Letters
DIY Saturday: How to Make an Old Sweater into a Dog Bed
Dear Ann,
Last Sunday at Rhinebeck, I wandered into the beautiful Buckwheat Bridge booth. Admiring the wall of yarn, my eye was drawn to a Most Unusual Object. It was one of a kind.
It was a dog bed made from an adult-sized Nordic-style L.L. Bean pullover that seemed to have a very tiny neck opening. (Laundry accident? Who knows.)
The stuffing was wool fleece. Because this was a sheep and wool festival.
Ka-ching! I bought it for Olive. It’s so Her Thing. She loves dog beds, people beds, and cushions of any kind. She loves sweaters. She loves wool. It’s a big upgrade, home dec-wise, from her hand-me-down, black nylon Kirkland pet bed, known as The Bucket.
Baby’s first sweaterbed. olive’s own sweater was a gift, knitted by norma miller.
I vaguely recalled having seen a how-to video for how to DIY an old sweater into a pet bed. The one up top makes it look so easy. All the assembly stitches are by hand. All you need is some strong yarn, the stuffing from two old pillows (being a dog, Olive prefers used-unto-near-death pillows), a big-eyed needle, and scissors. We got this!
A 10-pound terrier’s life is hard, but the little luxuries help.
The sweater used for Olive’s bed is so big that only the top half was stuffed. The bottom half was folded over and stitched onto the bottom of the bed, so it’s triple-thick.
My weekend project is to make a spare sweater bed for Olive. (Instagram spoiler! If you make one, please post to the #sweaterbed hashtag so we can all enjoy.)
There are other tutorials, some using sweatshirts, and some using sewing machines, but I like the by-hand approach. I can see a lot of Alabama Chanin-ish opportunities here.
What a great low-key craft project. If you have a small dog, or a cat of any size up to XX-KRMT, get your hands on an old sweater and get busy.
Love,
Kay
It’s a literal hug! I love it. What a sweet pup your Olive is.
Olive has such a sweet face. Have 2 mixed terriers so this project idea will certainly come in handy. Thanks.
I love this! The tiny dog has enough beds right now but I wonder if I could find a big enough sweater for the 40 pounder, whose Kirkland bed is nearing the end of its life?
Scan the thrift shops for a big sweater “coat” / “jacket”, or maybe a big, big sweatshirt.
Foxy Olive has approving eyes for her new bed!
look at fancy Olive, so classy & cozy!
Great bed! Gotta make at least one. But hey!! Kermit is not XX! He is big boned and maybe a bit fluffy. Snuggleable for sure! And truly loved. Just sayin.
And for those who (gasp!) don’t have a dog or kitty, our local shelter would settle a new rescue into something like this, and when adopted, the bed goes with puppy/kitty to their new forever home.
You can also find directions, I think on Ravelry, tune it pads to donate to shelters for dogs and cats. My aunt used to make some to donate in garter stitch knit with two strands of acrylic yarn. They provide comfort and are washable.
Ooooh, I this suggestion!!
Kay, this is a fantastic idea. Sharing!! PS: Love reader Susan Maynard’s idea/comment.
This is great! My Boyz (two tuxedo cats) already have a ton of beds but I bet they would like one that smells like my husband. After I finish knitting my own sweater ….
Great close-up of Olive – she was clearly ready for it 🙂 I love this bed, and this idea, and look forward to your project! I’ve seen a similar bed made from a pair of old jeans, so that a cat curled up in it looks like a cat on a lap. cute, but I think the sweater idea would be a lot smooshier and more comfortable.
Such a cozy bed and such a beautiful color it is, too! Also, Olive’s sweater is lovely, beautiful work, and looks very nice on her. Olive sure is rocking the knits today!
I have made a lot of dog beds over the years, Brody’s favorite is a pocket bed in a picture window in my sewing room. And has a built-in blanket for him to snuggle under.
I think I’ll have to use the lengths of sweatshirt fabric languishing in the fabric stash (stash busting!) to finagle a sweatshirt big enough for either of my two hairy behemoths, whose heads and hind ends drape over onto the floor when they stretch out on their XXL commercial dog beds. They will often use their furry brother’s bed as a pillow! But first I may watch one or two of the follow on videos to do some baking. Organic dog biscuits or dark, sexy brownies?
Can’t wait to try this!
This is so adorable! I have been knitting for over 45 years so I have plenty of sweater candidates. But both of my dogs are too big. Must not get a third dog. Must not get a third dog.
I love that your solution to this problem is 3rd dog. I like your thinking.
Thanks. I have a one bedroom apartment uptown that I share with two dogs and a cat, so I am at capacity. But I do go to petfinders.com and daydream about yet another rescue.
My boys certainly need a few, maybe one each? There’s an old Cowichan cardigan in the closet, I’ll try that, too. Probably will need to use the backside.
So cute! Olive looks great.
I wish I still had my first ever sweater, knit when I was 14. It was too big (no gauge swatch!). I shrank it. It didn’t fit and I couldn’t get my head through the hole. It would make a perfect cat bed, but alas it is long gone.
What a great idea! Although, you know, Olive absolutely NEEDS one in every room. Being a supermodel is soooo exhausting! (And be nice to KRMT, or you might find hairballs in your luggage the next time you visit MDK World HQ!)
I need to make one for Miss Lillie. She adores her dog beds.
What breed is Olive? I used to have a beloved dog who looked just like her, but I got him from a dog pound so I never knew his breed. He was the sweetest guy, and very devoted to guarding my shoes.
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh, I cried watching that beautiful sweater being made into a dog bed. To me, it’s just an beautiful, blue/gray, oversized sweater that would be great here in Iowa on a cold, winter day! LOL!!
Thinkin’ of our in-house cats/dogs…..’Rish (tomcat) would just…..lay on the sweater! LOL!!
Love your work here on MDK!!
Believe me, any sweater that is just lying around gets laid on in this house. Olive sees that as an invitation. But she likes having a proper bed on the hard floor. It’s her “desk.”
I didn’t see it mentioned so my first thought was that the bed of one sweater is fine for the doxie and the schnauzer, but the border collie is just too doggone big. So what would happen if you used two sweaters? Meet the waist bands in the middle?
You are blowing my mind, Deborah! That’s a genius idea. You’d just join up the middles the same way the original “pattern” joins up the sleeves, I think. And it would look so cool and patchwork-y with two sweaters!
Actually for my dogs I would need at least 3 XXX sweaters. My bloodhound puppy Jeremiah turned 5 months last Monday and was weighed at the vet on Friday. 67.5#. My biggest bloodhound is 120#. Any suggestions? Even my 2 newest – both senior foxhounds are 50#. When I rescued these 2 they had never been in a house or had a bed. They would love a sweater made bed.
What a cutie and what a terrific idea for an old sweater to find new use! Time to go thrift-shopping…