I was at my favorite local craft store (Gather Here) a few weeks ago and saw a project I had to make.
A cat bed! Isn’t it adorable?! My boy turns 18 in a week and my goal was to finish it before his birthday.
The pattern is from Southwest Denim Designs & More – the K-107 Cat Napper Pattern. The pattern includes the instructions you need to make the cat bed cover, and then the foam insert is sold separately. It’s the Bosal CB-1 foam insert, which you can find online (here it is on Amazon). Thankfully my craft store had the pattern, the foam insert, and the materials (fabric and fusable fleece). For the fabric I selected this one: Windham Caturday Catitude in peach.
The pattern is easy to follow and the steps involved are manageable for any level sewer. The instructions also include a photo sheet that shows each sewing step along the way, which was awesome.
Using the pattern, I cut all of the fabric and fusable fleece pieces to the specifications.
I ironed the fabric and then ironed the two to fuse the fleece to the fabric. Of note, fusable fleece is used to give body and softness to fabric, especially for projects like pillows or bedding.
Once I had all of the pattern pieces ready to go, it was time to sew. There are a few components: the outside bottom and outside wall pieces, the inside bottom and inside wall pieces, and then the top band, which is the piece that holds to the outside and inside pieces together.
Getting the pieces together takes a bit of skill; you essentially have to sew everything inside out, and carefully, so that when it’s all flipped right side out, it is one piece that covers the cat bed with all of the fabric right side up. Also the other thing to know is that, since the cat bed is round, the sewing is a bit fussy. Sewing right angles is super easy, circular sewing requires some finesse to make sure the seams align, and the fabric sits flat/doesn’t bunch up. Here’s a nice video tutorial from Bluprint if you need help.
Ah, success! Flipping the cover right side out was so rewarding.
The final step is to put the cover on the foam insert carefully. This also requires adjusting and fussing with to get it just right. Thankfully the cover is slightly bigger than the foam which is good; if it were a snug fit there’s no way you’d get it on and lined up.
When it was all done, I put in on the floor and called Reggie over. He hopped in it and immediately started rubbing his face all over it.
He loves it!
The pattern includes a pillow for the bottom of the cat bed. You could skip this step if you wanted to. I made it because I’m a completionist like that, but I consider it a bonus piece; the bed is plush and cozy without it, for sure.
Another thought after making this project – if I were to make another cover in the future I would probably skip the fusable fleece. It’s a nice touch but, again, not something I think is absolutely necessary.
Overall I love this cat bed and so does Reggie! I am so glad I picked this up. This took me two afternoons to make – one to cut and iron all of the fabric, and one to construct/sew together.