I’ve mentioned before that the cats have been after me to provide them with some adequate sleeping equipment for some time now. This past spring, when I was cleaning up the house, I took all the fur-covered rugs and blankets and hid them away to be laundered. Then summer came, and I didn’t think the cats wanted to curl up on wool afghans. I think I was mistaken. There must be something unappealing about smooth upholstered furniture. I guess they need to nest more than I realize.
Last weekend, I came up with a new cat bed that I thought was quite clever. I was trying to straighten up the laundry area in the basement, when a blue plaid wool mini skirt popped to the top of a pile. Where did it come from? I can’t remember – either from a thrift store, or a free box at a rummage sale, or it was given to me by someone who knows I can use wool material for weaving.
The skirt had a short back zipper, and a lining. I realized that with some simple sewing, I could have a new cat bed pronto.
I took out the bottom hem of the skirt, and turned it inside out and sewed a new seam across the bottom. Then I turned it the other way, and sewed the bottom of the lining shut. My plan was to top stitch across the top of the skirt, which lacked a waistband. I would leave a small gap where the hook and eye closure was.
Unfortunately, the skirt top was too bulky to fit under the sewing machine presser foot, and after a few failed attempts, I gave up, and just whip-stitched the top closed with a doubled length of sewing thread. This worked very well, and I got quite a feeling of satisfaction from doing the hand sewing, which made me wonder why I don’t do it more often.
The zip opening was too small to fit a pillow form through, but my plan was to use loose stuffing. Somewhere, I have a pillowcase full of second cuts of raw wool that I thought I’d wash and use for stuffing. Could I find it? No.
Rooting around in the basement, I found the next best thing. I’ve had a particular ball of space dyed roving for over 15 years. I got it in a swap at one of the local Spinners and Weavers meetings. At the time, I didn’t know any better. However, I soon realized that whoever dyed this roving had half felted it. I couldn’t draft it no matter how hard I pulled. I didn’t know if there was any way to save it, but I hung on to it anyway.
After messing with it for a while, I realized I could pull it apart widthwise, instead of lengthwise. So I pulled tufts and tufts, and stuffed them into the cat bed. I kept checking to see if it felt hard or lumpy. It didn’t seem to, so I used the whole ball of roving this way.
It took half a day for the cats to notice it, but now it’s the best new thing on which to sleep. I’m sure it will be warm, with all that wool. And I can pull the stuffing out for easy washing. All in all, a good project: recycling, making do, and above all, keeping the kitties happy! 
Last weekend, I came up with a new cat bed that I thought was quite clever. I was trying to straighten up the laundry area in the basement, when a blue plaid wool mini skirt popped to the top of a pile. Where did it come from? I can’t remember – either from a thrift store, or a free box at a rummage sale, or it was given to me by someone who knows I can use wool material for weaving.
The skirt had a short back zipper, and a lining. I realized that with some simple sewing, I could have a new cat bed pronto.
I took out the bottom hem of the skirt, and turned it inside out and sewed a new seam across the bottom. Then I turned it the other way, and sewed the bottom of the lining shut. My plan was to top stitch across the top of the skirt, which lacked a waistband. I would leave a small gap where the hook and eye closure was.
Unfortunately, the skirt top was too bulky to fit under the sewing machine presser foot, and after a few failed attempts, I gave up, and just whip-stitched the top closed with a doubled length of sewing thread. This worked very well, and I got quite a feeling of satisfaction from doing the hand sewing, which made me wonder why I don’t do it more often.
The zip opening was too small to fit a pillow form through, but my plan was to use loose stuffing. Somewhere, I have a pillowcase full of second cuts of raw wool that I thought I’d wash and use for stuffing. Could I find it? No.Rooting around in the basement, I found the next best thing. I’ve had a particular ball of space dyed roving for over 15 years. I got it in a swap at one of the local Spinners and Weavers meetings. At the time, I didn’t know any better. However, I soon realized that whoever dyed this roving had half felted it. I couldn’t draft it no matter how hard I pulled. I didn’t know if there was any way to save it, but I hung on to it anyway.
After messing with it for a while, I realized I could pull it apart widthwise, instead of lengthwise. So I pulled tufts and tufts, and stuffed them into the cat bed. I kept checking to see if it felt hard or lumpy. It didn’t seem to, so I used the whole ball of roving this way.
It took half a day for the cats to notice it, but now it’s the best new thing on which to sleep. I’m sure it will be warm, with all that wool. And I can pull the stuffing out for easy washing. All in all, a good project: recycling, making do, and above all, keeping the kitties happy! 
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