DIY pet project: Doggie duvet

Is your pet's bed in need of some refreshing? Are you (minimally) handy with a sewing machine? If so, here's a great weekend project for creating a new cover for your pet's bed. A doggie duvet, if you will.

Here is my dog Daisy's bed before I went to work on it. The bed itself functions fine and Daisy seems to like it, but after 18 months the top has a few holes and is threadbare in areas.

BEFORE: A nice soft bed, but not exactly easy on the eyes

I went to my local fabric shop, Grey's Fabric & Notions, and picked up some gray cotton canvas to make the cover. Select a material that is durable enough for your dog's wear and tear (Daisy doesn't tear or scratch at her bed so I had that going for me) and one is durable enough to be washed over and over. Alternatively, if you think your dog will destroy ANY bed, you could make this cover and save it just for when you have company over!

Measure the bed. Daisy's was 36"X24"X5". The project is easier with a rectangular bed, unless you have better sewing skills than I do :) I needed 3 yards of fabric to cover this bed, you might need more or less. Important point: make sure you wash and dry the fabric before you start measuring, cutting or sewing. This canvas shrank a LOT but I'd rather know that beforehand, not after I've put in a lot of work.

You'll likely need 5 pieces of fabric cut to make your bed cover. A "top" (the dimensions of the top of your bed), 2 overlapping "bottom" pieces (these should be the dimensions of the bottom of the bed, except for the length, which should be about 4" past the midpoint. The bottom pieces will overlap so that you can fill the bed cover with the actual bed (no zippers required!) but it will still look nice with no open gaps), and 2 gusset pieces (if you're lucky and can make a single gusset piece do that. My gusset needed to be 60"X5" -- 36" + 24" + 36" + 24" -- and it didn't make sense to buy that much extra fabric just to keep my gusset in one piece).

Now here's the sewing part. Pin your fabric good sides facing in and sew your bed cover together. Take your time and back sure your angles and dimensions look good. You can use a decorative hem on the overlapped bottom pieces for a nice added touch.

When you're done it should look like this!

AFTER: A doggie bed I actually want to look at!

For added flair you can stencil your dog's name or cute phrase onto your bed cover. I thought "Lazy Daisy" seemed appropriate! Since my stenciling skills are much better than my sewing skills, I stenciled after completing the bed cover, but it would probably be easier to do it the other way around. Do whatever makes you feel confident.

I created the stencils by first using MS Word to create the desired font and size of my letters. Once printed, I taped a transparency sheet to the page and then used an Exacto knife to cut the transparency in the shape of my letters, thus creating the stencil. There are easier ways to do this, including using freezer paper, printable transparency sheets or even buying stencils from your local craft store, but I went with what I had on hand. Once you have your stencil, tape it securely to the fabric. You don't want it moving. Place a piece of paper or cardboard inside the dog bed so the paint doesn't accidentally seep through to other pieces of your fabric. (With a heavy canvas like I used that's not likely, but better to be safe than sorry!) Use a textile paint, preferably once that is labeled "for dark colors" or "opaque". These paints are thicker, giving you better coverage with less effort and IMO will wash better. Here's a close-up of my stencil.

Close-up: I actually slipped the bed onto my ironing board to do the stenciling. It provided a nice, flat surface.

I used a sponge brush to do the stenciling, which was nice because after I pulled the stencil off (let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before pulling off so the paint has time to set) I could go back and dab some paint on in areas I felt needed it. Don't get greedy though - I make 90% of my mistakes because I can't leave well enough alone!

The final step for the stenciling is heat setting it. Put a piece of plain paper below the stenciled portion (inside the bed) and one on top. Using the highest setting the fabric will allow, press an iron over the painted area. Try to press straight down on the paint and not the typical sweeping motion we all do when ironing. Heat literally seals the paint to the fabric so you want to make sure you do that evenly and completely.

I know it seems like a lot of steps, but it is actually a pretty easy project for a weekend. Daisy gets to keep her comfy old bed and I get something that I can leave out when family comes for Thanksgiving. It cost about $30 for all materials.