Saturday, August 11, 2012

Adventures in Sewing: Making a Dog Bed

So I bought this McCall's pattern (M6455) at Atlantic Fabrics 2 weeks ago:

And finally got back there to pick up my fabric to make Oscar's new bed on Thursday.  Well, thanks to J, I got some spare time today and was able to get it done!


My supplies cost a little more than $20 after tax, and I only needed 1 bag of the stuffing!


So cutting the pattern was the easy part.  Trying to figure out how to lay the pieces on the fabric was another thing.  The way the pictures show how the fabric is supposed to be folded is so confusing!  Well after a couple of calls to my amazing sister, I finally started to get it.  But seriously, eff sewing patterns. 


Sewing on the Velcro.  I realized there's probably a proper way to do this, but I didn't want to bug my sis again lol  Fake it 'til ya make it, right?

 And done!  Removable outside cover and inner pillow!

Top
 I used fleece for the top part of the pillow, and the receipt says "pant-weight" for the bottom.  Not sure if that's a technical term or not, but it absolutely looks like the material old man pants are made from  lol

Bottom

I think it turned out great for my second project!  I might be ready to tackle an apron!  Now to see if it's fit for my little prince...




Success!  He loves it!  Let me know what you think!

*edited to add*

Thought I'd add in this little LOL that happened while i was writing this post.  Spellcheck suggestion fail (and yes I know my original spelling was crazy, but I tend to just type first, look for squiggly red lines after.  Don't judge me lol)

8 comments:

  1. WOW, your dog bed turned out AMAZING!!!! Your dog sure seem to like it!!! I love your spellcheck, this is hilarious! Hugs, Brigitte

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  2. Thanks Brigitte! I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out! I think the cat's jealous though, I might have to make a second one for her lol <3

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  3. Beautiful job on the dog bed, now Bittie will be extra irate! She is going to feel left out, LOL
    Hope to see you soon <3
    Hugs from me and kitties to you, Oscar and of course Bittie <3

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  4. Thanks! Oscar loves it! Bits isn't irate at all, the 2 of them are getting along just fine now :) Plus it took her 4 years to warm up to her IKEA bed, so I have zero worries about any feelings of her feeling left out ;)

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  5. I just Got this Pattern, & I want to make the dog bed. I cant figure out the lay out of the pattern. I feel so stupid, I have no one to call. Wondering if you had a few words of help or pics of how you folded your fabric for the pattern. :)

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  6. Hey there Melody! I know where you're coming from, the pattern instructions aren't right at all lol I'm afraid I didn't take pictures, but I have pulled out the pattern and I will try to describe what I did.

    Bed A (top)
    Take the fabric you want to use as the top of the bed and fold it in half, then in half again. Place the pattern so that the straight sides line up with the 2 sides with the folds. Pin and cut.

    Contrast A (Bottom)
    This is the one that messed me up because it made NO SENSE. My fabric wasn't cut to have the patterns lay like they were in either of the diagrams. What I did was measure the length of the Piece 1, then figured out which direction it would fit on the fabric. I then measured the width of Piece 1 and folded that much over plus about an inch and pinned my pattern on the fabric so that the straight edge was against the fold. I cut it out and repeated all that to get the second piece cut too. Just remember that the bottom pieces are going to be half ovals, not full ones like the top piece.

    Pillow A (Inner Pillow)
    I'm pretty sure this piece worked out as they instructed.

    I hope that helps! I's love to see pictures of your finished project :)

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  7. Thank you so much! Yes, now I understand. Yippy!
    Ya know, when I bought this dog bed pattern I thought to my self, "yea, no problem, I can do this." hah! as I'm looking at the pics of the layout, DaaaaaaaeeeH. So glad to have found your blog, awesome.
    I'll post the dog bed for sure when I finish.

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  8. Yay! I was worried my explanation wasn't going to make any sense at all! Good luck! Can't wait to see it :)

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