How to Make a Pet Bed in an Hour

Turn an old sweater into a pet bed in no time with these simple, easy-to-follow instructions!

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We have been blessed to share our lives and home with some very sweet dogs for the last ten years. We started by adding Ernie to our family. Next came Penny. Ernie and Penny then gave us Bean, Pig, and Ellie. Yes, five miniature Dachshunds. Call us nuts (you wouldn’t be the first!), but we love ’em all.

Bean is our smallest dog. Recently, I wanted to treat her for her birthday. Since she is Natalie’s dog, I asked Natalie to give me a sweater that she had been wearing. I then turned that sweater into a bed for Bean.

The supplies for this dog bed are minimal. You will need:
A sweater
Yarn
Large needle
Fiberfill

That’s it!

Since Bean is a miniature Dachshund that weighs maybe two pounds, I wanted to use a small sweater. She would have been swallowed up by the bed had I used a super large sweater. The bed needs to be cozy for the dog, big enough, but not too big.

To begin, turn the sweater inside out. NOTE- choose a coordinating yarn color for your pet bed. I used a much different color to highlight the steps. 🙂

Close the neck hole using a blanket stitch.

Turn the sweater right-side out again.

The blanket stitch is an easy one to master. Slip the needle under the previous stitch.

Pull the needle through that stitch.

Then down into the fabric to make a complete stitch. Pull tightly, ensuring that the yarn is fully through the back and is lying flat.

Here’s a video of that process if it’s easier to “see” via video!

Next up, make the tube “topper.”

The thread shows where to stitch the next line. Begin at the underarm of one sleeve and stitch across to the underarm of the other sleeve.

Be sure to tie the beginning and ending knots well. This creates a “tube” to stuff which will eventually become the top of the dog bed.

Once you have the tube created, stuff it with fiberfill.

Overlap the ends of the “arms” of the sweater together, then stitch together using a running stitch.

I doubled the stitch to ensure it stays together. Again, knot well!

With the top of the dog bed complete, it’s time to stuff the base of the bed.

Add fiberfill to the body of the sweater. Don’t overfill, but be sure it is full enough. You want your dog to be able to snuggle into the bed, not sit on top of a hard pillow.

Once the body is filled, use a blanket stitch to close it.

There’s only one remaining step! Use a blanket stitch to attach the bottom of the tube topper to the end of the body.

Add your cute dog and you’re done!

With Bean settled into her new bed, it only seemed fitting to give her a taste of her favorite treat!

“Did I just hear the Burger Bites bag being opened?”

I’d love to hear about your pet! Leave me a comment or head over to our Facebook page and share a photo!