SEW A DOG KENNEL (BUNNY HUTCH) FABRIC COVER

Have a dog kennel that needs a little dressing up? Maybe this dog kennel (bunny hutch) fabric cover will work for you too!

One of our granddaughters has a very sweet, indoor, pet bunny. (By the way, bunnies can be litter trained and this one is…) When our granddaughter comes to visit us, she’d love to bring her bunny. We finally figured out a way for that to happen. We pulled the large collapsible dog crate out of the shed and set it up for the indoor bunny hutch.

Large dog kennel turned ‘bunny hutch’.

Bunny wasn’t too thrilled with the open-ness of all the sides in a new place. We weren’t too thrilled with the ugly crate just sitting there.

The solution we came up with that made Bunny happy and certainly looked a lot better was to sew a quick and easy dog kennel (bunny hutch) fabric cover!

Nervous bunny.

We live in a small town, so I always feel lucky if I can find materials that will work for a quick project like this without having to leave town. Here’s the pretty fabric remnant we found at the local store in town. I bet you were thinking ‘local fabric store’… nope! It’s the hardware store! (gotta love rural life). Seriously! The local hardware store that just happens to also sell a little fabric on the side, get ends and remnants of sometimes pretty decent quality fabric. It’s a crap shoot if they’ll have anything that’ll work for whatever my current project is, but otherwise it’s a 45 minute trip, (that’s just one way) to the cities to get something, so I try to check here first. This time they had only 1 fabric that would have even been a contender for this project, and it turned out to be kind of perfect… and at only $4 a yard… it keeps getting more perfect!! It looks great with the nautical theme we have going on in the lower level kid’s play area too, (which is where the bunny hutch is).

So nice to have this luxury vinyl floor for the durability of spills and easy clean-up in the lower level. (here is the post I wrote on installing this floor, and which one to buy)

Sewing this dog kennel (bunny hutch) fabric cover takes simple sewing skills, in this post tutorial, for a DIY simple curtain panel, I take you through some basic beginning things like how to square up the fabric to cut, and how to double fold and hem it.

I rolled our treasure-find-fabric out on the new cutting table, squared the fabric up and started measuring and marking it for cuttting. Since I didn’t have a ton of fabric, (remnant buyers can’t be too choosy after all) I didn’t worry too much about matching the fabric pattern on the bunny cover.

Measuring fabric.

I love my new cutting table! Here’s the affiliate shopping link for this very convenient craft/cutting table. The table has storage below for bolts of fabric. Table top folds down to a very narrow 12″ wide. It’s also on casters so it can easy roll out of the way when not being used, (although I keep it folded down right in the center of the room)

Marking cutting lines with chalk wheel.

Here’s the link for the marking chalk wheel, I’ve had mine for years… I have these little containers of chalk to refill it with.

Chalk line for cutting.

This is the basic pattern for the dog kennel (bunny hutch) fabric cover:

I cut the fabric pieces the size of the kennel PLUS 1/2″ extra for each seam… and 1″ extra for the hems, (they are double folded)

First I hemmed all the side pieces. I think it’s easier to hem each piece separate first, and maneuver a single piece of fabric hemming, than if it was all sewn together.

Below is a picture of the double folded hem after I pressed it, just as I’m getting ready to stitch it.

Fold over and press for hems.

Next I hemmed the sides of the front flap:

On the sides of the front flap, that will mostly be rolled and tied up, I didn’t want the bulk and stiffness of a double folded hem. Instead I opted to zig-zag the edge and then just do a single 1/2″ fold and stitch that:

Zigzag and press for sides, to reduce bulk.

Connecting the pieces together, I stitched each side piece to the top piece, along the edge, (see pic of pattern).

For the ties that hold the flap up, I stitched over those several times to secure them really well in the top front seam.

Stitch ties for flap front.

Finally I stitched the 3 side pieces to each other, leaving the front flap piece separate.

This is the dog kennel (bunny hutch) fabric cover on the kennel with the front flap down:

Front flap down.

Here’s a little close up of the ties: (half the tie is on the outside and half is on the inside, so when it’s rolled up, it’ll work to hold it)

Ties sewn in front.

The ties work great to keep the front flap rolled up:

Front flap rolled up.

Bunny is very happy in her new ‘visiting-grandma-temporary-home’.

Sweet bunny in bunny hutch with new fabric cover.

It’s not a fancy cover, but sure dresses up the big ole dog kennel and help Bunny to feel secure in her home.

To read more tutorials check out my DIY, Tutorials & tips page!

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This post can also be found at these sites: Between Naps on the Porch, Refresh Restyle, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, A Stroll Thru Life, My Repurposed Life, My Thrift Store Addiction, A Delightsome Life