I never thought our pug, Jaxon, ever cared about where he slept. This dog will sleep anywhere, and all day if he likes, so I thought a dog bed was just a dog bed. Until I got him one that clearly did not meet his standards. He would’ve rather slept on the hardwood floor than in this thing. So out it went and I was left with the dilemma of spending yet another $20 on a dog bed that he may or may not like. And would most definitely be ugly.

So I decided to go the cheaper (and better looking) route by making one myself. I bought a cheap, yet fluffy, pillow from Walmart and some canvas fabric on sale at JoAnn’s that would match our decor.

I’m new to sewing and I didn’t have a pattern to go by, just what was in my head, so for all you experienced sewers out there, please excuse my ignorance and don’t laugh at the diagram I put together below. I mean it – don’t laugh!

Okay, so you get enough fabric to completely cover your pillow. I got a standard sized one and used just a smidge over a yard (a yard x 45″). First you’ll hem the top of your fabric, one of the shorter sides (Figure 1). Then you’ll fold your fabric in half length-wise (so the opposite side is on the outside) and sew the edges together (Figure 2). You’ll finish by sewing the bottom of the fabric together (Figure 3), so the only opening will be at the top. Turn your pillowcase inside out and then slide your pillow in, tuck the remaining fabric underneath and you’re done!

I don’t know how to do a zipper, but if you know how to do this, then have at it and you can close it. I chose to let the fabric be a little longer, and then just tucked the longer portion underneath. This reason was two-fold: one, so I could accomodate a larger, longer pillow in the future, and second, I was lazy and just wanted a quick fix for the puppy.

From start to finish this project cost $9 and about 20 minutes. At the end you will have a functional dog bed that looks as fabulous as it is comfy. And the best part of it all is it’s washable!