So, last weekend we made beds and mats for the humane society, and today will be more using up some other things you may have around the house to make more. DH bought a new pillow for himself, and wanted to throw the old one away. Of course, I couldn’t let him do that. The fiberfill in his old pillow was perfectly fine for a dog bed, just pull away any fiberfill that looks dirty or stained after washing. I pulled away just a bit of the top layer on the surface of the pillow stuffing, the edges and middle looked clean. Then, I pulled out an old sheet that will never get used for quilt backing. I cut it up into rectangles, and serged three edges.
I used the serger for really only one main reason, to use the machine. Any machine needs to be used regularly to maintain it in working order. Plus, I have lots of thread for it!
But, just use your regular machine if you don’t have a serger. Sew three edges and part of the fourth leaving an opening for turning. Stuff softly, then topstitch the edge closed.
That old pillow will fill a bunch of dog beds. The fiberfill gets very fluffy when pulled apart.
Smaller pieces of batting can be folded into the right size to fill a crate mat.
Just start with the size piece of fabric you want, then place the folded batting on top, trimming off any excess.
Sew the edges leaving an opening for turning. Roll the batting, and insert, then unroll inside for a flatter mat. This mat is 12 x 18 inches.
Then I had two pieces left over 10 x 16, those will be fine. I lay batting on the sewn cover and trimmed it to fit.
Then, I had little batting pieces like these left over.
Which turned into quite a fluffy stuffing when pulled apart with my hands.
So, one pillow, one king size sheet, and some leftover batting scraps turned into this!
Seven dog beds and two crate mats ready for a sweet dog or cat to use while waiting for a forever home. I cleared out a bunch of stuff from my sewing room between today’s project and last weekend’s beds, all from things that might have just been thrown away otherwise. Recycle and reuse. Old pillowcases would make quick beds too. And as reader Jeanne observed, an old hole filled blanket can be cut up for stuffing too. It is a win-win for me and the animals!
Do you have old pillows, pillow cases, blankets and sheets to recycle? What might you do with them?
Sharing
From My Carolina Home 
I especially like your idea of creating crate pads from leftover batting!! Great idea!
Gonna be some Lucky & Happy Dogs & Kitties thanks to you Carole!!
What great ideas. I am going to be more organized with my smaller pieces of material that I normally would have discarded. I know those animals will really appreciate the effort. Your heart goes out to them and it’s just one way of helping make their day a little better.
Wooow! These are so pretty ♥
Good Morning Carole! The pillow stuffing idea is a great idea! I am hoping to stop at a couple of garage sales today and will purchase some pillows if I see any just for this reason and project. Thank you so much for sharing your splendid idea! Have a fantastic creative day!
good idea. id need probably 4 pillows to make a bed for my dog. lol
Fantastic!!! What a great job. The animals will be very comfy for sure.
Yes, great dog beds and just that easy
. One of our charities in our Yuma winter sewing group, we save all the cuttings from our sewing in a 30+ garbage bin and weekly can make several dog beds. Always fun to see how many dog beds along with our charities quilts by the end of March. The SPCA, Linus, hospital, and sometimes the local transition house all benefit from our fun in the sewing room. The quilting season in our Winter home along with many other RV parks supply many local charities along with the churches we do get a lot of fun of doing good.
I like this idea. I like making mats for our local pet shelter.
Sorry I have not been around. Mom is having hospice care now. It is hard, but I am just going to try to be strong.
Oh I love this project! I have never used a serger but for things like this I think it would be perfect and a sturdy stitch. I love to reuse and re purpose too-thanks for the tutorial great photos
Sadly, I don’t. I barely have enough for my bed. LOL I love what you did, though, and it’s a great idea. Thanks for sharing it.
Absolutely perfect! i want to crochet mats and little blankets for the animal rescue groups here. Just trying to figure out exactly the pattern I want to use and the size.
What a great idea Carole!!! When we moved from CA to AR we took some of our moving blankets to the Humane Society here to use in there crates… They were very happy to have them… 🙂 Coming to you from Kathys Creativity Wednesdays!! Hugs! deb