Custom Dog Bed1

This boy and I are proud parents of a German shepherd/roti combo named Roscoe.
He may not have as much screen time as my cat, but he is equally amazing. ; )
Roscoe is almost 8 years old and his hips are starting to have some problems, so I know it\'s time to make him an orthopedic dog bed to match up with the other treatments he\'s on!
Our apartment was full of wooden/lino floors so he had no good place to sleep with the bed.
It doesn\'t help him to have 120 pounds so he has a lot of weight to support --
More reasons to use Orthopedics
Friendly memory foam. :)
He used to have a bed that I made with quilting pieces of clothes and plastic filling --
It worked when he was young, but not so much now.
We have also tried the beds bought in several stores, but the quality of these beds never seems to be worth it.
His last bubble was filled with recycled foam, which began to break down and quickly leveled. (
Impossible to clean! )
I know we need a better long-term solution, so I decided to start working on memory foam.
You can get the memory foam mattress upper for a fairly cheap price, and it\'s not too hard to sew a lid.
Memory foam provides a lot of support for his joints and I like that I can make a lot of covers for the bed and turn them off.
The mattress topper of your choice will depend on the size of your dog!
I chose the double XL and gave me about 80x38 inch of working space, which means I can flip over the foam and there is still a bit of room for the cat bed.
I highly recommend buying foam as a mattress topper-
You will save money and have more foam to use!
Pet bedspread is expensive.
Recommended use of FabricI
Heavyweight fabric of the bed.
I used the beautiful cotton duck arrow print on the fabric. com.
You can also choose a mixed fabric-
If you have an older/dirty dog, maybe put an oil cloth on it to make it liquid resistant. :)
ZipperYou want a zipper long enough to span one side of the bed.
I bought a 46 inch long plastic zipper in this way and I shortened it.
Interesting part now!
Choose the size you want and cut your foam.
I ended up doing two things at 31x39 inch.
The bed is 4 inch tall, nice and thick.
: DI recommends measuring the first piece, cutting it off, then placing the first piece on the top of the remaining foam and marking the edge line.
The foam is so soft and shapeable that it\'s hard to get an ultra-precise cut if you\'re crawling around.
: PTo cut foam, drag x-
The Acto knife or box knife goes down the line you draw over and over again and goes deep into the foam every time.
This will keep your wounds clean and tidy. P. S.
When I told Luna not to eat the foam, she gave me such an expression.
Without it, we will use a 1/2 seam allowance for this cover, so we need to add 1 inch to each measurement.
Below I list the parts you need and how to determine the size of them.
Top and Bottom 2 pieces: width (+1 inch)x length (+1 inch)
3 pieces on the side: width (+1 inch)x height (+1 inch)
1 side block for zipper placement: width (+1 inch)x height (+2 inches)
Check the photos to understand this and see my size!
If you make an unreliable bed like me, you end up with three different sizes of sides, that\'s fine. :)
If you can use needle cutters, I would suggest cutting all the fabric of this item with them to increase durability.
I\'m sure your bedspread will eventually be washed clean. ; )
To cut large pieces of fabric, it is always a good idea to fold the fabric vertically together and press it
You can use folding as a straight edge to make sure all your lines are good and square.
It also means that you don\'t have to fold the huge shape because the fabric is folded in half.
Measure your work with a ruler and mark the cutting line.
Check again and cut it off!
Take the side panel you cut for the zipper, fold in half and press.
Cut the middle press line so you have two.
Put these strips together and face them to the right.
Now you need to shorten the zipper properly
Since the length of my bed is 40 inch, I cut it down to about 36 inch with a zipper, which will leave a few inches away on both sides to sew well and tight.
Place the zipper on the side panel and center it as much as possible.
Make a few inches mark at each end of the zipper
This will let you know where to sew with small stitching and where to insert the seam basting stitching with zipper. :)
The marks you make will be the way you sew.
Use the seam allowance of 1/2 to sew the two halves together.
Stitch back at the beginning, then sew to the first mark using the normal stitch length.
Stitch again at the mark.
Now set your stitch length to the maximum time that the machine provides.
Continue sewing until you reach the mark at the bottom of the panel.
Set the stitch back to normal length and then reverse it again.
Sew to the end of the strap and sew again.
Once the stitching is completed, press the seam on the back to open as shown in the figure. P. S.
Need help getting the perfect 1/2 seam allowance?
Put a masking tape on your machine.
Measure from your needle to get the right position.
: Place the zipper on the seam in the middle so that the teeth cross the seam.
Fix it in place every 6 inch or so. :)
I like to sew the business end of the zipper together to prevent the zipper from running around, but this is optional.
Whatever is easiest for you, you can use zip feet or regular feet!
You need to sew at one end of the zipper (
Yes, it\'s on the teeth! )
Then go along one side, go through the zipper again, and go back to the other side.
You\'re basically the easiest way to do it when I find out if you sew to a close zipper pull and then lift your foot to press (
Needle on fabric)
Then pull it away from where you sew.
This way you can sew it a bit easier and not have to fight with pull.
Start a few inches from one side, push the seam ripper to the middle, slide through and cut the thread inside.
Don\'t push hard-
It should go through the longer stitches easily.
Once you feel the resistance, you have reached the reverse stitch so you can stop there.
Then go back and finish the other end with the Ripper.
You will have a lot of little thread heads coming out so clean them up.
Sometimes the lint roller can help solve this problem.
: Sew the side plates together at a time, facing the right side.
Use the seam allowance of 1/2.
For additional durability, make sure that there is a rear seam at the beginning and end of each sewing line.
Once you sew the last two panels together, you can finish the side of the box mat!
Now that you \'ve sewn both sides together, you can start nailing one of the main parts to both sides.
Place the sides on a large plane facing the right.
Arrange the top side with your side
I nailed the short sides of my box mat first as they were easier to handle. :)
I like to nail from the corner, but do anything that makes the most sense to you.
Facing the right, pay special attention to the corners-
They should line up as well as I showed above.
Once you\'re done, you should be able to see the cover appear together!
Also use 1/2 seam allowance for this!
Stitch around the edges, pay special attention to the corners.
Take a look at the second photo and see what the corner will look like when you sew.
Make sure that the side panel you are currently sewing is good, flat, and the side panel you are going to sew next is a good diagonal when you go to it.
Stitch until you feel like you \'ve clicked on the next panel (
Extra fabric will cause a little acceleration)
Then lift your feet (
Put the needle down on the fabric! )
Rotate the lid so you can start to sew the next side plate.
When you turn, make sure you sew only on the current side panel-
You may need to close the side panel that you have already sewn under the pressure foot, as shown in the third frame of the second photo. P. S.
You may need to remove the pin when you sew it, especially around the corner.
You don\'t want to stick the needle on the pin.
Before you nail the last major part, be sure to open the zipper around half way --
Opening the zipper allows you to turn the lid out to the right. :)
Nail and sew as before, then turn the cover right over.
Poke the corners out and make sure you don\'t have any gaps
Sometimes, if you don\'t grab the two side plates around the corner, you\'ll leave a small hole.
Sew back in any such place!
It\'s better to fold it in half and insert it into the cover
You don\'t want to be too rough with it, especially if you\'re not good at stitching. ; )
Zip up and admire your hard work!
And give it to your dog.
If they were like Roscoe, they would be very excited about a new bed and would not leave it for a few days.
To convince Roscoe to go out last night, I had to bribe him with some sunflower seed butter.