If you're crazy like me, and would rather shop for your dog than yourself, then you know that it is easy to spend a small fortune on dog treats, toys, clothes and food. I have spent so much time and money spoiling my puppy that it is embarrassing, but Suzie needed a dog bed and I wasn't about to deny her of the comfort she deserves. Like I said, I am crazy.
Dog beds are ridiculously expensive if you have a dog over 10 pounds, and even in my craziness I have to draw the line somewhere when I spend money on animals. So, with a little inspiration from Molly Mutt and some old laundry bags from my summer camp days, I was able to craft these adorable dog beds for my adorable dog.
I helped my mom clean out all of my stuff from their garage, and I found several canvas laundry bags and a mesh laundry bag that I used at summer camp. Given the purging mood I was in that day, I could have just thrown them out with the other Goodwill stuff, but I thought they were too cute not to be repurposed.
After Christmas, I learned how to use my sewing machine to make t-shirt quilts (after I salvaged a bunch of those from the garage as well), so I took my newfound ability to sew in a straight line and I applied it to making some dog beds.
First I cut the laundry bags along the seams, making the top and bottom panels of the beds. Then I cut strips of upholstery fabric in 5.5" widths. These strips served as the sides of the beds. The upholstery fabric was my only expense, and it was on sale for $5/yd. After I sewed all the pieces together, and rigged up the corner to look presentable, I sewed a zipper (acquired for free after an afternoon in the Van Buren, AR quilt shop) in one of the seams on the short side.
The zipper was super difficult, and I probably shouldn't have picked a coat zipper that comes apart over a sturdy dress/pillow zipper that will stay stuck together at the bottom. Either way, it is just a dog bed, and if your dog is like Suzie, then she will just eventually tear it up to bury her ball in it anyway.
After all of your pieces are sewn together, and the zipper is sewn in along the seam, you are essentially left with a zippered pillow case that you can fill with whatever you have lying around the house. I used my mesh laundry bag as a catch all for all the pieces inside the floral dog bed shell, so I threw sewing scraps, old t-shirts, sweat shirts and towels in there and placed it inside the shell, fluffed it around, and voila! Extra cheap dog bed for one precious pup.
For filling, you could even use old pillows or those knitting projects that just didn't quite turn out as you hoped. I threw an afghan in there I made out of homespun cotton candy pink yarn -- God I was tired of looking at that pink beast. The best part about these beds is that if they are soiled, you can open them up, take them apart and wash every piece of it -- very hygienic for you and your doggy. Check out how much Suzie loves her new beds!
No comments:
Post a Comment