How To Sew a Dog Bed: Step by Step DIY Pet Bed Tutorial

You can make your own pet bed at home and it’s not as hard as you think. Use this video tutorial to sew a dog bed in any size.

Hey y’all, for today’s project I’m going to show you how to sew a dog bed. Those of you who have followed me for a while know that we lost our dog Mulligan over the summer. And he was the type of dog who preferred the floor, so I never got around to making him a bed.

This is Bear, who was being re-homed and is now part of our family. Bear loves beds, so I made him a bed. For the fabric I used a blanket he brought from his first owners’ to our home. The fleece blanket is fuzzy on one side, so I sewed it fuzzy side out. Bear couldn’t wait to inspect and use this bed when I set it on the floor for him the first time.

This DIY dog bed can be made in any size. So if you need a bed for a big dog or a little one to fit in perfectly in a crate, you can sew it yourself. I also made a water proof cover for the cushion I used as stuffing. That way, if there’s a doggie bed mess, I’ll be able to wash the cover and the insides won’t have to be thrown away. And the doggy bed cover zips on and off easily as I’ll show you in the tutorial.

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Materials to Make a Pet Bed

If you’d like to sew your own pet bed, you’ll need these materials:

• Cushion. I used upholstery foam (affiliate link) I had left over from our recliner project. Mine measured 36 x 24 x 3 inches. You could also use a bed pillow, foam topper for a mattress, even a crib mattress if you have a large dog.
• Two zippers. One zipper should match the length of the short side of your cushion. The other should be at least half that length. I grabbed zippers from my stash, so mine didn’t match perfectly, but Bear doesn’t seem to care.
• Soft fabric for the cover. Fleece, canvas, a towel and even quilting cotton are all good choices. You know your pooch and what they like best, and you can also coordinate with your home decor. That’s the advantage to diy projects! Also keep in mind that fabrics like fleece and canvas will hold up better to heavy dogs and their nails, while quilting cotton is easier for a dog to rip. The amount of fabric you’ll need depends on the size of the bed you’re making, so again measure that cushion and then calculate whether you need just a yard of fabric or (as in my case) two or more. In some cases, buying a large fleece blanket (affiliate link) like I used might be the most inexpensive way to go.
• If you want an inner waterproof cover, you need water proof fabric and more zippers. For mine, I bought a twin size mattress protector (affiliate link) and cut it up. That size was just barely enough fabric for my inner cover.
• Sewing machine, thread, needles, etc

Sew a DIY Pet Bed

To sew your puppy bed, watch the video below or on YouTube here. I also have more detailed pattern drafting instructions and order of construction below the video so you can refer back to those if you’d like. For more help dealing with furry fabric, check this post.

How to Make a Dog Bed Pattern

You need to know the length, width, and height of the cushion you’re going to use to make your pattern. For the top piece of fabric, start with a rectangle the same length and width as your cushion. Then add boxes to each side that match the height of the cushion. So for example, with my 36 inch long by 24 inch wide by 3 inch tall foam, I’d start with a 36 inch by 24 inch rectangle and add 3 inch rectangles to each side (first figure below).

Then you need to add seam allowances all around. This makes your top pattern (second figure above). For the bottom piece you start with the same rectangle and just add seam allowances to the sides (third figure above). You use the same pattern and sewing method to sew both the waterproof cover and the outer cover if you’re making both.