We Love Our Pets Week: Furry Friday + Pet Quilt Tutorial!

As part of We Love Our Pets Week and our sponsorship of the Piece for Shelter Pets initiative, we're doing a Furry Fridays post! We're sharing the photos and stories of two wonderfully adopt-able pets, and then Rose Ann Cook, our favorite shelter pet mom/fabric designer, is sharing a tutorial to make a Dog Nap Mat. (It's Joey approved!) Enjoy!

Meet our two featured shelter pets:

Caesar:

Spunky senior Caesar is 10 years young and, no matter what conventional wisdom holds, he loves learning new tricks! (Although he already knows sit, down, shake and high five!) Caesar gets along with other dogs, walks nicely on the leash and loves to play with toys and cuddle with his person. Meet him at the Humane Society of Summit County in Twinsburg, Ohio. Find out more about Caesar here.

Chester:

Chester may look tough, but that's because he's a natural-born leader. Chester lives in a cage-less facility and uses his alpha personality to make sure all the free-roaming cats get along. In addition, he LOVES dogs, and makes sure his fellow felines are nice to them too. Still, Chester longs for a forever home where he can snuggle in your lap and help with the laundry (really!). Meet him at Animal Refuge Center, Inc., in Vine Grove, Kentucky. Find out more about Chester here.

These pets may not be in your area, but if you are looking for a new furry friend, you can go to Petfinder.com to search locally.

Tutorial: Joey's Nap Mat 

Designed by Joey's Mama, Rose Ann Cook

FABRICS REQUIRED

All fabrics from the Joey the Shop Dog collection by Rose Ann Cook 

Fat eighth of Paws - Blue  #1449-50

1/2 yard of Curls - Green #1448-40

1/4 yard of Happy Joey  #Yellow 1447-33

1/4 yard of Curls - Aqua #1448-24

1/3 yard of Toys - Orange #1446-32

1 yard of backing fabric

(4) 25” x 35” thin batting pieces

CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS

From the Blue Paws print:

(4) 4" squares

(1) 4" x 18" strip

From the Green Curls print:

(2) 2-1/4" x 18" strips

(12) 1-1/4" squares

(2) 2-1/4" x 14-1/2" strips

(2) 4" x 25" strips

From the Happy Joey Yellow print:

(2) 2-1/2" x WOF strips

(2) 2” x 22-1/2” strips

From the Aqua Curls print:

(2) 2-1/2" x WOF strips

From the Orange Toys print:

(2) 2” x 32-1/2” strips

(2) 2” x 25-1/2” strips

From the backing fabric:

(1) 25-1/2” x 35-1/2” piece (or measure your finished quilt top and cut to size)

Make the Quilt:

1. Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of each of the (12) 1-1/4" green swirl squares. This is your sew line. With right sides together, position a small green square to three corners of each of the (4) 4” blue paws squares, as shown. Sew on the diagonal line. Trim 1/4" from the sewn line and press triangles open. Make four.

2. Sew two of these squares together as shown and press the seam open. Make two. These are the two ends of the dog bone.

3. Sew 2-1/4” x 18” green curls strips on each of the long edges of the 4” x 18” blue paws strip. Press the seam to either side. This creates the center of the dog bone.

4. Sew the two dog bone ends to the dog bone center. 

5. Sew 4” x 25” green curls strips to the top and bottom of the bone center. Sew 2-1/4” x 14-1/2” green curls strips to the opposite sides.

6. Sew (1) 2-1/2” x WOF aqua curl strip lengthwise to (1) 2-1/2” x WOF happy joey yellow strip. Press seam allowance toward the aqua strip. Make two. Subcut into (28) 2-1/2” wide units.

7. Sew the units together into four-patches. Sew together (7) four-patches to make a row. Make two.

8. Sew to the top and bottom of the center section. Sew 2-1/2” x 22-1/2” happy joey yellow strips to opposite sides.
9. Sew 2” x 32-1/2” orange toy strips to the top and bottom. Sew 2” x 25-1/2” orange toy strips to the sides.

10. To finish this quilt, I used 4 layers of thin batting. I measured the size of the quilt, subtracted 1" from the height and width. Use long hand basting stitches, sew the stack of batting to the back of the quilt top. Hand stitch all around the edges and then a large "X" from corner to corner. This is just to stabilize the project; the stitches will be removed shortly. With right sides together, lay the backing on top of the quilt top. Stitch around the edge of the project, leaving a 10" opening so you can turn it right side out, carefully straightening the batting on the inside as you go. Press the edges flat. Slip stitch the opening. Remove your basting stitches. Quilt as desired and let your fur-baby enjoy their new nap mat!

More about the Petfinder Foundation and the Piece for Shelter Pets initiative:

The Piece for Shelter Pets (PFSP) initiative grew from the relationship started in 2012 between The Quilt Pattern Magazine and the Petfinder Foundation after Hurricane Sandy. The goal: to help animal shelters affected by the hurricane by making Kennel Quilts! Much like quilts are to us humans, Kennel Quilts offered rescued or displaced pets a warm, soft place to nap. They were such a big hit that The TQPM Kennel Quilt Team was officially started and since its beginning, has seen over 10,200 Kennel Quilts made and distributed to shelters across the United States and Canada! WOW!

Aurifil joined the cause in 2015 with the release of the Small Kennel Quilt Thread Kit. The cover features Pretty Girl, the TQPM Kennel Quilt “SpokesKitty” and HSPPR (The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region) adoptee, photographed on her Kennel Quilt during the 2013 Colorado fires.

Aurifil introduced Fifi & Fido and Happy Hounds at Fall Quilt Market last year in partner with Island Batik, another one of our treasured Piece for Shelter Pets Partners. A portion of the sales of each will go to the Petfinder Foundation.

Quilty Box launched a special TQPM Kennel Quilt box this past January that includes the fabric and thread needed to make two kennel quilts. 100% of proceeds go to the Petfinder Foundation!! How amazing is that??

Benartex introduced a brand new fabric collection at International Quilt Market this past Fall featuring Joey the Shop Dog. The line was designed by Joey’s rescue mom, Rose Ann Cook. 10% of sales for Joey’s fabrics are donated to Petfinder Foundation.

Bernina of America created a special edition Best Friends sewing machine in 2015 featuring paw prints. They donated $30,000 to the Petfinder Foundation from the sales of the machine.

And finally, Hancock’s of Paducah is our newest partner in the cause. They are supporting the initiative by helping us all increase awareness of the program and the furry friends the program aims to support.

We want to thank all of the sponsors, partners, & quilters joining us in the Piece for Shelter Pets initiative. 

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To take a peek at the other posts and check out all of our featured pets, please follow the links below:
3/10: Quilty Box
3/17: TQPM
3/24: Island Batik
3/31: Aurifil 
4/7: Hancock’s of Paducah
4/14: Benartex (You're here!)
4/21: Petfinder Foundation

We are animal lovers and have come together to support shelter animals and perhaps bring a little joy into their lives. Creating a Kennel Quilt is a way to join a larger effort to help our furry friends in times of need by doing what we love. We hope that you’ve been inspired to get involved. If you’d like to join the Small Kennel Quilt Team, please click here. We’d love for you to join us in this effort!

Remember… Adopt, don’t shop!