We got a puppy. I never thought of myself as a dog person, but after only 6 days, I really love Captain! We realized after only a few days that he didn't have a place to curl up and rest besides his crate in the laundry room. So, I began the hunt for dog beds and was shocked at how expensive they can be. We don't need a $900 Cadillac model for a puppy to destroy or to potty on!
My Mom is making him a bed in a few weeks, but I wanted a quick and easy option I could make in an afternoon. Enter the no sew washable fleece pet bed.... Isn't Captain cute!
I bought the McCalls pattern for 99 cents at Hobby Lobby. In hindsight, you don't really need a pattern, but it was a reliable back up for under a dollar. You also need 2-3 yards of fleece, depending on the size of your bed and a bag of Poly-fil. Just make sure you pick a washable filler.
The bed is essentially two large ovals tied together around the edges with square knots. The pattern will give you the half circle that you cut (on the fold to make a full circle) and then "slash" to make the ties.
Once I cut the pattern for the small bed, I pinned the pattern to my fabric and cut it to size. To avoid the pattern, you would want to find something in the size and shape that you want and then cut two pieces ( a top and bottom) to that size.
Once my circle was cut, I followed the "slash" marks and cut the strips that will be used as ties for my knots.
Here is a portion of the bed tied in knots. Tying the knots was the longest part of the whole process!
This little girl got up from rest time just in time to help me fill the bed with stuffing. You want to start stuffing when you have 5-10 ties left to knot.
If you don't want to buy stuffing, I saw beds online where you buy only the shell and then stuff it with old t-shirts, towels and blankets. Another great option!
I just moved the stuffing around to fill the holes and stopped when it was my desired fullness. I wanted it to be soft and squishy so that he could get in and out easily with his little legs so I didn't stuff it all the way. You could easily untie a few knots and a later date and add more stuffing. Or redo the whole insides if it gets really yucky!
Ta-da! Our bed is ready in under and hour and less than $20! I like spending little and getting a bed made during naptime!
This little boy seems to like it also. He went right into it and rested the first afternoon!
