Sunday, November 16, 2014

Poor Freezing Fiona's New Dog Bed


This is one very large, very warm dog bed made for a deserving dog who can't get warm.





This is Fiona. She is a American English Coonhound, and has lived with my son's girlfriend now for several years. She came from the Humane Society as a rescue, and was returned twice by prospective owners before she found her forever home in the countryside. She's calmer now, quite gentle, and has made huge strides in doing normal dog things. 



She's been taught how to come to her name, go for a walk, play and socialize by some very patient young women. Sadly, in her previous home she was starved. She is normal weight now, but by our American standards, very thin. Because she tends not to have any body fat, she adores coats, sweaters, and cozy beds. She needs one of my quilted beds ASAP with winter setting in, and keeping an old house warm enough for her too expensive. 

Fifi chose this cute stack of pre-cut charms. It was just her color! So I found some nice washable twill for the bottom, and got started. It went from this...



to this. 


Just backing it with flannel wouldn't be warm enough for her so I repurposed a cotton mattress pad that no longer worked when we bought a thicker mattress. Then I layered a heavy cream colored flannel with it, and used my walking foot to quilt it. I only used minimal quilting to add to the loft and warmth of the cover. Denser quilting means less warmth.


I zigzagged the edges, and bound the front edge with leftover binding.


I once again repurposed a worn pillow and a memory foam mattress cover from one dear child's recent college days, and sewed it all together in a muslin cover. Both dogs took turns testing it out. It had positive reviews by both.



Everything came together beautifully, and Effy must have thought it was for her. 
She broke it in all evening.




One Christmas present done, and soon to be delivered. They don't all have to be opened on Christmas Eve or morning. Sometimes an early delivery is what's appreciated most of all. 

Fiona is going to be one Happy Camper!
Merry Christmas, Fiona.





1 comment:

Teje Karjalainen said...

Julie, this is the best ever dog bed! I'm sure Fiona loves here bed! Any change to see her using it? x Teje