NezumiNeko
Well-Known Member
Many members do not know how to sew, do not have a machine (me), or do not like to sew. But buying stuff is so hard on the pockets, so I wanted to make a thread of easy things to make. To make sure something is sturdy, press down on it with your hand and judge for yourself.
Just Cutting
Hammock- Cut a square of cloth, hang it by cutting slits it the corners and putting string or whatever you use to hang it through those. Tie knots to attatch.
Tube Hammock- Like hammock but cut a leg of a pair of pants on put a hole in top or side for ratties to stich their head out. Jeans, sweat pants, pajama pants work fine.
Liner- Measure a piece of material to fit your shelf, let it hang over the edge a little. If you have a cage where the shelf has little attatchment notches that go over the bars, cut slits in your material and put them over the notches. Super Pet cages have these. Then cut a slit in the middle of 2 paralell sides and tie a piece of string in them to tighten the cloth. These have held great for me, though a determined rat would have no problem turning it into bedding.
You can see all of the first 3.
The Tying Fringe Method.
For this method, cut your material a couple inches bigger than you would if you were sewing. On each edge, cut a number of slits in order to make fringe. Do they same number on each piece, you can cut a stack with certain materials and the right scissors. From their tie the knots to attatch two pieces of fabric. The issue I have with these is that they don't hold as well as if you sew, and use much more material. However, it is less time consuming.
For more complex things, I'd suggest sewing. It takes a while with out a machine, but it less frustrating. (I've had limited experience with a machine, it was annoying, but so fast.)
Cube/Triangle Hammock- Cut out each side, sew them together. To hide stitches, turn the thing inside out through the hole. I didn't double fabric, and my rats still love their cube. That and the cardboard box are their favorite spots. I used bad thread on my cube, so it's falling apart. Now I use embroidery floss, which holds well.
Rat Bed/Cuddle Cup- I don't have pics, sorry. I just made this last night, haven't tried it with the rats. It looks cool, I used black fleece, lime green embroidery floss, and on the ouside put some of the blue spotty fabric that I used on the hammock on the outside. I used the waist band (they were pajama pants), unfolded it and took out the elastic, so it had a weird, slightly wrinkled texture, it looks cool.
1. Cut out two circles of the same size, big enough for your rats to sleep on.
2. Sew the cirles together. I put them wrong sides together so the world could see my lime green. I also don't like when there's a section that has different stitching, there's no hole in a cuddle cup like in a cube hammock.
3. Stuff them with polyester or fabric scraps or whatever to make it cushy.
4.Cut a string the legnth of the circumference of the circle.
5. Measure out a piece of fabric the legnth of the string, cut a slight on either end of the fabric the legth you want, the fold it in half and cut it out.
6. Keeping it folded, cut the entrance slightly lower.
7. If you want any decoration, unfold the farbric and put it on. (Like the P.J. pants, except I did this at the the end, so my stitches are visible on the inside of the bed.)
8. Keeping the fabric folded, sew it together, then sew it into a circle.
9. Sew the edge that you just made on the cushion. Sorry I have no pics.
If I feel less lazy or get a machine and get good with it, I might make a couple cat beds, though we have really nice ones.
Good Luck!
Just Cutting
Hammock- Cut a square of cloth, hang it by cutting slits it the corners and putting string or whatever you use to hang it through those. Tie knots to attatch.
Tube Hammock- Like hammock but cut a leg of a pair of pants on put a hole in top or side for ratties to stich their head out. Jeans, sweat pants, pajama pants work fine.
Liner- Measure a piece of material to fit your shelf, let it hang over the edge a little. If you have a cage where the shelf has little attatchment notches that go over the bars, cut slits in your material and put them over the notches. Super Pet cages have these. Then cut a slit in the middle of 2 paralell sides and tie a piece of string in them to tighten the cloth. These have held great for me, though a determined rat would have no problem turning it into bedding.
You can see all of the first 3.
The Tying Fringe Method.
For this method, cut your material a couple inches bigger than you would if you were sewing. On each edge, cut a number of slits in order to make fringe. Do they same number on each piece, you can cut a stack with certain materials and the right scissors. From their tie the knots to attatch two pieces of fabric. The issue I have with these is that they don't hold as well as if you sew, and use much more material. However, it is less time consuming.
For more complex things, I'd suggest sewing. It takes a while with out a machine, but it less frustrating. (I've had limited experience with a machine, it was annoying, but so fast.)
Cube/Triangle Hammock- Cut out each side, sew them together. To hide stitches, turn the thing inside out through the hole. I didn't double fabric, and my rats still love their cube. That and the cardboard box are their favorite spots. I used bad thread on my cube, so it's falling apart. Now I use embroidery floss, which holds well.
Rat Bed/Cuddle Cup- I don't have pics, sorry. I just made this last night, haven't tried it with the rats. It looks cool, I used black fleece, lime green embroidery floss, and on the ouside put some of the blue spotty fabric that I used on the hammock on the outside. I used the waist band (they were pajama pants), unfolded it and took out the elastic, so it had a weird, slightly wrinkled texture, it looks cool.
1. Cut out two circles of the same size, big enough for your rats to sleep on.
2. Sew the cirles together. I put them wrong sides together so the world could see my lime green. I also don't like when there's a section that has different stitching, there's no hole in a cuddle cup like in a cube hammock.
3. Stuff them with polyester or fabric scraps or whatever to make it cushy.
4.Cut a string the legnth of the circumference of the circle.
5. Measure out a piece of fabric the legnth of the string, cut a slight on either end of the fabric the legth you want, the fold it in half and cut it out.
6. Keeping it folded, cut the entrance slightly lower.
7. If you want any decoration, unfold the farbric and put it on. (Like the P.J. pants, except I did this at the the end, so my stitches are visible on the inside of the bed.)
8. Keeping the fabric folded, sew it together, then sew it into a circle.
9. Sew the edge that you just made on the cushion. Sorry I have no pics.
If I feel less lazy or get a machine and get good with it, I might make a couple cat beds, though we have really nice ones.
Good Luck!
