I felt like our cute new pup needed somewhere comfortable to sleep. He loves chewing things and I didn’t want to splurge on a dog bed that would soon be ripped to shreds. I didn’t mind making one out of materials I already had on hand, I actually preferred it. Especially since most dog beds you can purchase are so unattractive. This was insanely easy, affordable (even if you don’t have the materials on hand) and the fact that it was free-ninety-nine eases my mind in case it one day gets ripped to shreds and stained. I made one side a blank canvas and decorated the other side with inspiration from vintage African mud cloths. Of course, if you don’t want to see any dirt you should probably make this out of a darker color or dye your drop cloth!
Materials: Drop cloth, Leather scraps (faux leather or extra drop cloth will work perfectly fine!), stuffing or foam (I used some I had from an upholstery project I am working on), sewing machine and cloth marker.
Steps: Measure your foam or your desired size of the bed. I measured Dirk’s crate so it would easily fit inside. Mine ended up being 20 x 26 inches. Cut two rectangles to size. Measure the height of your foam. Cut the leather scraps to the height of your foam and the length of the bed. I pieced some of the scraps together to make them long enough. Sew the leather scraps to the edges of your drop cloth rectangles (picture 2) and then connect the corners together by sewing. Sew on the bottom drop cloth to the leather and leave one side completely un-sewed. Fill your dog bed with your foam and then sew the last side together!
Dirk completely rejected his bed at first. I tried to bribe him to lay on it with treats and by sitting on it…he wasn’t having it. It took some warming up but now I look over and see him laying on it which makes me feel so accomplished! The warming up to it obviously happened AFTER these photos…hence the two paws on. I guess Dirk just doesn’t get the whole blogging photos thing yet 😉