So with three days until Christmas, you have all your shopping done, gifts are wrapped and under the tree and all of a sudden you realize - you forgot to get a gift for the cat!

If your cat is anything like ours, that wouldn't go over very well. And if your cat is anything like ours, he deserves a nice gift. 

Our cat, Linus, keeps the barn and run rodent-free, he never bothers the chickens or ducks and he adds a distinct element of humor to our family. So a gift is definitely in order.

But don't panic. All you need is an old flannel shirt, four t-shirts that are ready for the rag bin and about half an hour of your time.

This easy DIY project can be sewn on the sewing machine or by hand, but by machine is definitely faster. So raid your husband's closet and let's get sewing!

DIY Cat Bed Sewn from Re-purposed Flannel and Tee Shirts

What You Will Need |

One flannel shirt, the bigger the better (at least a mens XL size or the equivalent - or larger)
Four cotton t-shirts
Coordinating thread

What you Do |

Button shirt and turn inside out. Sew across collar from end to end.  Cut collar off. Remove buttons from each sleeve cuff. Sew along sleeve cuff from end toward elbow to close slit.

Turn shirt right side out and sew across the top (about 4 inches down from the shoulder) from sleeve seam to sleeve seam.

Roll two of the t-shirts length-wise. Then insert one t-shirt into each flannel sleeve, working the tee all the way to the collar. 

At this point I had to explain to our dog that no, I wasn't making a new toy for her. This was for the cat. That went over about as well as can be expected.

Fold the remaining two t-shirts and slide them into the body of the flannel shirt. Sew along the bottom seam. Sew the sleeve cuffs together. 

Turn the shirt upside down and starting at one armpit sew the sleeve to the body, rounding the corners. Trim the excess body of the shirt at the corners.

And there you have it! A comfy cat bed. Add a few toys and a bag of treats and you'll have one happy cat on Christmas morning.

Your shirt should look like this now.

Of course I had to give Linus his gift early to be sure it was cat-tested before I wrote about it, and clearly he gives his new bed two paws up!