Our new geek dog, Pixel, needed a bed to match her name. She loves sleeping on our pillows, so I made her this giant pillow with washable pillow case. Believe it or not the picture is of a medium sized dog on a huge pillow, not a tiny dog on a normal pillow. This took me less than 2hrs to make. I looked for geeky fabric in fabric shops to no avail however I hit upon the idea of using bedsheets and I found I had lots of options for geeky patterns.

This bed is based on the many cushion bed on the market. However none of them have geeky fabric on them. This is an example of one of the many cushion dog beds on amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Linens-Limited-Brown-Extra-Large/dp/B008AWGD56/ref=pd_sim_kh_3

This bed is superior to some basket style beds because it conforms to the shape of the dog and makes them feel safe.

Step 1: What You Will Need

2 pillows - they must be filled with polyester stuffing not foam.

Bedsheets - or any fabric with the pattern or texture that you like. So long as it is washable.

Sewing machine - not mandatory but it speeds up the process.

Pillowcase - for measuring.

Step 2: Empty the Pillows

Use a seam ripper or scissors to open one of the long sides of the pillow then pull out the stuffing and put it aside for later.

Do the same with the other pillow.

Step 3: Prepare for Sewing

Cut the labels off the pillows.

Turn one of the pillows inside out and place the other pillow inside it so the open edges line up. Also make sure the seams at either end of the openings line up too.

Step 4: Sew Around the Open Edge

Start two thirds of the way along one of the side of the pillows and sew all the way around until you get to about one third of the way along the side you started on. You will have a hole left that is about 10 inches wide.

Make sure your top and bottom edges are lined up before you sew them otherwise there will be a twist in your dog bed.

Next pull the inner pillow out of the outer pillow. Then turn the whole thing inside out through the hole you left, so the seam you just sewed is on the inside.

Step 5: Stuff the Dog Bed

Get your stuffing from earlier and stuff it all through the hole in the bed.

At this stage your bed will look very lumpy so you now need to plump the pillow until it looks comfy. Make sure there is stuffing in the corners.

Step 6: Sew the Hole Closed

Fold the raw edges of the hole inside and sew the hole closed.

Yes, it is a bit of a struggle to do with all that stuffing in the way.

Step 7: Cut Out the Pillow Case

Lay the bedsheets flat and line up your pillowcase with the corner of the sheet as shown.

Step 8: Cut Out the Pillow Case

Cut along the bottom edge of the pillow case as shown then move the pillowcase along to the end of the cut and cut along again.

Before cutting up the long side of the pillowcase you need to make an overlap so the bed cover will close.

I did this by making the front side of the bed cover about 7-8inches longer than the length I had measured using the pillowcase. This is shown in the picture.