DIY: Valerian Fish Toy

July 27, 2011

DIY: Valerian Fish Toy

Here’s an easy cat toy project that uses valerian, so if your cat is one of those that doesn’t react to catnip, this might do the trick. Valerian, like catnip, is an attractant for cats and they respond to it in much the same way. It’s available in the healthfood section of your grocery store and online. The tutorial is from Craft Leftovers where you can find heaps of tutorials, projects, and general cleverness. (In this project, valerian is being used to make the toy smell wonderful to cats. It’s not advocating it’s use as a medical herb.)

November 24, 2010June 5, 2013

DIY: Bed Crocheted From Sweaters Strips

Before you get rid those out-of-style sweaters you’ve been holding onto, consider making them into a snuggly bed for your pet. One way is to make a pet bed by crocheting strips of old sweaters. Pick colors that look good together—that awful 1980’s mustard yellow should probably be avoided. Visit a thrift store if you’re short on old sweaters. Or if you only have ones that are mustard yellow. No really.

September 8, 2009June 5, 2013

DIY: Pet Bed Round-Up

Fall is in the air here in the Pacific NW. It’s getting chilly and our cats & dog are finding snugly places to sleep. I may need to make a couple more small beds to keep the peace amongst the cats. Here’s the collection of posts on DIY pet beds.

A favorite spot for Sage is the bed I made from an old sweater. Here’s a great tutorial on how to upcycle an old sweater into a pet bed and you can check out how I made my version of the sweater bed.

Vintage suitcases make cute & clever pet beds. This post has a bunch of tutorials and examples of these fun beds.

I would consider learning to knit just so I could make some of these beds. You can knit & felt wonderful pet beds using the two great tutorials here.

If you crochet, check out this pattern for crocheting & felting a nifty bed.

You don’t have to be an expert in sewing to make this cute & easy nest bed.

Some cats & dogs like to burrow more in their beds and this tutorial on making a hooded pet bed is perfect.

A hammock for your small pet might be the best thing. Here’s a post on how to make a hammock that can be free-standing or placed on a furnace to keep our pet good and toasty.

And if you need to get your pet off a cold floor, or if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere and need to keep your pets cool, this post shows how to make an elevated bed out of PVC pipe like Kuranda beds.

March 11, 2009March 11, 2009

DIY: Sweater Patterns For Goats

There may not be a huge need for this, but there also can’t be a ton of patterns for goat sweaters out there either. Need a sweater for your pet goat or especially your new kid? Fias Co Farm has it covered (ha!).

The people at Fias Co Farm found that their baby goats did better in cold weather when they had their own sweaters. They also use sweaters for the does after difficult births. Check out the gallery of these wee kids in their snugly sweaters.

You can find patterns for:

If you have a goat or are thinking about getting one, be sure to look at the extensive section on holistic, humane goat care. It’s specifically for dairy goats, but I’m sure has good information applicable to pet goats.

January 12, 2009June 5, 2013

DIY: Crocheted & Felted Pet Bed

For those of you who crochet, here’s a pattern for a pet bed (scroll down) called Kitty Cuddles. It’s crocheted & felted and is based on the KittyPi Bed (which is knitted & felted.)

The bed is shaped like a flat-bottomed bowl. It’s soft and comfy, but has some structure due to the felting. The bed looks very different before felting.

You’ll need to use a natural fiber yarn to get it to felt. Here are a few tutorials on felting: this one covers both hand & machine felting, here is a printable one on machine felting, and another on hand felting.