Pet Bed Covers

After years of washing the cat beds when the hair got too thick, I had to come up with something better.  I made fabric covers for my plush cat beds, and they work great.  They're like bowl covers and shower caps.

The pile fabric the beds are made with is very soft, but it holds the hair like velcro.  The cotton fabric I use, being smoother, is easy to clean.  A damp paper towel rubbed over the fabric is great for removing the hair before tossing the covers in the washer. 

 This is the underneath side.  This cover is a little loose, but the fabric hasn't been washed or dried, yet, and may shrink slightly.  I pull the 3/8" elastic tight and use a wide zig-zag stitch to sew it on.  About every 5-6", I'll make a 5/8" or so pleat in the fabric as I sew the elastic over it.  The outer edge of the covers are just too big to have the elastic gather it enough to fit well.  A cover that is too big is better than one too small.

 These are two covers I made last week for the small beds we use in the crates when we take our fosters to Petsmart on Saturdays.  I give some to the other foster moms, too, and am told they love them.  It's also a great way of using up my older fabric.

Almost before I could take the pictures, I had cats wanting to try them out. Xena is in front, Cody and Lilly in the beds, and Ebony waiting on the chair.  My cats must not be too bright.  Cody is in the pink bed and Lilly is in the blue one.

This is a larger bed.  I have patterns made for 4 sizes of beds.

The covers take a lot more fabric than you think.   Here is a small bed that measures 14" x 17".  The fabric for the cover is cut 31" x 34", and takes almost a yard of fabric.  I've been cutting the leftover fabric from the corners into 2.5" and 3.5" strips and in squares from 2.5" to 8.5".  I'm positive I'll use them in future projects.