Use an Old Sweater to make a Copper Pipe Bed
I have an old sweater that’s definitely seen better day, but our cats love cuddling on it and I couldn’t bear to throw it out. Have you ever had a house full of depressed cats? It’s not pleasant. To keep our purr babies happy, the sweater has to stay. We decided to reuse that old sweater and make the kitties a real cuddle, snuggle copper pipe bed. Copper is in right now right?
What you need
To make the copper pipe bed we used
- 4 copper T-pieces
- 4 copper elbows
- 1 copper pipe
- an old sweater (If you don’t have an old sweater, you can use an kind of material that’s soft and kitty friendly).
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How to repurpose a sweater and make a copper pipe bed
Measure the length of the biggest kitty, excluding the tail, and add 5 cm (about 2″ for my American friends). Merlin is our big boy and is just over 37 cm long. You might remember Merlin? He’s the one that stole the pool noodle bed we made for one of our other fur kids.
Anyhoos, cut two pieces of copper pipe using your purr baby as a guide. Ours measure 42 cm (16.5″). Save the offcuts to make these rustic candle holders.
The 42 cm pieces will form the long sides of the copper and sweater bed. We also cut two pieces measuring 33 cm (13″) to form the foot and head of the bed and four smaller pieces of measuring 4 cm (1.5″). These small pieces will be used to join the T-Pieces to the copper elbows. Depending on how high you want the bed to be off the floor cut four legs from the copper pipe.
So we have:
- 4 copper T-pieces
- 4 copper elbows
- 2 x 42 cm pieces (long sides of the bed)
- 2 x 33 cm pieces (head and foot of the bed)
- 4 x short 4 cm join bits
- 4 x legs (ours are 15 cm aka 6″ long)
We used this awesome contraption to cut the copper pipes. You can find it at any hardware store. Just ask for a tubing cutter, it’s so easy to use and cuts aluminium, copper, PVC and brass.
Assembling The Copper Pipe Bed
To put the copper bed frame together we used Gorilla Glue or cement glue to join:
- The legs to the bottom of the T-pieces
- The elbows to the 33 cm (13″) head and foot pieces
- The 4 cm (1.5″) bits to the other side of the elbows
You should end up with something like the picture on the right.
While the glue was drying I could work on the old sweater.
Turning An Old Sweater Into A Mattress
Cut the trimming off the sweater. Lay the sweater face up and fold the sides in by about 10 cm (4 “). Then push the arms underneath and sew up the folded sides to form a pocket for the long copper pieces to slide through.
Try avoid sewing one of your purr babies to the sweater. Merlin’s not quite sure what’s happening to his favorite old sweater. Do you think he’s trying to stop me or help?
Oh well, he still has his no-sew bandana pillow 😉 Anyways, when the sewing’s done, the glue should be dry and all that’s left is to put the bed together.
Flip the sweater over so the arms are facing up and slip one arm into the other to form a cushion. You can stuff the arms with some batting to make it extra “poofy” and then push the longer copper pipes into the pockets on the sides. Join the ends to the T-piece legs and finish off the frame by pushing in the short head and footer pieces.
Use Gorilla glue to glue the frame together if it seems unstable. Our pipes fit really snuggly, except for one of the legs. I think I pushed too hard when I cut one of those little 4 cm pipes.
Do you think Merlin is trying to tell me something 😀
Out for the count 😀 Whoooo, whoooo, I think Merlin likes his new, re-purposed old sweater, copper pipe bed. What do you think?
It's all messy; the hair; the bed; the heart...... life and purr baby cuddles
If you like the idea of making a copper pipe bed, with an old seater mattress, don’t forget to pin it for later.
Don’t want to go to all that trouble and find the things we used to make a copper pipe bed for your purr baby? We’ve got you covered Disclosure: Clicking on the links below, means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more amazing ideas to share with you 😉
Until next time, hope you have a beautiful, love filled week. May the furry cuddles be many 😉
Looks like Merlin is loving his new (and very classy) cat bed. Great idea!
He loves that sweater bed. Our EeeeeeDeeee has tried a few times to sneak on but Merlin will have none of it
This is very nice an a very clever idea. My dog chased the cat so much she ran away to live with my neighbours. Lol
Oh no, silly puppy 😀 Our kitties were here first so the dogs are a little scared of them. They’ve been smacked once or twice 😉
Hi Michelle: That is one very well tended very pampered cat. You can see him purring in satisfaction. It obviously has Merlin’s seal of approval.
Lol Leanna, of all our purr babies, Merlin is the big lover. There’s nothing he enjoys more than getting cuddles and pampering
With that long black fur and green eyes Merlin looks so much like our cat, Winston J., that I chocked up for a moment. He crossed the Rainbow Bridge Christmas Eve of 2014 and we still miss him so much. He would certainly have hogged the bed too, no doubt. If I build one for our big Tuxedo boy, then both of our little Snowshoe girls can sleep on it together. Love the copper and the “fur” on it. I’ve been wanting to build them a bed and I really like this one.
Oh Connie, I’m so sorry to hear about Winston J. They always take a piece of our heart with them when they cross over. Sending you and your other fur babies lots of love.
You can buy 4 copper end caps to put on bottom of each leg so the cut copper does not snag on bedding or carpet or whatever you set the bed in…just a thought
Oh that’s brilliant, thank you 😉
Merlin looks sooo happy on his new bed! What a clever way to repurpose that sweater. The things we do for our fur babies 🙂
Yup, our fur babies are like children 😉
i LOVE this!! Merlin also looks just like my cat Squeakers.
Thank you Sarah and if Squeakers is anything like Merlin, your purr baby will probably love it too 😉
This bed is so so freakin cute Michelle, love this idea, you’re so super creative and innovative! I wonder if our bunnies would love somthing like it for the winter maybe…? You got me thinkin…
I think your bunnies would love it Katrin, maybe they’ll stay away from all the pot plants. Send photos please when you’re done, I’d love to see.
Merlin is one happy cat. What an elegant bed for Merlin to relax in!
Thank you Debra, I must say Merlin really enjoys his new bed and I’ll have to get my butt into gear and make one for the other purr babies. He’s not giving them a chance, lol!!
The bed turned out great and Merlin looks happy and content. Great DIY idea! I always love a project for the kitties. 🙂
Me too, thank you Julia.
This is too cute! I love how you upcycled the cozy sweater for your purr baby. Such a great idea, CoCo
Hey Coco, thank you so much. I loved that sweater but I think our purr babies loved it more.
Clever idea AND Merlin is gorgeous ! Would like to know how you made
his picture and the eyes were not red.
Thank you Martha. The pics were taken with my Samsung Galaxy and I must say the I’m really impressed with the camera. I didn’t have to do anything except push a button.
Merlin is sooooo handsome. You are a great “fur” mom!
Thanks Devra and I agree Merlin is a very handsome kitty 😉
Love your kitty bed and adore your kitty! I have his twin in white!!!
Aaawww thank you Anon. His white twin must be gorgeous.
WOW!! Tooo Much Tooo Cool
Well Done aCraftyMix…?❤
Lol, thank Will 😀
Michelle, what a wonderful bed for your sweet little fur baby!! It looks like it’s already a big hit with Merlin. Such a great idea!!
Thank you my friend 🙂 Merly is hogging the bed big time. I’ll have to make three more for our other kitties.