January 21-24: Pet bed (turned car caddy)

The project for January 21-24 is a pet bed from Lori Marie I debated not even doing this project, because it was a fabric hogger and I have no pets.  I spent two days trying to figure out what I could make that would drastically shrink this down and still be at least a little bit useful.  Also I wanted to lay on the couch and eat guacamole.

I didn't want to fail and quit making the projects only a month into the year, so I was going to wuss out and just make a pincushion, but once I saw the picture on the back of the calendar page, with a big hole in the middle of the pet bed, pincushion was out of the question.  For Christmas my mom got my aunt a neat contraption that sits on a car dashboard and hold a GPS unit while you drive, and it looked a little (tiny) bit like this, so in a moment of brilliance (snort!) I came up with an idea, cut into the fabric and gave it a whirl. 

Obviously a lot of modifications were made.  Truthfully, this project barely resembled the tutorial once I started sewing.  It's a lot smaller, and it's actually a little bigger than it really needs to be.  I cut to accommodate a seam allowance that I didn't end up sewing, so I ended up with an extra inch on the bottom panel.  I sewed the tube wrong sides together first and then turned it right side out and stuffed it with rice instead of fiberfill, which gives it a little more weight and I hope will help it stay in place.  Since I didn't have any nonskid fabric, I cut a drawer liner that's pretty...grippy? and stitched the bottom with french seams because I don't really like CANNOT TAKE raw edges, and it became pretty clear that no matter how I put this together, I was going to have them. 

Since this was an experiment in sizing, stuffing and construction the end result isn't ideal, but I really, really like this idea.  The GPS holders that you see in stores are so...boring, and I am so excited to see one with a bit more moxie.  Once I take take this one out for a ride (pun intended) and see how the size and design can be improved I will most definitely be making more of these.  If you have any ideas, I love to hear them.