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Pet Bed Tutorial - anyone can sew this in just 5 steps and 15 minutes!




We don't have a pet - but my daughters love their cuddly toys.  They asked me recently to make them little beds - so modelling them on ones I've seen in the junk mail catalogues, I made these simple ones. Well my elder daughter (aged 8) actually made the bigger one herself! They really are easy! 
Here's how:

Step 1.
Choose the size you want the bed to be, and cut a paper circle that size. 
(We used kitchen plates and bowls to find the right sizes for our animals). Then use this to cut a circle from your fabric.

Now you have to use your maths skills!!
Don't panic - it's EASY! Grab a calculator!
Remember π from school? Well here's your chance to use it!
You need to know what the length of the outside of your circle is - 

(this is the circumference)

To calculate this use 2πr
Or put in simpler terms 2 x 3.14 x the distance from the centre to the outside of your circle.
So fold your paper circle in quarters and measure the straight side.
This is 'r'
So for my one here, r was  11cm, so the length around the circle was 2 x 3.14 x 11cm = 69cm
Add an extra cm to this to allow for seams and cut a rectangle of fabric this length and as wide as you want the padded tube at the edge of the bed to be.  For this simply loop a piece of paper around to make the size you want and measure that.
So basically your materials are: 1 circle of fabric, 1 rectangle of fabric and some stuffing (I used an old pillow).

Phew! That's the trickiest bit done !  Now to the easiest part - sewing it!

Step 2.
Fold your rectangle in half , then pin and stitch to form a loop.




Step 3.

Now fold your loop in half, wrong sides together to form a tube. Pin and stitch - leaving a gap of about 6cm (2.5") for stuffing.

Step 4.
Now you have to pin and stitch this tube to the edge of your circle. Once again leave a gap for stuffing - the same gap you left in the tube.

Step 5
Stuff the outer tube, pushing the stuffing all the way around evenly. Then pin and stitch the opening closed.

DONE!
Now you have one cute little pet bed:

Obviously the amount of fabric and stuffing you will need depends on the size of your 'pets' .

'Real' pet beds would need to be considerably bigger than these toy pet beds - but made in the same way.

I would recommend using nice soft fabric like fleece - it won't fray and will stretch nicely with the filling in for a softer bed!
I used soft velour for these toy pet beds.  You might also want to use a double layer for the base to make it a little softer for a 'real' pet!

The animals tell me they're very happy with their new sleeping arrangements!


And here's my daughter sewing hers:

For the downloadable PDF version of this tutorial, click here.


For more tutorials of things to make in just 5 steps and 15 minutes - go here.

And over 100 more free sewing tutorials can be found on 



17 comments:

  1. I'm so glad I found you! We adopted a dog a week or so ago and realize we need a few beds around our house for her. Ths is perfect! Thanks!

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  2. Oh, gosh! My son's dog comes to visit every once in a while. I'm going to make this for him. I just love that little puppy.

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  3. Lovely tutorial. The dog is so cute.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Hope to see you on my blog:)

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  4. I have a standard poodle, so I would need a lot more fabric to make him a bed (lol), but I like the idea. Thanks for the clear instructions.

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  5. Stopping by from the Making the World Cuter party - this is so adorable and seems like a great project for my daughter and I to do together. Great job!

    -sara @ applestonedrive.blogspot.com

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  6. Sound easy and wonderful, will try it later, but for now I am looking for a pattern to make a collapseable fabric Pet Kennel so my granddaughter can bring her brand new Lab puppy and sleep over in my apt with Waffle and I will be able to fold it up and keep it untill her next visi, which is just about every week.......Thanks in advance...Grandma Dottie

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  7. These are just so sweet looking! I think I will be making one of these for my six year old's collection of stuffed puppies very soon! Thanks for sharing.. you're always full of such great ideas and tutorials! :)

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  8. What a fantastic idea!! Love. :)
    Thank you for visiting me today.

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  9. This is too cute! My daughter has a little dog that "sleeps" in a box next to her bed. She would adore a little bed like this. Thanks for sharing! :)

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  10. Thanks, Jill.
    This will be a good project for the new puppy!

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  11. What a cute gift for a cute puppy! Its simplicity makes it beautiful.

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  12. I made one pretty much like this (from a cat bed I already had) and filled it with grocery bags instead of batting. It crinkles a bit and our cat likes it (that is when it is not already occupied by plushies!). Plus it takes quite a bit of bags, so I got rid of a lot!

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  13. Love your ideas. Yours is quite a bit smaller than the one I'm working on (2' X 3' rectangle). I hadn't read your ideas and stuffed the 10' tube BEFORE stitching it to the base. It has now become an athletic event to try and sew them together. I may take some of the stuffing out of the tube and re-stuff it after connecting. Mine also has a 1/2" foam pad for the base.

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    Replies
    1. Hope you get yours finished - sounds like unstuffing and restuffing after connecting would work! Good idea to use the foam base too!

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  14. Thanks----my Grandaughter is learning to sew and has pets-----Purrfect !!!! Oh--and I'll
    try also.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks June!! Would love to see a picture if you make one! :)

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  15. Im going to do that for my new guinea pigs!

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