DIY Dog Bed and Toy

This is my dog Ruger and his favorite blanket.

Cute right!  WRONG!  Last night he took MY favorite blanket and tore a hole in it!  I right there and then I decided that Ruger was never going to sleep in my bed again.  My only problem was where to make him sleep.  I looked up Dog beds online but for a dog his size they are expensive and I really didn't think he should cost me more money when I already going to have to buy a new blanket for my bed.  So I decided to make him a bed using his blanket and my duvet that he ripped.  The only problem is that I don't sew so I had to come up with a solution that involved no sewing and would allow me to take it apart to wash. I came up with the following.


If you want to make your own all you you will need is a fleece blanket a large quilt or duvet and scissors.  I would recommend using a synthetic duvet because they are easy to wash.

Start out by laying the piece of fleece right side up on your work surface. It works better with a larger blanket to lay it out on a floor. Smooth out the piece of fleece using your hand. Fold the fleece back on it self so that you have approximately a 1 ft. strip of fabric that is not folded under.  Your dog bed will be as wide as the folded section and as long as the blanket (less about six to eight inches in length).  If it is too long or wide at this point feel free to cut off a strip in either direction.  I cut off some of the length to make into a matching toy.

                                  

Fold the flap back over on the rest of the blanket

Cut a fringe along each edge making sure to cut through all layers of fleece. My fringe was about 3-4-inches long and about a thumbs width.  It is ok to make it narrower but if you make it any sorter it gets hard to tie.

To attach the top piece to the bottom, you simply tie the fringe together. Grab a set of fringe pieces (a top and a bottom), and tie three simple overhand knots in them.  When you get to the section with three layers of fringe grab and tie the two bottom layers as if they were one,

When you are finished tying turn the blanket so that the fringe is on the inside.  You should now have your finished cover.

For the stuffing fold the Qult/duvet so that it is approximately the same size as your cover.

Stuff the Duvet in the cover.

Give it to your dog to enjoy.

After I finished I took the leftover strip of fleece...

...tied a knot in the center...

cut each end into three strips...

...pared each strip with one from the other side...

...braided them together...

...and knotted the end.

Long story short he loves it!

The best part about this project is you can use old blankets from home or thrift store blankets.  Because they are blankets and not a bulky cushion they fit perfectly into the wash!  The only thing I would change when making the bed is to use a larger fleece and fold it into thirds, if you do the blanket will stay inside better if the dog trys to pick it up.