Even for such a sociable animal as a dog, a place for solitude is required. Therefore, as soon as a pet appears in the house, the first thing to do is to provide for it not only a feeding place, but also its own corner for sleeping. You can make a dog bed with your own hands from a piece of dense fabric, an old mattress or an out-of-fashion sweater.
Content:
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Key points to consider
Types of beds
To make your pet cozy and comfortable on the lounger, think over every little thing when sewing it:
- The fabric for the bed should be dense enough, otherwise the claws of the animal will quickly render it unusable. It should be easy to wash and dry quickly.
- For smooth-haired breeds, it is better to choose a fleecy material, for example, plush or velor. Dogs with thick coats will be more comfortable sleeping in durable cotton, linen, tapestry or denim. A large animal will be quite comfortable on a carpet product. It is hardly worth making a bedding for a decorative breed dog from this rough material.
- Synthetic fabric is not recommended. It is able to accumulate static electricity, plus it can provoke the development of allergies.
- Watch how your pet sleeps and try to make the bed that is most comfortable for him. Large breeds like to rest with their paws stretched forward, so make a sleeping place for them rectangular, with small sides. A small dog can make a cozy couch by raising the sides higher or make a foam house for such an animal
- As stuffing it is allowed to use foam rubber, synthetic winterizer, batting. Down or feather filling is not the best idea. After all, they can become a breeding ground for parasites and a place for accumulation of microbes.
- The animal will definitely pay attention to any hanging things, so there is no need to decorate its house with bows and beads. There is a high chance that the dog will chew them off and then swallow them.
- Immediately decide where your pet will rest. Choose for these purposes a corner that is as protected from drafts as possible. In the future, it is highly undesirable to move the litter from place to place.
- Small dog breeds often get cold even at home. Sleeping place for them is better to arrange on a small stand
- Animal housing should not be located in a passageway
- Make sure your pet can see you while resting. Believe me, this is very important to him.
- Be sure to periodically treat the litter with antiparasitic agents
It is better to put a removable pillow or bedding in the bed for the animal. In this case, at any time you can easily wash them. You can make a pair of removable pillows from the same or contrasting fabric.
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Square bed with sides
Of course, you can buy a dog bed at your nearest pet store or online store. But it's still better to make it yourself. In this case, you can not only choose the color of the material that matches the interior of the room perfectly, but also make the product exactly according to the size of the animal.
Structurally, a square bed is quite simple, and you will need a minimum of time to make it. Products with sides that serve to protect against drafts are more comfortable and are used more often.
Required Materials
Bed with sides
So, we present you a master class on the phased production of a bed for a dog or cats.
You will need:
- dense fabric: for a small dog, it is enough to pick up a piece of material measuring 1.0x0.8 m or a little more
- foam rubber or synthetic winterizer for stuffing
- pattern paper: if you want to get a neat product exactly according to the size of the animal, you should not rely on chance and cut out the product “by eye”
- Ruler and pencil to build a pattern on paper, as well as chalk or bar of dry soap for transferring details to fabric
- scissors for cutting
- enough thick thread and sewing machine or regular needle for sewing
Most fabrics shrink after washing. Therefore, it makes sense to pre-soak the fabric, dry it, iron it, and only then proceed to sewing. Otherwise, the stuffing in the sown cover will be collected in lumps.
pattern making
Sample pattern
We proceed to the most important stage of work - I will open:
- First you need to decide on the size of the couch. Its length should be equal to the length of the animal with its front legs extended.
- You will need to cut out two pieces. They will have the shape of a square (see photo) with sides adjacent to it. Don't forget to leave seam allowances. Make them a little bigger, at least 2-3 cm
- If you plan to insert an elastic band along the edge of the lounger, measure another 3-4 cm along the edges of the sides to hem
- We lay out the paper for the pattern, with the help of a pencil and a ruler, we draw on it the outline of the details.
- We call our dog and put it on the workpiece, checking if we made a mistake in size
- If the size of the future product suits us completely, we apply the pattern to the fabric, outline it with chalk
- Cut out both blanks with scissors
We sew the product
Sewing a square bed
To make the bed last longer, and the edges of the fabric do not crumble, process the edges of the blanks with an overlocker. Let's start sewing:
- The dog bed will turn out to be more accurate if you are not too lazy and first fasten the seams with straight stitches with a regular needle, and only then proceed to sewing
- When connecting parts, be sure to leave room for inserting foam rubber or synthetic winterizer
- After inserting into the bottom and sides of the filler, we finally sew up the edges of the product
- We make an entrance by pulling the center of one of the sides with a strip of fabric. Although the entrance hole can be cut out in advance
- If desired, we insert an elastic band into the edges of the sides into a pre-prepared bend
- You can also fasten the sides together using thin strips of fabric or braid (see photo). They will need 8 pieces - one for each edge of the board. Just keep in mind that most dogs really like to ruffle the strings and laces that caught their eye with their teeth. It is possible that such a mount will eventually become unusable.
