This project has been on my mind for a long time. I have a small loveseat that sits at the end of my bed. Our household is VERY dog friendly. They are allowed to lay on the furniture and pretty much go anywhere they like. The only place that I want them to stay off is my bed. I am a person that makes her bed every morning. I love to wash my sheets and crawl in to sweet smelling linens. For me, it is very difficult to watch two boy dogs coming in and out of the house and jumping on the comforter. We also have a tick problem in our area this time of year. Even though we treat our dogs with medicine, I have found critters and that is not fun. So I have been using a baby gate with pillows stuffed around it to block their path from the loveseat. If I am not careful and the pillows are not tall enough to create a visual barrier, my dogs will walk right through them.
So, here is my new dog barrier. It was an easy project with all straight lines to sew. I just had to take some measurements.
I measured the space in between the posts and then around the bottom and top. I wanted to have a height that would allow TV viewing even when you were laying in bed but tall enough to keep the dogs from jumping across. So it is a rectangle panel with webbing that wraps around each post and secures with snaps. I did add one inch to my overall measurement of the panel to allow for a 1/2 inch hem around the perimeter. I also cut the webbing extra long so it would wrap around the posts and give me enough to pull it taut while I installed the snaps.
The fabric I chose is Screen mesh from Lowe's. I had some extra from a previous project where I sewed a Screen Door cover. I am still using that screen and it is one of my best home upgrades. The screen is very easy to see through and lightweight. Since my dogs are used to the baby gate, I figured they would understand this was just a "NEW" gate and would stay off as usual. If your dog isn't used to a gate, you might want to try something a little sturdier at first and then transition to the screen. If they push with their nails, they could puncture the screen.
I had a large spool of webbing in my stash. It is one of those materials I found at a local sale and I purchased it knowing one day inspiration would hit.
The snaps made installing the panel easy. If you are using heavy duty webbing, you may need stronger snaps.
I used polyester thread and matching bobbin as well as a 90/14 needle. This helped pierce the webbing. A zigzag stitch worked great. I did use a small amount of sewing glue on the reverse side of the webbing along with a few pins.
Here you can see three vertical pieces of webbing. They made the screen much easier to handle after attaching and gave structure. Using the cutting mats helped me mark everything nice and straight with my chalk marker.
I did fold over a 1/2 inch hem on both sides before I laid the webbing on top and then sewed it with the same zigzag stitch.
When I was ready to sew the horizontal pieces of webbing for the top and bottom with a 1/2 inch hem, I made sure to cut enough to wrap around the posts with some extra. My webbing was thick and I did have to do some hand stitching on the overlaps as I didn't want to damage my machine.
The snaps were installed with the panel on the bed. I used my clips to hold it in place. You will also notice I added a piece of webbing in the middle because I thought my dogs might try to push around the side of the panel. Once I had the snaps installed, I trimmed the extra web and heat sealed with a lighter.
Here is a close up of the snaps. They make installation very easy. If I need to take it down for cleaning or flipping the mattress, it shouldn't be a problem.
BEFORE
AFTER
Someone has been blocked! Looks like a successful project! I have a video of the project as it was being sewn below to give you more inspiration. I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work!
