I bought some fabric from Walmart (I think duck fabric?) and made a huge pillow, I used polyfil and have washed it. The polyfil didn't stay "full" but it still works. It cost maybe 20 bucks probably less

 

I was actually thinking of doing just that. Buy some nice foam and do some sewing. It will work out much cheaper than buying one. A friend of mine actually knitted a cover for her dog's bed. Looked very smart and was nice and warm. I actually want to make 2...one for the living room and one for the bedroom. What's cool, is you can use material that fits your colour scheme and decor.

 

I've thought about it. I know there are patterns online to make them. I wanted to make one with a removal cover and that is wayyy beyond my Mrs. Cleaverness.

 

My mom made one for us...it's huge, big enough for two dogs.

It's a green, burlap-y but comfortable fabric. It's stuffed with eggcrate and the BEST thing is, we have velcro on the edges so we can open it, remove the eggcrate and wash the bed.

We've had it for two or three years now and it's held up well.

 

http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-blog/suzanne-stowe-blog/how-to-make-a-special-dog-bed.aspx

http://craftydaisies.com/2007/02/09/dog-bed/

Any cool ideas or tips?

 

I asked my local yahoo freecycle group for materials for making a dog bed and a kind person replied with bags and bags of soft materials not suitable for her quilting but perfect for my dog bed. I used that which was free, an old egg crate mattress pad which was already purchased and an old duvet cover I wasn't using and happened to match the living room furniture. Overall cost free and I have one HAPPY comfortable dog!

 

Ooooo look at this...
http://www.craftstylish.com/item/41168/how-to-make-a-pet-bed-from-recycled-sweaters

 

I've made a bunch of them. I buy the egg crate foam at Walmart.
Use a twin flat sheet and cut it in half top to bottom. Fold in half so the top and bottom meet and sew the two sides. You now have two 'beds'. Cut egg crate foam to fit....I use two pieces to make it thicker.
Very cheap and easy to do. When the dogs chew it or whatever....it's not a big loss. My dogs love them.

 

I made one a few years ago for Sadie and Scooter. I used an old memory foam topper that I hated for my bed. I used and old sheet and I also made a bolster that I used stuffing from an old body pillow.

 

I grab all those crate-sized Thrift Store rugs for the crate, and for beds I fold up a twin size comforter. I don't have a sewing machine... and stitching by hand something that size... nah.

I've never bought a dog bed! Right now they're sleeping on these really thick cotton bathroom rugs I retired from my own bathroom after spilling nail polish on one.

I love the ease of washing the rugs, and how they perfectly fit into the floor of the crate. They provide just enough padding without holding heat, all that hair... they don't need to be kept warm, just comfortable.

You can also "spot" train, lay on the rug and stay, where ever you put it. Ricca has this thing where she lays right in front of the cable box, making the remote not work. So I brought out a rug, placed it away from the cable box, and she lays there without affecting my TV scanning.

 

Another idea is to purchase a crib mattress at garage sales. I have two that I paid $10 a piece for and I am looking for a third.

Most people do not want to buy a used crib mattress for their baby if they buy a used crib and most baby consignment stores will not sell used mattresses. But they are perfect for large breed dog beds. They have a vinyl cover that is easy to wash if it gets muddy or if you are like me and have an older dog that has accidents from time to time. You can also buy fitted sheets to match your decor if you choose or simply wrap it in an old sheet or blanket.

 

I have made many, many dog beds for my dogs, friends dogs, donated to SAR teams and SAR auctions. I make them out of medical grade foam (scrap from 3M where I work) and cover them with a waterproof material. I then make a big pillow case with cotton on one side and fleece on the other side, so I can flip them summer or winter. When dirty I can pull the pillow case and wash it and wipe down the bed if necessary. Works great and the dogs love them.

 

i've never made one myself, but i have had handmade beds in the past... that is until i discovered the ortho beds at costco for $25 bucks. their colors/patterns rotate (by store? by season? by order?) but i can generally always work with what they've got, and sometimes even love the pattern. the foam holds up for ever, and the covers can withstand many washes (i wash them every month and mine are currently 2yrs old)

$24 (indoor beds)
$24 (outdoor beds)
$20 (indoor round beds)

if it weren't for costco -- i'd probably be commissioning my friends or grandma to make our beds.