The sides of the bed for a large animal are best assembled from several pads. Due to the greater number of seams, they will turn out to be stronger and less caking.
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Bed-house
Pattern of a bed-house
For a small dog, a sense of security is very important. Therefore, a sleeping place in the form of a house for him will be an ideal option.
Let's describe in detail how to sew a dog bed in the form of a house:
- The length of the product must be equal to the length of the animal plus 10 cm
- The width of the entrance (manhole) to the house is wider than the chest of the animal plus 5 cm
- The animal must be placed in its home in full growth. Therefore, also measure the height of the pet to the withers. This will be the height of the walls (the height of the roof is not taken into account). It is better to make a house without a sloping roof a little higher - so that its height is equal to the height of the dog to the tips of the ears
- When cutting, do not forget to set aside 2-3 cm on the sides for a seam allowance
- Walls, floor, roof and ceiling can be made from a single piece of fabric of a suitable size (see photo of the pattern). The back and front wall with the entrance are cut out separately
- Cut out two rectangles of the same size and sew them together
- Mark and stitch the lines delimiting the roof from the wall, the wall from the floor, etc. Be sure to leave a small space for stuffing them with filler
- Insert foam rubber into each of the received compartments, and then sew up these holes
At first, the pet may be wary of the bed-house. To help him get used to his new home faster, put a treat or favorite toy inside.
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Bed for a dog from an old sweater
If your house has an old sweater made of thick knitwear (a sweatshirt is ideal), you can also sew an inexpensive bed for your dog from it. Such a bedding will be especially dear to your pet - after all, even after a couple of washes, it will retain your smell. It is better not to use products of weak knitting - under the influence of the claws of the animal, they will quickly lose their shape and turn into tatters.
Making a dog bed out of an old sweater is easy. For this it is enough:
- Make a seam from one armpit to the other. This way you will divide the sweater into 2 parts. Large, lower, will become the bottom, and the sleeves and part of the chest will turn into sides
- We insert a small pillow or padding polyester into the lower part. Fill in the upper part in the same way.
- Do not save on filler - try to fill the sides as tightly as possible so that they do not deform under the weight of the animal
- We tighten with a cord or sew the bottom of the product. For ease of washing, you can insert small zippers into the bottom and neck of the sweater
- Sew up the neck
- Sew both sleeves together, thus forming a "tunnel"
- We fix it along the edges of the pillow in the form of sides
A bench with a removable cover is much more convenient. It can be removed and washed at any time. To make the animal feel comfortable at any time of the year, make two such covers at once. The first, winter, is made of warm fabric, and the second is made of cotton or linen.
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round bed
Pattern of a round bed for a dog
The principle of its manufacture is similar to the previous one. The difference will only be in the form of details:
- First you need to prepare a pattern of a round bed for a dog
- The diameter of the workpiece will be equal to the length of the pet plus 25-30 cm for the sides. Add to this figure you need 2-3 cm to hem the fabric, as well as 4-5 cm to insert the elastic
- Cut out two identical pieces in the form of circles according to the pattern
- We mark on one of them bed bottom in the form of a small circle located in the center. We also mark the location of the segments with chalk (eight will be enough)
- We sew the central circle, leaving a small gap for stuffing synthetic winterizer or foam rubber
- We insert the filler into the bottom of the couch and finally sew it up
- We sew the segments and the second circle, also leaving holes for stuffing the sides
- We fill them tightly with filler. Sewing the remaining hole
- Preparing a seam for inserting an elastic band
- We insert a braid or an elastic band. We tighten them in such a way as to raise the sides
- We repeat once again that we are against any small decor in the form of beads, buttons and bows. You don't want your pet to choke on them one day.
- We put the bed in the chosen place and invite the animal to try it out
Puppies grow fast enough, so it’s not worth sewing a personal bed for them right away - they will quickly grow out of it. To make the baby feel protected, for the first time, allocate a place for him in a cardboard box by laying a mattress in it.
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Preparations for a wooden bed
It does not always make sense to make ordinary beds for large dogs with sides stuffed with filler. Under the weight of the animal, such sides will quickly flatten, and the bed will lose its shape. In this case, it makes sense to make a bed on a rigid wooden frame or make it in the form of a small bed.
So, let's describe how to make a wooden dog bed:
- Knock down the side walls and bottom of the product in the form of shields of a suitable size
- To prevent a barb from accidentally getting under the claw of an animal, sand each of the parts well before assembling the product.
- If there are no boards of the right size on hand, you can use old pallets. They are disassembled into individual components, carefully sanded, and then sawn into boards of a suitable size.
