Dog bed

Pictured is Shadow on her bed made from recycled materials.

Our dog is spoiled. For one, she likes soft things to lie on. Wanting to have a comfortable place for our dog to sleep we set out to shop for a dog bed. Pet accessories are big business, we discovered. There are stores that specialize in nothing but pet supplies. They carry everything from pet food to toys, food dishes, leashes, cages, beds and more.

We found that dog beds are a little pricey. After giving the matter some thought we decided on a customized bed made by recycling items we already had on hand. A king size egg-crate mattress pad that we no longer were using became the filler. We cut three 30 by 40-inch pieces from the pad. Then stacking them one on top of the other it made a nice inner-cushion.

Next we decided it needed a durable cover so we got out a box of jeans that were beyond repair. We saved them to someday make quilt squares out of the parts that were still good. It seemed like this would be a good time to put some of those quilt squares to use for the dog bed cover.

We used a 7-inch cardboard square for our pattern. After cutting a big stack of them we sewed them in strips long enough to go around the bed. Then we sewed the strips together until we achieved the proper width for the cover. We made half-inch seams, making the finished squares to be 6-inches each.

Coming across a large bag of socks that had lost their mate over the years, we decided to make a blanket for the dog bed. We cut the tops off of each sock and after sorting them by color, sewed them end to end. Next we sewed the rows together making the sock blanket big enough to cover the top of the dog bed. To sew the sock pieces and rows together we set the sewing machine on the largest zigzag stitch possible and butted the ends and sides of the socks together as we sewed them. Since the socks were all colors we choose red for the thread color adding an extra design element to the blanket.

Due to our recycling efforts the cost of the dog bed only amounted to the time and effort it took to make it. And since it was a fun activity the cost seemed negligible and the landfill was deprived of things most people probably throw out. Anytime we can recycle and reuse items, giving them new life, we feel an extra sense of accomplishment.

The dog has approved of the bed and uses it regularly. We all are very happy with the final outcome.