Homemade no-sew dog bed

I have two pretty adorable and incredibly spoiled chihuahuas. Their last bed was destroyed by a very upset puppy tummy, so they just had a small blanket in their sleeping area.

Here are the princesses. The black one is Pixie Stick & the white one is Xena Warrior Princess. 

I wanted to get them a couple of new beds that were machine washable, but I am cheap, so I decided to explore my options. I have tons & tons of fabric, but my sewing machine isn't working, so I decided to do a no-sew dog bed. Pretty simple & I just made it while I was watching TV. 

Not every fabric would work for this project because of fraying. I used cotton  jersey knit or you could use fleece. 

I guesstimated on size for the first one. They are both about 3 lbs, so they don't need a very big bed. 

Princesses need leopard print, right? Lay it out & cut two pieces, back to back, to the same size. 

Go all around the edges & cut fringes. I made them about an inch wide. You could probably cut the fringes 2" long. I did mine a little bit longer because I have long acrylic nails that made it trickier to tie the knots. 

In the corners, cut out about a 3" square of fabric. Then you simply tie the fringes together. Make sure you leave part open to stuff the bed. 

I didn't have any filling or batting, so I took two of my husband's old t-shirts, folded them & placed them inside. Then you simply tie it shut. 

This was my first attempt. It turned out pretty well. 

Pixie immediately claimed it as her own!

Once you tie it together, it bunches up, so this ended up smaller than I wanted. Even if they have 2 beds, Xena insists on sleeping as close as possible to Pixie. 

They are tiny enough that they both fit on this one, but I thought Pixie would appreciate more space, so I made another one. For the stuffing for the next one, I cut up pieces of fleece that I didn't care for.

When I quilt, I don't use batting. I go to the thrift store and buy old blankets & use those for batting. I prefer blankets for inside of quits because its cheaper, I like to recycle, they won't come apart and they make the quilt warmer than batting. 

Of course, you could just go buy batting or filling too :-)

I also made a bigger leopard one & I may make a couple more, so can have alternates for their sleeping area, living room, etc.

Plus when you have these two cuties "helping" you, why not spend your time hanging out with them? 

Xena thinks the fabric on my lap looks comfy. Makes it kind of hard to tie it though. 

Pixie looking at me adoringly while I work.

Xena making herself comfy in my fabric.