Spiffy DIY Dog Bed

By Tiffany - Saturday, April 11, 2015

I made a new bed and crate liner for my new puppy. It turned out pretty well, so I though I would share what I did with everyone.

Above is the finished bed. Recognize the fabric? It was the fabric I bought for my Spring Minoru and ended up not using. One good thing about projects like these, is that you can often use things you find in your stash.

My puppies current bed is too small for him. When he is sprawled out, only half of his body is actually on the bed. So, a new bed was a must.

I measured his crate (which is where he sleeps at night) and the floor was 11" x 20". I also knew that I wanted the sides to come up about 5". I used a 1/2" seam allowance and cut the following pieces:

12" x 21" out of the inside (flannel) and outside (cotton twill) fabric
Two 6" x 21" side pieces out of the outside fabric and two 6.75" x 21" of the lining fabric (the inside pieces are made 3/4" taller)
One 3" x 12" front piece out of the outside fabric and one 3.75" x 12" of the lining
One 6" x 12" back piece out of the outside fabric and one 6.75" x 12" of the lining

This is what the side, front, and back pieces look like:

I sewed the seams of the outside side pieces all together, but left one seam open (seen in the picture above). This allowed my to use it as a template to cut out some quilt batting. I also used one of the bottom pieces to do the same. I cut two layers of batting for the bottom to make it extra comfy.

Once you have cut your batting, you can go back to your side pieces and sew all the seams together. You should end up with two loops of fabric - one for the inside and one for the outside.

I didn't take a picture of it, but next you would sew the top seam of the two loops and the batting together. Then, you can stitch in the ditch along the corner seams to make defined corners. Make sure the bottom edges are even as you do this.

You should now have something that looks like a loop with four pockets. Add some batting - enough to make nice side pillows, but not so much that the next few steps become too hard.

Baste the bottom edges together. You should now have something that looks like a dog bed without a bottom.

Pin and then baste the outside bottom piece to the sides.

With the pillow side up, sew the bottom lining piece to the bed. Make sure to leave an opening that you can pull everything through. Below is my bed pinned together before sewing.

Before you flip it right-side out, baste the batting to the bed. If everything is now too thick for you to do this, you can add the batting after, you just might not be able to get it in the corners as easily.

Trim the excess seam allowance and flip right-side out. All you have left to do now is sew up the hole. I hand stitched mine closed.

That's it! You should now have a dog bed. Here is the bed in the crate. (And, yes, in case you are wondering - I was crazy enough to pattern match my plaid. Like my dog would notice...).