Tuesday, December 29, 2009

♥Ask your momma to make you a heated snoozin' & nappin' bed♥



Two cushions are nestled inside a basket, one on top of the other; an electric pet-bed warmer (see Resources, below) sits between them. Any shallow basket will work. This one measures 14 inches wide, 19 inches long, and 6 inches deep. You can make the quilted fabric (see below) or buy it. Martha Stewart used a soft chambray bedsheet for the quilted pieces.

Cat Bed How-To
1. Place basket base on kraft paper, and trace around it. Cut out, then trim the pattern as needed to fit inside basket (a seam allowance isn't necessary).

2. Use the pattern to cut out 2 pieces of 2-inch-thick wool batting and 2 pieces of cotton fabric. For quilted pieces, follow online how-to or cut out 2 pieces of store-bought quilting.

3. Sandwich a piece of wool batting between a piece of quilted fabric and a piece of cotton fabric. The top and bottom layers should face right side out. Pin through all of the layers. Stitch along the circumference, 1/4 inch from edge. (Check periodically to be sure your needle is going through all
3 layers.) Remove pins.

4. Cut a piece of 1/2-inch-wide bias tape to go around the edge of the cushion, plus 1 inch. Pin to edge. Fold under last 1/2 inch, leaving 1/2 inch overlapping. Stitch. Remove pins.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to make second cushion. Sandwich bed warmer between cushions, and place in basket, as shown below.

Quilting How-To
1. Follow step 1 in the cat-bed how-to to make the pillow pattern, then cut out 4 pieces of chambray fabric for the outside layers and 2 pieces of 1-inch-thick wool batting for the filling.

2. Place 1 of the pieces of fabric, wrong side up, on a flat surface in a well-ventilated area. Spray it with temporary spray adhesive made for fabric. Immediately place the fabric, sticky side down, on the batting. Working from the center out, smooth fabric to remove any ripples or creases.

3. Repeat step 2 with another piece of fabric on the other side of the batting.

4. With a ruler and a disappearing-ink fabric pen, mark diagonal parallel lines 3 inches apart on fabric. To prevent fabric from puckering, sew along lines in the same direction. Draw lines perpendicular to the first and 3 inches apart, and again sew in one direction.

5. Repeat steps 1 to 4 with remaining fabric and batting.

9 comments:

Jasmim said...

it's so comfortable!
Mom has made a bed like that for me!

Amy & the house of cats said...

Oh this is a great idea - thanks for sharing it! I will have to consider trying it (my sewing skills are awful, even if I could figure out how to work the machine).

Anonymous said...

Great idea ...too bad Mom can't sew! Happy Holidays a little late...we lost power for days cuz an ice storm hit.

The Island Cats said...

What a great idea! With mom home all week, maybe we can get her to make us one...or two...or three!!

Daisy said...

That looks very cozy!

Ivan from WMD said...

MOM! I WANT ONE!!

Anonymous said...

Oooo, we wanna come join you on that!

dArtagnan Rumblepurr/Diego Hamlet Moonfur said...

MUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Oceanside Animals said...

I set Trouble up with something like this in her box to keep her toasty warm on those chilly evenings!