How to Replace Fabric and Stuffing in a Dog Bed

H.D.M.Howard e 3 altri collaboratori

Ultimo aggiornamento il May 24, 2023

30 minuti - 2 ore

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Does your dog (or cat!) have a favorite bed? Is that bed worn, torn, or falling apart, but they can't bear to part with it? This guide can help you salvage the fabric that is still usable so that your fur baby can keep using the bed.

In this guide, you will learn how to replace the worn or torn fabric and stuffing of a dog bed. You can also use old clothes to add your scent to the bed and cut down on buying new materials.

For this repair you will need:

Fabric: Cotton canvas is suggested for durability.
Scissors: Fabric scissors recommended for their ergonomic shape and sharper edges.
Sharp needles: Universal Sharps were used.
Thread: Upholstery thread is recommended for durability.
Stuffing: In this guide, three types of stuffing were used:
- Old clothes
- Poly-fil fiber fill
- Poly fiber sheet, for stiffness
Pins: Fabric pins are used but safety pins can be used in their place.
Sewing Machine: This guide uses a machine for the sewing steps, but you may choose to hand sew.

Optional tools used in this guide:

Seam Ripper: A seam ripper is used to remove the stitched seams. If your base is in poor enough condition you can instead use only the fabric scissors to cut away the base from the top.
Fabric measuring tape: A flexible measuring tape that is used to measure fabric, dress forms, or body measurements for clothing.

Passo 1 Base Fabric

How to Replace Fabric and Stuffing in a Dog Bed, Base Fabric: passo 1, immagine 1 di 2

How to Replace Fabric and Stuffing in a Dog Bed, Base Fabric: passo 1, immagine 2 di 2

Open a hole in the base of the bed (or the fabric you intend to replace) using the scissors or seam ripper, or a combination of the two.

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Passo 2

Remove all of the old stuffing from inside the bed.
Set aside the stuffing you want to reuse; dispose of the rest in an appropriate manner.

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Passo 3

Remove the rest of the fabric being replaced with the scissors or seam rippers.
Optional: You may want to wash the fabric you are keeping before moving on to Step 4. Make sure the fabric is dry before moving on.

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Passo 4

How to Replace Fabric and Stuffing in a Dog Bed: passo 4, immagine 3 di 3

Lay the top fabric (or the fabric you are keeping) on top the new base fabric.
Trim the new fabric to about one (1) inch longer in both height and width than the existing fabric.
If you have a soft tape measure, use it here for a more precise measurement.
Caution! Do not trim the new fabric to the exact size of the existing fabric. You need overhang to create a strong seam.

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Passo 5

Line up the fabrics for pinning; center the smaller on top of the larger.
You always sew inside out, so the "top" side of the fabrics should be facing each other.
Place pins about one (1) inch apart, starting at the edge and going in towards the center of the fabric.

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Passo 6

How to Replace Fabric and Stuffing in a Dog Bed: passo 6, immagine 3 di 3

If you are sewing by hand, here is the Wiki How for hand sewn seams.
If you are using a sewing machine, make sure the bobbin is filled with your chosen thread and line up the fabric for a 1/4" seam.
Sew three (3) sides of your fabric, pulling out the pins as you go along.
When you complete your three sides, backstitch about 1/2", pull the fabric away from the sewing machine to give yourself a long tail of thread, and then snip the thread.

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Passo 7

How to Replace Fabric and Stuffing in a Dog Bed: passo 7, immagine 3 di 3

Flip the bed right-side out by pulling the fabric through the opening you have left.
Start filling the bed with your chosen stuffing.
We're using poly-fil, old clothing with our scent, and the scraps from our new fabric.
If using the optional foam densified board, you need to factor in the height of your bed and trim it down to the appropriate length and width. Image 3 shows how you can use two (2) pieces to sandwich in the other stuffing.

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Passo 8

How to Replace Fabric and Stuffing in a Dog Bed: passo 8, immagine 3 di 3

Sew the final side closed.
Optional:To make this step easier, you can pin the edges closed together.
If you would like to use an invisible closure, usually called a pillow closure, here is the YouTube video on how to do a pillow closure.