pretty Kitty emerging from the darkness. Here is my finished product.   Anyone wanting my modified pattern, feel free to message me.

Gorgeous

[daveww1]

fantastic job

[spirithorse]

Fantastic job, Frank!
You really did a marvelous job on cutting, framing, and tinting this project.
Thanks for sharing and God Bless! Spirithorse

[Roberta Moreton]

Beautiful!

[Charlie E]

You did a great job with that!

[amazingkevin]

Great mate no complaint!!!! So your adept at producing patterns?

[FrankEV]

1 hour ago, amazingkevin said:

Great mate no complaint!!!! So your adept at producing patterns?

NO, wish I was.  Just learning enough to make some minor changes when needed.