I was approached by a reader to assist in coming up with measurements for a smaller dog cot for her dogs. Donna was kind enough to send pics of her puppies and the cots so I could post them. Aren’t they cute?
Donna built the PVC frame using 1″ pipe: the long sides of the PVC were cut 24″, the short side of the PVC were cut 18″.
Donna told me that when assembled there was 22″ and 16″ of the PVC exposed between the corners so that had to be the width of the finished slings
Donna told me the circumference of the 1″ pipe is approximately 4 1/4″ so that’s what had to be added to wrap around the pipes.
I came up with cutting the fabric pieces 18″ x 35.5″ and 24″ x 28.5″ and Donna told me that working out perfectly once the 1″ side hems and the loops to go around the pipes were sewn. That means you only need 1 yard of fabric to make each set of the small dog slings.
Follow the step by step for the large dogs PVC cots subbing in the smaller PVC and fabric measurements.
These are the cots Donna made — she did a beautiful job!
Email me if you have questions, but I may have to defer to Donna’s expertise since I haven’t actually made the smaller size cots.
Thanks for sending me this link! I want to make a medium 24×30″ bed. Do you happen to still have the sheet to calculate the sizes to cut the fabric? (using 1″ PVC) I assume it would be 24x something and 30x something. If not, I can work (hopefully) by trial an error.
Thank you!
Julie – I measured and the outside circumference of the 1 1/2″ PVC is 6″. I don’t have any 1″ to measure so use a cloth measuring tape to see what it it. Say it’s 4″ (although this could be all wrong) then logically you should deduct 2″ off each end of the fabric for the smaller pipe. I would build the bed frame first, measure the space between the corner fittings to make sure you have the correct width for each piece and again use a cloth measuring tape to check what length is needed to wrap around the pipes. When sewing I would lightly stitch the end hems and try each on the bed to make sure it works and then heavy duty stitch when it all looks right. Hope this helps and don’t hesitate to let me know if this is clear as mud…
Dear DIY Girl, my brain is fried. I’m really trying to figure this out because I’d really like to make one of these beds. I already have the 1″ pipe and elbows. My pipes for the width measures 18 1/2″ and the pipes for the length is 25 1/2″. The inside measurements from elbow to elbow is 17 X 24. I suppose I could just buy several yards of material and start sewing although I’m not sure on how to get the sleeves accurate. I have sewed hundreds of dog pads and blankets for our humane society but this is a new adventure for me. Any help would be appreciated. Carolyn