Ben’s patriotic birthday gift ….

It’s my birthday – five years old today!!  And these must be my presents – let’s take a look … 

Hmmm … very nice  –  a smart new collar, I will look even cooler on the beach this summer, but what’s it sitting on?

 (yawning..) I understand now – a lovely new bed topper, so soft and comfortable…. 

 .. wake me up when it’s time for breakfast!!

Yes, it’s Ben’s birthday today – which is also St George’s Day (the patron saint of England).  So Ben had to have a very patriotic birthday gift, and I decided to try making a patchwork quilted bed topper for him, featuring patriotic red, white and blue, with the red cross of St George formed by the sashing.  He does of course have a “proper” dog bed, with waterproof lining and zip-up cover, but as he is a very sandy, muddy sort of dog I always keep a blanket or other “topper” over it so that I don’t have to wash the whole bed quite so often (it measures 48″ x 60″!).  And he needed a new topper badly. 

 So I dug around in my scraps basket.  I’ve used a lot of vintage linen mangle clothes over the years, and always keep the scraps – they’re incredibly hardwearing and a lot feature really nice striped borders.  Then there were a couple of old shirts, a tatty blanket from the charity shop (price £3) and for the backing some ticking salvaged from some old cushions.  The only new fabric was the red gingham sashing – well, he had to have a St George’s cross on his topper!  I cut twelve 12″ squares from an old sheet and created the patches using the stitch and flip technique.  Then some simple patchwork and lots of stippling (and I mean lots!).  Finally I bound the edges with some twill tape for strength. 

And there it is … a lovely new topper for Ben’s bed that’s true to the thrifty spirit of patchwork and quilting – total cost less than £6.  It’s very patriotic too – a great gift for a St George’s Day dog!!  More treats planned for later including a bus ride, he loves the bus – and my car’s going in for its service and MOT (UK readers will understand my trepidation here – fingers crossed everyone) so we’ll drive into Kingsbridge and get the bus home – following a visit to the pet shop to purchase a special dog-chew for the birthday boy.