Rag Quilt Dog Bed Pillow Inserts Tutorial

Many years ago I wrote and published instructions to make a Rag Quilt Dog Bed.The tutorial also includes a chart for making different sizes and the amount of supplies needed for each. At that time I did not create information on the pillow inserts that go inside. Not sure why, but I didn't at the time. Recently, I had an inquiry on this from a buyer and have the time at the moment to blog a tutorial for her.

Pillow Insert Tutorial for Ashlawnfarms Rag Quilted Dog Beds

Meet Opal- she is my model for this blog. 

  

She needed her own bed...

Her bed was made in July of 2013 

 

.......so you can see that it has held up 

decently for almost 7 years of use. 

Today you can see some tears in the X stitching, but otherwise it is fine. I just wanted to make sure my readers know I am doing this tutorial using an older bed. :)

 and the 7 year old insert:

Not gonna lie! It has developed lumps and bumps and a hole in one corner. 

I made it out of unbleached muslin, but you can use whatever 100% cotton fabric you prefer for this 

 project.

Both the shell and insert have been laundered many, many times!

Ok on to the meat of the blog....

Step 1-Measure

Once you have made the outer shell of the Ashlawnfarms Rag Quilted Dog Bed take some simple measurements of the length and width. The measurement should be from stitch line to stitch line and not include the ragged edges. 

So Opal's bed measures 20" x 27 1/2".

I added 4" to each measurement to make it 24" x 31 1/2".  Cut 2 pieces of fabric this size. I am using a white cotton fabric that I have used in some of my recent rag quilts. And, yes, I am making an new insert for Opal's bed. She's gonna be soooo excited. Haha.

STEP 2- Mark opening

Match both pieces of fabrics together and on the shorter end pin a space of 8 inches or so. This will the the opening where the fill can be added. So don't sew it up yet.

STEP 3 - Mark and cut corners

Using a cutting mat grid and a cutting ruler I marked a 2" square on all 4 corners of the fabrics. 

I then cut the squares out with scissors.

 

 I added pins also at this point to get ready to sew....

Step 4 - Sew perimeter

Now sew the 4 sides. I am using a 1/2" seam. Do NOT sew the corners and do NOT sew the opening area you marked off. 

Step 5 - Sew Corners

Pinch up the two layers pulling them apart to form a 3 dimensional corner.

 Pin in place.

 If you prefer to iron the seams down at this point do that. I am omitting this step to shorten this tutorial.

Sew another 1/2" seam to all 4 corners.

At this point turn the pillow insert to its right side by pulling fabric through the filling opening. 

I folded over the sides so you can see how the corners formed. 

Step 6 - Optional stitching 

This step is to hold batting from bulking. However, in my older pillow insert you can see that this does not keep the poly-fil from migrating to one side. I think adding a layer of 1" batting to each side and then adding the poly-fil to the middle of that would work much better. I am opting to not sew lines on mine today and will add the batting layers at a later time as I have none on hand. 

If you prefer doing this step then I will show you where to make and sew before adding poly-fil. 

Lay the sewn insert out flat and find the center. Use the seams to measure from.

 

Next I used the center and measured 10" to both sides. Why 10"? It looked even as I compared both sides. I don't want to sew all the way to the ends. Yours may be different than 10" depending on the size of bed you are making.

 

 Next I used the center again to measure 6" to opposite sides. Why 6"? Same as above. Just eyeball it and see what looks right to you. If you get it wrong the threads can always be seam-ripped out and done over.

 

So hopefully you can see where I have marked the sew lines. There are two in the pic below.

And Opal's old one looks like this for an example.

I don't think I centered this one very well as the poly-fil is way to one side.

Last Steps - Adding poly-fil and sewing shut. 

 Start stuffing. Get the corners good. Work at getting it even in spots. 

I decided to leave the end open and put it in the shell to test it out.

 It seems a bit too firm I think. So I will sew by hand two spots down using big buttons after I close the end up.

 This idea stems from my rag quilted pincushion tutorial I have. 

The buttons keep the thread and tension from tearing holes in the fabric.

This will require some elbow grease to pull tension.

Be careful not to lose the needle inside the pillow.

And be careful not to stick yourself. Trust me, this was not easy, but it works. 
I used 1 1/4" buttons.

I used a heavy duty thread, doubled it, and tied it off with the long tails showing. Don't want it coming loose!

I am thinking it might have been easier to add the buttons before the batting for future reference. 

Anyhoo- its done. Here is the final product! 

Opal approved. She is conked out on it as I type this...lol.

 Thank you!
Please leave me a comment! If you would like to purchase the Rag Quilt Dog Bed follow this link to my Etsy Shop!