 

I've made a dog bed before. It cost me about $12 by the time I was finished and I didn't even use all they supplies(fabric, foam/stuffing,etc) that I bought for it!! If I would of used it all it would of been too big and wouldn't fit were I wanted it to sit in the house.

 

My mom made two out of an old mattress. She just cut down the middle of a double sized mattress, made a plastic cover, and then made pretty covers to go on top of that (plastic so if they are wet/dirty it doesn't ruin the mattress)! Years later she still has them!

 

I made one before, we had a foster kitten have an accident on the really nice memory foam for our parents bed, instead of throwing it out, I cut off the good parts. I went to Jo-annes and picked out this very cute dog bone fabric and sewed it into a slip cover, my friend helped me put on a zipper so I could remove it and wash it. It worked out as a great dog bed and it only ended up costing me about $10-$15 whatever I paid for the fabric and zipper!

 

My biggest complaint with store-bought dog beds is that you really cannot wash the WHOLE thing.

The egg crate stuff can be washed but it's a pain. I simply buy comforters at thrift stores or garage sales, fold them up and toss them on the floor. Instant dog bed!

 

I haven't made a bed, but I have made a cover. I had a dog bed from Walmart, I believe. The dog bed itself was in great shape and still very comfy, but the cover was ripped to shreds. I got some $1/yd fabric from Walmart... ended up being some type of table cloth material, I think. Very thick and sturdy. I sewed up a new cover, including a zipper. The dogs have dug in it a million times and still haven't destroyed it.

 

Originally Posted By: Branca's Mom

Buy a Queen size Egg Crate or Memory foam topper, cut it in half and show "something"? around it? I have tones of sheets and old quilts.

Anyone ever made one?

exactly what i did for my 2 girls. i bought 2 queen egg crates cut each in half and stacked the two pieces for each bed, then put some old blankets on top of that. i just use fitted sheets and tuck them under (since i have no sewing skills). that makes washing super easy. cheaper than the beds at the stores and the cushioning is superior to most pet beds ive seen.

 

It's pretty easy to put a zipper in flat fabric (along the long side) then sew up the sides - viola! Dog Bed! I've bought bed pillows, stitched them together & stuffed them inside, I've used egg crate, I've made new covers for old beds. I now have a gazillion pet beds. The last one was a $50 bed on sale for $10 at PetsMart - It has two covers, too! Best bed is a crib mattress with a custome made fitted sheet type cover.

 

I have no sewing skills... my dog's bed started as a really cheap one from Walmart or Target. Then I bought one of those 5 lb. boxes of batting and stuffed the bed to bulk it up. Once a year or so when the bed gets a little flat I buy some more stuffing.

It's lasted at least three years this way.

 

My old mattress had a foam overlay, which I removed and cut into pieces the same size as the inside of the crates.

I then put each one into one of those heavy green "contractor" trash bags and taped shut with duct tape, making sure to fold over the ends and make the whole thing snug.

Then I made pillowcase-type covers out of canvas to fit over each mattress and plastic bag cover and left one end open for easy removal.

My old girls never tried chewing on the plastic, but my new girls have, so what I do now is use a heavy string (and darning needle) to close the opening with single knots along the open edge.

Not too many knots...just enough to keep it closed.

When I have to wash the cover, the knots are easy to remove and the plastic bag keeps the foam dry if the covering has gotten wet for some reason.

I made them nearly two years ago, and the mattresses are still going strong...

 

Oh, another thing I made was a "down mat" for obedience school...I bought a cheap blanket at the dollar store, folded it half the long way and then in thirds the other way.

Then I used my heavy string and darning needle again and made knots through all the layers (like tufting) to keep the mat together. Some knots around the edges, and a couple in the middle.

Because it's foldable, unlike the foam mats, it's very portable.