DIY Old T-Shirt Dog Bed

Your last spring-cleaning session turned up various old T-shirts and sweatshirts. Instead of throwing or giving them away, consider turning one into a fluffy bed for your favorite pooch. With a little effort on your part, a T-shirt becomes an easy-to-wash doggie bed. Considering that many pooches find the laundry pile a perfect sleeping location, an old T-shirt is the perfect material for a dog bed.

T-Shirt Bed

Turn the T-shirt inside out. Using a sewing machine or needle and thread, sew the neck opening closed in a straight line. Sew the sleeves closed from the armpit to the shoulder. Turn the T-shirt right side out.

Cut a piece of Velcro to fit the bottom of the T-shirt. Sew one side of the Velcro to one side of the T-shirt. Repeat with the other side. By using Velcro, you create an opening that allows you to remove the stuffing and wash the doggie bed when it gets dirty.

Stuff the bed through the bottom opening with your choice of stuffing. Secure the Velcro closure, fluff up the bed and it is ready for your pooch. Increase stuffing amount for a firmer, supportive bed.

Long-Sleeved T-Shirt Bed

Turn the T-shirt inside out. Sew a straight line from armpit to armpit across the chest of the T-shirt. This creates a tube section from sleeve to sleeve to fill with stuffing, creating a border around center pillow of the dog bed. Sew the opening of each sleeve closed.

Sew matching Velcro strips onto the front and back of the neck opening, and do the same at the base of the T-shirt. These will enable you to stuff the border and the bed surface, as well as to remove the stuffing to wash the bed. Attach matching Velcro strips to the sleeves and the sides of the T-shirt so you can connect the border to the bed surface.

Fill the body of the T-shirt with your choice of stuffing and Velcro it closed. Fill the sleeves through the neck, creating a long snakelike tube. Curl the tube around the base cushion and attach the two pieces of Velcro on the sleeves.

Tips

  • For odor control and a natural flea repellent, use cedar chips to fill your T-shirt bed. Replace the cedar chips when they no longer smell.

    A sweatshirt can replace a long-sleeved T-shirt.

    While some fill material is washable, washing a doggie pillow in a machine can change the pillow's shape. Removing the fill before washing allows you to clean the bed and restuff it, ensuring it maintains its shape. If the fill material becomes soiled and is unable to be washed, replace with fresh fill material.

Tips

  • For odor control and a natural flea repellent, use cedar chips to fill your T-shirt bed. Replace the cedar chips when they no longer smell.

  • A sweatshirt can replace a long-sleeved T-shirt.

  • While some fill material is washable, washing a doggie pillow in a machine can change the pillow's shape. Removing the fill before washing allows you to clean the bed and restuff it, ensuring it maintains its shape. If the fill material becomes soiled and is unable to be washed, replace with fresh fill material.

Items You Will Need

  • Old T-shirt
  • Sewing machine or needle and thread
  • Velcro
  • Scissors
  • Stuffing (polyfill, foam or old clothing)