My sweet dog has been using the same dog bed since her birthday a year and a half ago. Needless to say, despite many washings and oxy-cleanings and such, it was gross-looking. Also, some holes had worn through the seams that attached the base to the “bumper.”
Zora deserved a new bed, and so did we (the old one did nothing for our decor!) so I set about to make her a super-comfortable one that would look nice in our living room.
The inside is made of two pillows that we already had. I just overlapped them a bit like this…
Maybe 4-6 inches of overlap.
And sewed the pillows together along that overlap. I just did it by hand because I didn’t want to wrestle with the puffiness near my sewing machine… Repeat this on the other side.
Then, just for kicks, I stitched a little bit in the center too, to help the two pillows stay attached to each other.
I did that on both sides, so the whole thing became like one big happy pillow.
Then I got my fabric, which in this case is one of our faded living room curtains we are replacing.
What you want is a piece of fabric long enough to wrap around the pillow with several inches of overlap.
I trimmed the fabric so that the curtain-tabs were removed and the excess width was also removed. Then it was time to start crafting the pillow case.
Fold up the un-hemmed overlapping edge (if you bought fabric, this will be BOTH edges… but since I was using a curtain, one was already hemmed for me) twice and pin it every couple inches. If you’re really good, you’ll iron this too, but I was okay with just pinning.
Then sew.
Lay it out again, wrapping tightly around the pillow, and overlapping the edges roughly in the middle. Exact measurements not necessary. At this point you want everything “inside out” so make sure the ugly side of your hems are facing up/out.
Pin one side closed, then slide the pillow out…
… and pin the other side closed. Then when you sew along the two long edges you just pinned, you’ll be able to turn the entire thing right-side-out.
Like this!
Close-up of the overlap. It’s like making a giant sandwich baggie. Or you may already have some pillow shams for your bed that have similar construction.
Stuff the pillow into the cover.
And flip it over.
And enjoy the way the new bed actually complements your decor instead of clashing with it.
While your sweet dog can enjoy the soft fluffiness of her new bed!
Note: That bone she has is the SAME bone in her birthday post from a year and a half ago. She still LOVES it. We put her to bed with it and in the morning the first thing she does when she comes out of her crate is go back in her crate to grab her bone. I don’t know why she loves it so much, but there it is.
Hi! I'm Emily. I'm a Navy wife and stay at home mom of two beautiful children. I cook simple, delicious, grain-free recipes, do crafts, decorate my home on a budget, and keep a happy household. I tandem breastfeed, babywear, cloth diaper, practice elimination communication, homebirth, and co-sleep, but I'm not a hippie.
I love this idea. My dog has been sleeping on the glider chair (she knows to stay off all furniture except the glider. Now that I am having a baby, I want my glider back. Going to run to the thrift shop and see if I can find a good piece of fabric and make one for her.
[...] making perfect sense in my head, but maybe I should just share the website that gave me this idea: http://www.joyfulabode.com/2010/06/06/how-to-make-a-dog-bed-step-by-step-with-photos/. The tutorial is great! I glanced at it for the pillow case idea. I knew that using actual pillows [...]
[...] wondered what to do with old pillows? This dog bed project from Joyful Abode seemed to be the perfect solution to my desire to recycle old pillows and provide comfort to my fur [...]
A great, easy project ! I have two dogs so I will definately make another one. The one I made turned out perfect.Thank you for sharing.
[...] for the pillows…overlap them a little bit and stitch them together. This website can walk you through that. I chose to do the zipper instead of the pocket method for no real reason [...]
[...] From Joyful Abode – having a removable cover makes cleaning a breeze when Fido forces a certain odor upon his [...]
[...] wondered what to do with old pillows? This dog bed project from Joyful Abode seemed to be the perfect solution to my desire to recycle old pillows and provide comfort to my fur [...]
Thank you so much for this REALLY IN-EXPENSIVE IDEA!!! I have a Great Dane with lots of pillows laying around.
I went looking for stuffing fo our foster dogs bed. It was expensive! So I went in to Big Lots store,they had pillows for $3.00 each. But I wasnt sure how I would “stick” them together. Thanx!
awesome! great idea. I’ll definitely be making one for my dog Lyla
I love this idea! i am definently going to make this for my boxor!
