Crochet'ers - need help (buy, stitch, making, patterns)

[Giesela]

I'm not a crochet'er or knitter. But I want to make simple rectangle cat pads/mats for the feral cat that lives in a box on my patio. I bought some all wool #4 yarn and a K crochet hook.

Since I couldn't find a thick all wool I thought I'd double the strands.

Any help with

1) instructional videos on the internet - a woman at the store mentioned a yarn...B something whose website she thought had good ones but I can't remember the name.

2) recommendations of a good for this purpose stitch that is really truly easy to figure out and do (I am really bad at figuring out spatial things and directions).
I thought, and still may, do a.....regular? straight? plain? stitch but thought I'd ask if there was something else that
(a) would be warmer and (b) may be less likely to snag.

Last, the yarn available, Lion Fishermen's wool, says perfect for felting. Does this mean I should make my rectangle bigger and wash it so it tightens to a tighter mat? Some air pockets sometimes mean warmer, not sure which way to go here.

Thanks!

[stonecypher5413]

Here's a simple rectangle pattern for a place mat that would work well as your "cat mat."

Crochet Spot » Blog Archive » Crochet Pattern: Basic Rectangle Placemat - Crochet Patterns, Tutorials and News

If you are uncomfortable with the half-double crochet stitch, just substitute single crochet until it's the size you want on 42 chains. You can edge with single crochet around the entire piece if you want, or just leave it as is.

I wouldn't fool with felting unless you're certain you can live with shrinkage making the mat smaller than you want.

You can also make TWO of these mats if you want something really warm -- just stitch them together with single crochet or whip-stitch.

[chicagojlo]

I like lionbrandyarn.com for patterns and instructional videos and tutorials. I taught myself to knit and crochet using this site.

[Mercury Cougar]

If you just want to felt some mats, simply buy some heavy wool yardage, and throw it in your washer then dryer. It will felt up in the dryer, and then you can cut it to size. You can even do this with a wool sweater you no longer want, or go to a thrift store, buy a wool sweater or two for a couple bucks, and wash/dry them to felt.