This pet lounge comes in two sizes, but you can easily customize to your pet’s needs. See note
below the chart. I have Boston Terriers and I made the S/M size which is 18x24”. The L/XL is
24x36”.
Use this chart to cut your pieces:
Notes: You can make your fleece section even more plush and durable by layering it on top of a
high loft batting and cotton fabric then quilting. I did this in the lounge that is shown. To make a
different size of bed, simply add .75” to your bed’s length and width when cutting the fabric.
All seam allowances are 3/8”
Before I began to make the bed, I designed a stitch pattern with my dog’s name in Janome’s
Artistic Digitizer software, and embroidered it on my Skyline S9. For the remainder of this
project, I have used my Continental M7.
If you choose to quilt your fleece section, go ahead and quilt in whatever way makes you
happy. I suggest finishing the edges with a serger or zigzag stitch to lessen the amount of
shedding that tends to happen with fur and fleece fabrics.
Begin by sewing the top wall fabrics with a 3/8” seam allowance. You will sew one short end of
the side fabric onto either end of the center fabric, right sides together. You will sew two sets in
the same order: side > center > side Press seams away from the center on one of the sewn
strips, and press seams toward the center on the other. This will help the seams to nest
together on the next step.
Pin the two long strips right sides together. Begin sewing at the bottom of one short end, pivot
at the corner and continue to sew. There are three sections, and in each section, you will need
to stop, backstitch, and leave a 4-5” gap around the middle of each section before continuing to
sew. These gaps are necessary for adding poly-fil at the end of the project. Continue to sew,
leaving the gaps in each section, until you reach the end of the strip, pivot, and sew down the
short side. See diagram below:
Clip the corners on either side of your strip, being careful not to cut your stitching. Open the
fabric, and press the seam allowance open as well as you can. This will make stitching the
openings closed after stuffing a breeze! Finally, place fabric wrong sides together, and topstitch
in the ditch where the seam allowances nest, so that you will have three distinct sections on
this wall: a left side, center, and right side. Set aside.
You will now sew your bottom sides together. Sew the two shorter pieces to either end of one
longer piece along the short sides. Sew the remaining long piece to the other ends of either of
those short sides so that you have a loop of fabric in the following order: long > short > long >
short > Top stitch the seam allowance to the shorter sides using a 1/4” seam allowance. Set
aside.
We will now stitch the three sides of the top wall onto the fleece. Begin by placing the center of
the wall section in 3/8” from either end of the fleece. The fleece should be 3/8” longer than this
center section on either side. Pin in place. Sew beginning 3/8” from the edge of the fleece, and
end 3/8” before the end of the fleece, where you pinned.
Clip the wall piece as shown, up to the line of stitching.
Insert: clip at corner.jpg
Next, align the side walls on the fleece 3/8” from either end of the fleece. Stitch in place.
The bottom side section is going to be sewn in much the same way as the top walls, but with
four sides instead of three. Fold the top wall sections out of the way, and layer the top edge of
one long side of the bottom section on top of the fleece on the front section which does not
have a wall piece. You will align these bottom sections 3/8” in from the fleece corners just like
you did in the last step. Stitch along this strip with a 3/8” seam allowance.
Repeat with the back center. This time you will also be sewing through the top wall layers. Place
the top edge of the bottom section face down onto the previously sewn top wall, and stitch in
place.
Clip along the seam lines of the bottom section in order to sew the sides in place. Stitch sides in
place. Your bed should now look like this:
Now we will attach the zipper foot to the machine, and stitch the zipper to the back bottom
wall of the bed and the bottom rectangular section. Center the zipper, and stitch in place using
a 3/8” seam allowance. Go back along the beginning and end of the zipper and stitch the fabric
together where necessary if the zipper is shorter than the fabric. I like to overlap just a little to
strengthen the seam. See photos.
Open the zipper at least halfway, then attach the bottom panel to the front of the bottom
section, right sides together.
Clip at the corners as you have now done several times, and then finish attaching the bottom
panel by stitching along the sides.
Finish seam allowances if desired, then turn the bed right side out through the zippered
opening.
This is exciting, but don’t be tempted to rush. If you are using a dense foam, do be patient
putting it through the opening and shifting it into place in the fabric. It should be an exactly
perfect fit!
All that is left to do now is to fill the top walls of the bed with Poly-fil. Gently fill up the walls as
much or as little as you like, then use a hand sewing needle to sew a ladder stitch to close the
openings.
Grab your pet and have them model their new lounge! I hope it will take less effort for your dog
to look happy than it did for my Sybil. I told my family it was like getting a three year old to
cooperate for a newborn shoot. She didn’t want to be still!
