Diy Pet Care: How To Make A Pet Bed

Instructions for cutting and stitching a pet bed. Alternative ideas for making a bed from pillowcases and other recyclables.

Dogs love comfort and if they don't find it anywhere else, they'll find it in your bed or on your furniture. Get rid of pet fur on the furnishings forever by making your dog his own comfy bed. Choose a cotton fabric, or linen, flannel, corduroy or most any fabric except double knits, silks, and such. Pre-shrink any fabric except vinyl. If you want, you can make the bed from a warm fabric on one side, then something cool, like vinyl, on the other side. The bed can be flipped over, to offer coolness or warmth, depending upon the season. Make the pattern depending upon the size of your dog. The pattern can be square, rectangular, round or oval, but make it an appropriate size for your dog. The pattern needs to be much smaller if it's for a cat. You can use something from around the house for a pattern, like a piece of cardboard or a round table. Cut two pieces of fabric, and with right sides together, sew around it, leaving a 6" opening for stuffing the cushion. You can make the bed a little fancier by adding a welt cord to the seam. Cover the cord in the chosen fabric and sew it on. Sew the cord around the perimeter of the first piece of cloth, align the second piece and sew it on. Get as close to the welt as possible by using a welt foot or a zipper foot.

You can stuff the cushion with foam pieces, cotton, pillow stuffing, old sheets, deer corn, rice or beans. The foam, cotton, sheets or pillow stuffing will make a lightweight bed, the deer corn, rice or beans will make a much heavier bed, but use what you have. Stuff the bed until it is very full, but not overly stuffed. Pin the opening shut and lay the bed on the floor. Feel to see if it is full enough - remember, when the pet lays on it, the stuffing will squash down somewhat, and after some time, quite a lot. After stuffing, sew the opening shut with machine or needle and thread. If you've inserted welt into the bed seam, you'll have to first attach the welt to one side of the fabric. Stuff the cushion, then sew shut by pulling the fabric up next to the welt and stitching.

Cut two more shapes from a very lightweight cloth to use for a removable, washable bed cover. Cut the shapes 1" large on each side than the bed. Pin a zipper into one section of the cover. If it's a round cover, measure a 12" place at the seam. For square or rectangular beds, use one short end to install the zipper. Attach zipper foot to machine and sew zipper in. Remove from machine and turn. Place over the bed and zip shut. Whenever it's time for laundering, simply unzip and throw in the washer. You can also wash the pet bed, but not if you used deer corn, beans or rice as the stuffing.

An even easier way to make a pet bed, but only for a small dog is to stuff a pillowcase and sew it shut. This makes a perfect bed for a dog that's not too large. You can use other recyclables for making the pet bed, like the skirt from a floor-length dress, two baby receiving blankets, or an old cushion slipcover. You can even cut the sleeves from a jacket, sew them shut and zip or button the jacket closed. Then sew the neckline shut, stuff the jacket, flip it over, zipper side down, and say good night to pooch.

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