My beautiful Lady and her beautiful bed!
 |
| She curled up and fell asleep only a few minutes after I finished making the bed |
Why make your own dog bed?
When my sister and I adopted Lady- our wonderful 8 year old Blue Heeler/Pointer mix- 2 months ago, I knew I wanted to make or use resale items as much as possible for her. I try to buy as few store-bought things for myself, so why not do the same for my dog? If you're not particularly opposed to buying-new, however, there are several practical reasons to make your own bed:
Customized: Make it the exact size, color and fabric you want. Mine matches my bedspread!
Cheap: I used 2 old pillow shams and bed pillows that I didn't need. A pack of pillows from the store costs less than $4 but you probably already have old pillows laying around anyway!
Washable: Since the bed is really just a big pillow case, you can machine wash it.
Semi-disposable: If you have a dog that rips everything to shreds why waste money on store-bought beds? Just use all pillow cases, bed sheets or even tablecloths and make a cover. If it gets ruined, make a new one!
Easy: How easy? Read below!
Making your own dog bed:
If you have sewn a lot before, this project is a walk in the park. But even if you don't sew much, this is a great beginning project because you can do it however you want and it doesn't require much attention to detail (it is for a dog, after all). Even if you don't have the same materials I started out with or you don't understand my very vague directions, basically, sew 2 pieces of fabric together and stuff it! I'm sure your pup won't complain...
Making your own dog bed:
If you have sewn a lot before, this project is a walk in the park. But even if you don't sew much, this is a great beginning project because you can do it however you want and it doesn't require much attention to detail (it is for a dog, after all). Even if you don't have the same materials I started out with or you don't understand my very vague directions, basically, sew 2 pieces of fabric together and stuff it! I'm sure your pup won't complain...
What I used:
2 pillow shams (left from the previous resident and that match my bedspread!), 2 old bed pillows (less than $4 at any department store), my sewing machine and my dog (as a tester).
 |
| A very tired puppy waiting for her bed... |
The Process:
I didn't get any step-by-step photos for this one and it's relatively hard to explain (though not hard to do) so I'll just lay out the basics. I cut off one edge of the long side of each sham and sewed the tops, bottoms and edges together SEPARATELY. If you don't sew each part separately, you will basically end up with two sew-together rectangles and your dog won't be very comfy...
That's it. The complications come in the details though, as sewing each part separately can be pretty difficult with a machine depending on the weight and weave of the fabric you're using. That's why it's fine to do it however works best for you!
Enjoy!
 |
| Lady still using her bed 2 months later, as I type! |
No comments:
Post a Comment