I think he especially likes the soft bathrobe I wear at that time after my shower. It might feel like fur to him. He lies in my lap ofter during the day, but he only kneads my lap when I wear that robe.
My cat loved to knead me as well. He’d settle into my lap, bury his head in the crook of my elbow, and knead away. On occasion he might withdraw his head to regard me briefly with moist eyes, then tuck in his head and resume kneading, then fall asleep (and snore. Boy, did he snore).
K.C. - Krazy Kat - needs no one but has a fav soft baby blanket which she drags around the house. Several times a day she picks up a piece in her mouth and then there goes the four paws up and down for at least 30 minutes until I yell at her to stop it. Drives me crazy after a while. She was a sort of rescue kitten that we bottle fed for the first two weeks and I think she was taken away from her mom too early and not allowed to nurse long enough.