Make Your "Best Friend" Happy and Comfortable With A Dog Mat Without Spending a Fortune

Recycling Old Sheets Is A Cheap Way To Give Your Dog A Comfortable Place To Sleep

 If you've looked through dog catalogs, dog beds are pretty expensive.

I wanted to give my 2 dogs something comfortable to lie on when they nap or go to sleep at night.

You see here in the picture my good old boy, Merlin, resting very comfortably on a mat that I made. It's made from an old flannel sheet that is no longer viable for my bed.

 I measured both dogs from nose to top of tail and added a few extra inches for stretching comfort.

For Merlin's mat, I bought 1 1/4 yards of 1" foam rubber and batting. The foam comes in a standard width of 25 inches. So, when the mat is finished it will be 46" X 25".

I layered the batting on top of the foam rubber to give it a little extra softness.

For the cover, I used the old sheet and a remnant piece of heavy weight cotton fabric I had laying around in my sewing room.

I measured and cut the fabric to the size of the foam rubber mat plus a half inch for the seam.

Then with my serger, I ran a seam on three sides of the mat--the 2 short sides and one long side.

I then turned the fabric right side out and put the foam mat and batting inside the "pocket" of the fabric.

I handstitched a simple running stitch to close up the opening.  This simple handstitch makes it easy to  open and throw the cover into the washer. When  it's time to put the cover back on, reinsert the    foam and batting into the fabric casing and do  another simple running stitch to close it up.

And now you have a simple, cheap, comfortable     mat for your dog to lie on.

For one mat, it cost me:

$10.00 for the foam

$2.50 for the batting

and the fabric I already had left over for a total    cost for one mat of

$12.50

And I have a very happy dog!

For more money saving tips for your dog, visit:

 www.MoreBarkForYourBuck.com

This is a wonderful website with tons of money saving tips to      care for your dog.