I really enjoy this dog bed and so does my dog. Thank you for such a good inspiration. My pup says thanks too!
That is a very nice thing to say. So i’ll say it too. thank you!
this sounds like a good idea, i’ll have to try it.
Zora deserved a new bed, and I set about to make her a super-comfortable one that would look nice in our living room.
I love these. Great idea I have been wanting to make pet beds to donate to my local humane society and this is a great cost effective way to do so.
Great bed for a precious doggie. She looks like a cross between our Maggie and her son Spot, both gone now.
Gee, I’m sorry. I know what it feels like to lose pets.
Thank you SOOOO much! I love this idea because I volunteer at the Randolph County Humane Society and I wanted an easy cheap way to make dog/cat beds. I am very pleased with this idea. I love it!!!😍😜😝😄
[...] was fairly easy actually… we got the instructions from http://www.joyfulabode.com/2010/06/06/how-to-make-a-dog-bed-step-by-step-with-photos/ and then added a few twists of our own, such as sewing on the decorative top. [...]
Thank you soooo much!!!! This is a perfect idea as I have toooo many pillows and my BIG dogs need a new bed too. What a wonderful idea!!!!!
World class services; I ll most certainly keep coming back to your website for further understanding.
Auburn Locksmiths
woww! you have brought up a very wonderful points ,thank you for the post. I love dogs
I am a little concerned about dust mites setting up shop in those bed pillows. Is dust mite proof fabric sole in sewing stores that could be sewn into a cover before the final fabric cover is put on the dog’s pillow?
What if you didn’t want that dip where the two pillows meet? How could you make it seem like one big pillow? Thank you.
If you overlap the pillows more, there won’t be as much of a dip. But then of course the final bed would be smaller, so you might want to use 3 pillows if you do that.
That said, my dog doesn’t seem to mind – she LOVES her bed still, 6 months later.
This is exactly what I was looking for. My pup chews so much, I figure I’m not going to invest in a nice bed for her yet. I figure a dog bed cover will be a great use for the multiple Snuggies I received last year for Xmas that are still in the box.
This is a great idea! All the beds we buy have cedar chips and some sort of batting. However, my dog REALLY loves to snuggle on the pillows on the couch. What an awesome alternative to keep him off the couch and still let him snuggle in pillow land!!! T
[...] Emily presents How To Make A Dog Bed [...]
That does look very nice, just needs to be somewhere warmer and your dog will be in heaven!
Love the bed. My dog, Shadow, looks very similar to Zora. I sewed a bed for Shadow but she was still such a puppy that she tore it apart. I think I’ll have to use your instructions above and sew her a new one. She 8 months now but pretty mellow for a puppy and I think the chewing phase is over.
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[...] pillows: Ikea inserts, Ikea fabric. I made the cases in the same manner as the dog bed cover. Except that instead of tri-folding the fabric, I actually cut 3 separate pieces (one for the [...]
I made one for my dog today as a small Sunday project. It turned out great and most importantly, she loves it!
Thanks for sharing the tutorial!!
This is great- I am going to adapt the idea a little to make big outdoor cushions for the back yard for the morrocan hareem look! If your dog is comfy then my husband will be too!!
well thanks for stopping by!
Hope your pets like their new beds if you decide to make some!
You're so welcome, and I'm glad you left me a comment to let me know you
liked this idea!
well thanks for stopping by!
Hope your pets like their new beds if you decide to make some!
Oh great! That's basically what we did – used older pillows we had already “upgraded from”… They're plenty fluffy and the dog seems to like them though!
Oh great! That's basically what we did – used older pillows we had already “upgraded from”… They're plenty fluffy and the dog seems to like them though!
I'm glad you liked the idea! And thank you so much for the link.
I'm glad you liked the idea! And thank you so much for the link.
This is one of the best ideas I have seen so far on making a dog bed economically. Thank you so much, I really like your blog.
Hello, I met you through Twitter. Very good tip to make this a comfortable bed for our pets.
I've been looking for a dog bed tutorial, and this couldn't come at a better time. This is absolutely genius! I'll be making for both of my boxers with old pillows, and getting new pillows for me and hubby. Recycle, reuse… Thanks so much!
Brilliant!!! The two-pillow stuffing is a great idea for making a larger sized bed! I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-make-a-l…
–Anne