- The nails loosen too quickly and could injure the animal. Use self-tapping screws for assembly, pre-drilling slightly smaller holes in the tree. Be sure to slightly deepen the heads of the fasteners into the tree so that the animal does not cling to them.
- To make the product stronger, use small metal corners for assembly.
- A small drawer can be attached to the wooden frame, in which toys for your pet will be stored.
- To make the bed easy to move from place to place, attach wheels to its bottom. You can buy them in a furniture store
Wooden dog beds
When choosing a fabric for a mattress, keep in mind that a material that is too light will have to be washed frequently, and wool will be clearly visible on a dark one. Use a fabric with a small print to sew the cover - the faded wool on it will be less noticeable, and you will not have to vacuum the bedding so often.
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A small plywood kennel can be put in the house. In order not to bother with the manufacture of the roof, you can make the product in the form of a regular box with an entry hole. But a house with a gable roof will, of course, look much more interesting.
Booth with a gable roof
- You will need 6 pieces of plywood - 4 for the walls, 2 for the roof and floor. You can cut them with a conventional or electric jigsaw.
- We clean the cut points with sandpaper
- We connect the parts with carpentry glue and additionally fasten them with screws
- The dog house will look more decorative if it is painted over with a wood stain. Plus, this coating will protect plywood from rapid wear.
- If desired, you can install the finished product on low furniture legs
- The house-booth is ready to meet tenants
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Mattress with sides
A large dog needs a lot of space to rest. Such animals often sleep with their paws extended sideways or forward. They may not have enough space on a standard bedding. Therefore, it is better for them to make a bed for dogs in the form of a mattress.
For convenience, bumpers can also be made, but they are located only along the back and side walls:
- For work, you will need a decent-sized piece of foam rubber and a dense fabric for sewing a cover. It is better to make it removable so that the fabric can be washed at any time.
- To sew the cover, it is enough to fasten two large canvases together, leaving a hole for inserting the filler.You can complicate the task and sew on the sides of rectangular inserts equal to the height of the stuffing
- By sewing a zipper into one of the sides, you will get a circuit cover that will be convenient to wash
- Foam rubber becomes caked over time, so it is better to lay it in several layers.
- It remains to make the sides. To do this, we sew a cover in the form of a long pipe, insert foam rubber into it and finally sew up the holes. Insert a zipper on one side
- We sew the resulting side by hand to the back and sides of the mattress. It is not worth making sides around the perimeter of the entire couch - under the weight of a large dog, they quickly compress and lose their attractive appearance
- Bed for a large dog is ready
- Such a mattress can be laid on a wooden stand with low legs, thus obtaining a cozy bed.
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Booth from the nightstand
In principle, a pet bed can have any geometric shape: it can be made not only in the form of a circle, rectangle or square, but also a pentagon or polygon. But still, you shouldn’t philosophize too much - wool and debris will constantly accumulate in numerous corners, which will be problematic to clean. Yes, and such a design will take up much more space.
As a frame for a sleeping bed for a dog, you can use a variety of materials:
Booth from the nightstand
- for a medium-sized animal, an old suitcase with a bedding inside is ideal
- a small dog can be accommodated in a small basket
- turn the old table over and saw off its legs - and you will get an original wooden bed for your pet
- you can use a bedside table for these purposes, if you remove a couple of lower drawers from it
- a real house can be obtained by sawing an entrance for a dog in a nightstand on the side and putting a soft bedding inside the new dwelling; so that the entrance to the dwelling is not too conspicuous, it can be curtained with a decorative curtain made of thick cotton or linen
- when replacing furniture, do not throw away the drawers of the table or chest of drawers - they will make a ready-made sleeping bed for the animal; enough to lay a mattress on the bottom
- “settle” a pet on the bottom shelf of a closed coffee table - the dog will only be happy to be close to you
- you can also use an old ottoman with a hole for a manhole made on one side
- if you unscrew the legs from an old office chair or a regular chair with armrests, you can get another original look of a dog bed
- Have you had an old baby bath lying around for a long time? you can use it as a sleeping place for a pet
- your dog will definitely like the bed crocheted from thick yarn
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Ready-made beds
If you don't want to bother with making a bed for your dog, you can simply buy one. The price of a dog bed depends not only on the material of manufacture, but also on the size of the product. The range of such beds is quite large. For stuffing a sleeping bed for an animal, manufacturers often use buckwheat husks, which is very convenient - insects do not start in it.
The author of the following video suggests making an original pet bed in the form of a densely stuffed pillow. You can see visually each of the stages of production by clicking on the link:
VIDEO: HOW TO MAKE A LUFFY LOUNGE FOR DOG AND CAT - OWN HANDS
Dog bed: a description of the key points, step-by-step instructions for making your own hands (140+ Photos & Videos) + Reviews
Great article! So many interesting ideas. I don’t know which one to choose. At home, you can find so many improvised materials for making a bed with your own hands.