Talented embroidery artist Hiroko Kubota never intended for her handmade “pets in pockets” to go viral, but it’s easy to see why it has. Her first project began while hand-threading her son’s clothes and he asked if an image of a famous internet cat could be sewn onto his shirt. Kubota put a few shirts with cats on her Etsy page and quickly took note of the positive attention they were getting. Her shirt designs became an overnight sensation, much like the internet cats she’d use as models for her stitches.
Now, Kubota has graduated from embroidering only cats—she includes dogs, as well! Her latest series creatively showcases the small animals’s faces as they poke shyly over the edge of an existing shirt pocket. The stitching is impressively detailed, with many layers to mimic fur. Reviews on her Etsy page rave about the lifelike quality of Kubota’s work: “…it looks 3D. I love the eyes the most, they look watery, I mean real! The nose, ears, even whiskers are in so much detail, the embroidery looks exactly like the kitten in my pocket!” If you always dreamed of tucking your sweet furry friend into your pocket, Kubota’s creations are the purrfect solution. And, as luck would have it, Kubota now takes custom orders. By sending in a photo of your pet, she can transform a plain shirt into a sentimental one with a pocketful of your beloved companion.
Make a request for your own embroidered pocket pet through Kubota’s shop on Etsy, ShopGoGo5.
Hiroko Kubota: Etsy | Flickr
via [Colossal]
All images via Hiroko Kubota.