My latest project is for my precious puppy, Cole. I’ve been wanting to make him a doggie pillow for a while now and just got around to it this past weekend. Since Great Danes have all kinds of bone/joint problems as they age I wanted to start early trying to keep Cole’s long legs as comfy as I can. I know how expensive doggie beds (especially for his size!) can be so I decided to try my hand at coming up with a cheaper yet still functional solution. Read my step by step instructions after the jump!

My restrictions:

• Cover has to be removable so I can wash it
• Material on the inside cannot bunch up over time
• Thick enough to be comforting for his joints

First the Inside:
Cole (as many dogs do) LOVES to chew on blankets. He will sit for hours and just gnaw on any blanket we give him. Knowing that I wanted this pillow to have no characteristics of a blanket. It had to be thick enough where he could tell it wasn’t a blanket and it also had to not bunch up, as material like cotton stuffing tends to do, over time. My solution was taking an old comforter I had that was taking up space in my linen closet and folding/cutting into the correct size to fit into the pillow I wanted to create.

I then wrapped a blanket around it to make an envelope and stitched it closed.

I then took a large needle and threaded it with embroidery thread to do a very large blanket stitch to hold all of the layers together.

Now the outside
All I did was create an envelope pillow case. I cut a rectangle the size I wanted the pillow and put it aside. I then cut two panels the same width but half the length for the back envelope. Make sure that you add about 3 inches to each side to create that overlap that holds the pillow inside the case.

On the two rectangles, double fold a hem in on just the side that will overlap, iron them down, and then stitch them together. Then all you have to do is pin the large rectangle right sides together with the two back panels (making sure you remember to create that overlap) and stitch it all together.

When stitching is complete, turn it inside out and stuff your already assembled inside pillow into the envelope!!


A little extra…
I had some leftover fabric and decided to use it to sew a dog bone onto the front! Always be thinking of little extra ways to make something even more unique to you!