Favorite spot

Sew a cozy dog bed from old jeans and hide a sweet surprise in the back pockets

A dog bed sewn from old jeans will become your dog’s favorite spot because it smells like you, and its pockets may hold treats or a favorite toy.

Author Krista Kangas-Lahtinen

Images Kristiina Kurronen, Krista Kangas-Lahtinen

February 3, 2025Lue suomeksi

Dog bed from old jeans—supplies

about four pairs of men’s jeans
an inner cushion, 60 × 60 cm in size
stuffing
contrasting topstitch thread
30 cm of hook-and-loop tape
basic sewing supplies and a sewing machine
ironing supplies
a ruler
scissors or a patchwork cutting mat and rotary cutter

A puppy in the bed. — Our sample bed measures about 65 × 65 cm. By adjusting these instructions, you can make a smaller or larger bed. Hertta, a 9-week-old Bernese mountain dog puppy, was smitten with the jean bed.

Completed dog bed — This plush bed is durable and washable. You can remove the bottom padding before washing, so the bed dries quickly.

Dog bed from old jeans—instructions

Strips and pockets cut from jeans. — The patchwork top will look lively when you use jeans in various shades.

Cutting the pieces

1. Cut off the legs from three pairs of jeans and open them along one of the seams. Then cut out two pieces measuring 37 × 62 cm for the bed’s bottom and four pieces measuring 32 × 62 cm for the sides.

Use the fourth pair of jeans and any leftovers from the other jeans for the mattress surface, and cut e.g. 9 cm wide strips for the patchwork. It’s fine if the strips are different lengths. You’ll also need jean pockets. Cut off the pockets so that there’s at least a 2 cm seam allowance around them.

Patchwork top and pockets. — Sew all bed seams with a 1 cm seam allowance. Use a slightly heavier needle (size 90–100) suited for denim, and lengthen the stitch for topstitching.

Making the patchwork top

2. If your strips are short, join them until they are about 65 cm long. For a surface the size of our sample work here, you’ll need a total of nine strips measuring 9 × 65 cm. Arrange the strips in your preferred color order and sew them together with right sides facing. Press the seams open. Sew a decorative topstitch with contrasting thread on both sides of each seam.

3. Trim the finished patchwork top to 62 × 62 cm.

4. Fold the edges of the pocket pieces slightly to the wrong side and topstitch the jean pockets onto the patchwork wherever you like.

Sides, bottom, and assembly

Where to attach hook-and-loop tape. — The bottom of the finished bed opens and closes with hook-and-loop tape. The tape goes on the bottom pieces, one on the right side and one on the wrong side. The inner cushion slides into the finished bed through the opening.

5. Sew a finishing edge on one long side of each bottom piece. Fold a 4 cm hem and topstitch it. Center the pieces of hook-and-loop tape on the hems and stitch them in place.

6. Place two side strips right sides together and sew along the short edge. Start and stop sewing 1 cm from the edge. (This is done so the corners can be sewn in step 8.) Repeat and sew the pairs together to form a ring.

7. Fold the side piece in half with right sides facing outward, and stitch a vertical line on top of the seams you just sewed. These stitched lines will form the bed’s corners.

Photo of sewing the corner. — When attaching the side strips to each other, begin and end your stitching a centimeter before the edge. This way, the piece will fold neatly around the bed corner when you sew the side strips onto the top and bottom pieces.

8. Pin the side piece to the patchwork top so that the stitched seams align with the patchwork corners. Sew each side separately and leave a gap in the middle of the side for inserting stuffing.

9. Place the bottom pieces of the bed and the front piece with right sides together, sew them as instructed in step 8, and leave openings for stuffing.

10. Turn the piece right side out and fill the sides with stuffing through the openings. Then turn the piece wrong side out again and close the gaps by hand or with the sewing machine. A zipper foot is helpful here. The fuller you stuff the sides, the more challenging it becomes to machine-sew the openings closed.

11. Turn the bed right side out and place the cushion inside it. Slip a treat or your dog’s favorite toy into the pocket.

A puppy in the finished bed. — If you have a puppy, keep the sides a bit softer so the little one can climb in more easily. An old blanket or a piece of an old mattress also works well as bottom padding.

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