Category: Designer Dog

Roll up picnic blanket or dog bed

4/18/2015

Austin is a wonderful, pet friendly town and I love to take my dog out on pretty days, but I have to admit, he's a bit of a princess. He doesn't like to rest his pretty paws on gravel, or cement or really even grass so I set about making a soft, easily portable roll up blanket for him. This exact same project would make an amazing picnic blanket by just expanding the size!

Don't let the number of steps and pictures daunt you, the project only took me about an hour start to finish, but the way the fabric comes together is a little tricky so wanted to make sure there were plenty of photos!

Supplies

1 yard of pleather
1 yard of fleece
2 yards of quilt batting (to double up)

Ribbon
Sewing supplies (Sewing machine, scissors, thread, tape measure etc)

Directions

I wanted the blanket to be 24" x 35" when it was completed so the pleather, fleece and batting to 25" x 36"
Cut a strip of pleather to 3" x 36" (for the strap)
Fold strip in three (As shown below)

Carefully sew down the flap as shown 1/4" from the edge of the strap, then turn around and sew down the other side so it is symetrical

Stack and pin the the batting, fabric, strap/ribbon and pleather with the strap and ribbon sandwiched between the pleather and fleece layer as shown in the diagram and photo below, making sure the "good" side of the pleather is facing the "good" side of the fleece

Sew around the outside edge of the fabric using the half inch guide reinforcing the ribbon and strap hem leaving a minimum of 6" free on one side (you will flip it right side out using this hole)

Using the hole you left, flip the fabric inside (photo shows after "The Flip")

Fold in the fabric for the hole and face stich over that a quarter of an inch in and then run around the whole blanket - this will make the edges lay nice and flat

I used the check pattern and stiched an X through all the layers as a final step- this will help keep the batting in place and make it lay better.

I fold the sides in and then roll up to the strap, then just use the ribbon to tie a pretty bow. from the front it looks like a pretty purse!

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Decorative Dog Bed

1/10/2015

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I wanted to post an old project of mine. Sorry for the limited pictures! I wanted to make a more asthetically pleasing bed for my dog, and I also wanted to direct him to something other than the sofa. He liked being high enough to look around the room and see out the window so this was my solution!

Materials

3'x3' foam, 4" deep
3'x3' 1" thick plywood
1x6" lumber cut into (2) 37.5" lengths and (3) 36" lengths
Four Legs and appropriate fasteners for these

Staple Gun
Nail Gun
Fabric
Batting

Steps

Mark two inches from the bottom on the four pieces of 1x6 lumber
Use the 1x6's to form a box around the plywood square, nailing the plywood at the 2" line you drew.
Put the two 36" boards on opposite sides and then the 37.5" boards on the remaining two sides, nailing all the corners together
Attach the legs to the bottom corners of the plywood square
Now the frame is complete!

For the upholstered portion first wrap the 1x6's in batting and secure in place with staples
Take a long strip of fabric and wrap it around the outside of the frame and then fold the fabric over the top of the frame and staple it on the inside.
Then, turning the entire project over stretch the fabric to the underside and staple it there
Finally, I was lazy and just wrapped the fabric around my cushion and safety pinned it in place. Then squashed the pillow into the frame.

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Dog Scarf

12/19/2014

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For some quick holiday pet garb I love scarfs. The fastest way to get an adorable dog scarf is with performance fleece, you don’t have to worry about hemming, you just cut it to the right size, add some detail and you are done!

Materials

1/4th yard of performance fleece
Scissors

Steps

1) I have a “large” dog (~65 lbs) and for him I get a fourth of a yard of performance fleece from the fabric store and then cut it in half

2) I use the selvage edge (the manufacturer finished edge) and fold it like an envelope, but overlap the edges more

3) Using sharp scissors I cut a straight line (about an inch and a half) through all three layers

4) Then, on the opposite end I cut a slit straight up the middle, about a 12", creating two "feet"

5) Then cut little fringe on these two “feet”

6) I take the right “foot” and pull it through the slit I cut in step 2

7) Then tie the left “foot” to form a decorative knot

Now it's ready to wear!

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Crate Expectations - Dog Crate Cover

7/19/2014

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When we adopted a furry, squirmy, chewing bundle joy into our home in the form of a 1 month old smooth collie there were a lot of things we were excited about... and a few that we weren't so excited about... like the eye sore that is the standard wire dog crate.

Since he was going to be a fairly big boy we knew we needed a large crate, and after lots of research settled on a two door model that has the movable internal wall to "grow with your puppy." This is an amazing invention because when my first dog was a puppy they didn't have such things and he destroyed any number of objects that were meant to keep him cooped into a smaller space.

We bought the crate from PetsMart, but I really wanted to do something to make it less hideous. I also hated that it took up so much space that couldn't be used for anything else, the metal grate really doesn't work (or look) well as a table top, and moving things around on the top scared our little puppy. Not to mention he was occasionally able to pull things in and destroy them! My solution was a decorative table and cover. See below for how I made mine:

Materials

(1) Ikea Desktop (~ 24" x 47")
(4) Ikea legs (~ 27.5" tall)
(1) Dog crate (36 x 23 x 25")
Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
Staple Gun and Staples

(1) Tension rod that can expand to 48"
Set of small drapery clips
4 1/8 yard fabric (with nice selvage edge to avoid hemming) 45" width
Stich Witchery Peel and Stick bonding tape

Assemble the Ikea desk, installing the legs on the far outer corners to maximize interior space
I cut the fabric 6" down the selvage edge (the manufactures edge). I didn't want to have to hem the fabric the whole way around and the edge looks like a nice fringe.
With the table upside down I used the hot glue gun to glue the fabric evenly around the edge with a 5" overhang (selvage out, cut edge to the interior of the table

Cut the remaining remaining length of fabric along the selvage to 29". From this I removed 50" from the end to make the curtains
Hot glue the longer fabric over the existing decorative band around three sides, leaving the front open, then permanently secure using the staple gun
Trim fabric as needed at final leg

Now that the main table is complete, take the remaining length of fabric that we set aside for curtains cut it in half
Iron the raw edges in and use the stitch witch to permanently form the hem.
Attach drapery clips to the top edge and hang them on the tension rod, then hang tension rod over the open side