Upcycled Dog Bed

After my dog grew out of his puppy-sized dog bed, I started the hunt for a large breed sized one and found.... Nothing! Major pet stores only carry cheaply made, foam filled beds that cost upwards of 100$ (bad for the environment and way out of my price range). After scrounging around the house, I found the materials to create this cozy bed my dog loves! And the best part? It was FREE and made with non-toxic materials!

For my Upcycled Dog Bed, I used an old fleece tie blanket for the covering and a sleeping bag that had lost its zipper for the stuffing. No worries if you do not have these exact materials! The magic of this bed is that it is completely customizable depending on the size of your dog and what you have around the house! You can use any old blankets for the covering, and stuff it with old towels, blankets, t-shirts, etc... It's up to you!

Read on for the instructions!

Scissors

Yardstick or Measuring Tape

Needle and Thread

1 Fleece Tied Blanket (Or regular blankets, just make sure you have enough for the top and bottom cover)

1 old Sleeping Bag (Great stuffing for large beds. Other options include blankets towels, t-shirts, pillows...)

Now you're ready to make your awesome Upcycled Dog Bed!

First, lay your fleece blanket (or whatever you are using for the covering) out on the ground and measure out your desired bed length/width. Remember to add a few extra inches to both these measurements as you will be cutting the tie strips into the sides!

I wanted a large, oversized bed, roughly 3ft x 2ft, so I measured out and cut 3ft 3in x 2ft 3in.

These measurements are completely customizable depending on the size of your dog and preference. As long as your top cover is the same size as your bottom cover, you're good!

Put your cover scraps to the side, as you will use this for stuffing later.

Time to really use those scissors!

Make cuts 3in deep and 1in thick on the outside of all sides of your covers, creating your "fringe". Its easiest if you have one cover on top of the other, so you line up your fringe and don't make too many/too few cuts.

If you didn't use a fleece tie blanket, you'll tie off the 2 adjoining sides of your covers, joining the two pieces together. If you did use a fleece tie blanket and cut your covers so that you already have 2 sides tied, you do not need to do any tying for this step!

Here's where you make sure you have enough stuffing material for the bed!

I folded the sleeping bag a few times and layered the extra blanket scraps inside until I was satisfied with the density. Then, I very loosely sewed the two short sides of the sleeping bag so everything would stay in place. This is optional... if your stuffing fits snugly enough inside the coverings, then things won't slide around very much.

If your stuffing does get bunched up later on, no problem! You can easily untie one side of your bed and straighten things out :)

Hooray, you made it to the final step!

Simply fold back your top covering and squeeze your stuffing material into the bottom corners. Cover your stuffing and begin tying off all that fringe! I like to use a double overhand knot, though there are others you can use. It's pretty much the knot you use in the first step of tying your shoes, done twice!

Once you have all the fringe tied and your stuffing secure, congratulations!! You have finished your Upcycled Dog Bed, and it's ready to be enjoyed by your pup!