A step-by-step photographic tutorial for making a sleeping cube for pet sugar gliders, rats, hedgehogs, or other small pets. This tutorial will teach you how to safely make the cube pictured to the right here. This is a simple project that can be completed with your sewing machine and just a few pieces of fleece.
You will need:
- Sewing machine and good quality thread
- Fabric shears or rotary cutter/mat
- 12 pieces of fleece cut into even squares. Size is up to personal preference and will depend on the type and number of animals you are sewing for.
- 4 fleece strips if you wish to hang your cubes. 1-2″ in width x 4’5″ in length is usually a good size. When cutting your fleece strips , make sure they do not stretch with the length of your strip.
You will begin with 12 equally cut squares of fleece, 6 pieces for your inner lining, and 6 pieces for your outer cube. You will also need 4 equal strips of fleece for the hanging tabs if you wish for your tab to hang.
Begin by pairing one square of fleece from the inside and one square from the outside together, right sides together. Match them evenly at all sided and corners and pin securely.
Using a marking pen, draw or trace a shape for your front opening. You may make this in any shape, though circles and squares are most common.
Sew completely around your opening marking, making sure to backstitch at the beginning and end of your stitching. Clip all threads when done.
Cut into your opening leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance to the inside.
Carefully clip into your seam allowance, making sure not to cut into the seam. For circular openings, clip every 1/2″-3/4″ or so. For a square opening, only clip into the corners. This will help the opening to lie flat when turned.
Reverse the inner and outer fabrics so that they are right sides out and the seam is now hidden.
Flatten and match all edges and corners.
(Optional Step) Neatly topstitch around the opening at about 1/4″ seam allowance. Make sure to use small stitches (usually about 1.6mm-2mm depending on fabric thickness). Your topstitch should have good, even tension and should appear to be “buried” into the fleece when done. Overlap the seam and backstitch at beginning and end. Clip all threads.
Using your 5 remaining pieces of inner fleece, you will now construct the body of the inside of the cube. Start by matching 2 pieces corner to corner and edge to edge, right sides together.
Stitch a seam along the top edge with a 1/2″ seam allowance, backstitching at both ends. Clip all threads when done.
You will have a nice, hidden seam on the inside when you open it up.
With the two pieces opened, line a third piece to the right square, matching it corner to corner and edge to edge. This new piece will overlap where you have previously sewn.
Sew a seam across the top as previously directed with a 1/2″ seam allowance
Repeat on all 4 sides until you have one square in the center with 4 flaps sewn evenly around it.
Repeat this process to construct the outer portion.
To begin closing in the inner cube, line adjacent side flaps up, corner to corner and edge to edge. This will create a diagonal crease in your center piece. Sew a seam across the top at a 1/2″ seam allowance, making sure that your left hand stitching intersects with the precious stitching to give a closed corner.
Inside view of the closed corner.
Repeat on all 4 sides
The inner view of the enclosed cube.
Now begin closing the outer cube. If you wish to add hanging tabs, you will do this now. Take your fleece strips and fold them in half, placing them along the top edge of one of your side pieces, spaced as shown.
Cover with the corresponding flap, making sure to line both squares corner to corner and edge to edge as shown. Pin the flaps in place. Sew a 1/2″ seam along the top as you did for the inner piece. Repeat the tabs on an adjacent side, then sew the remaining two sides as with the inner cube.
The tabs will be facing as shown once sewn.
The outer cube will appear reversed once sewn. It will be turned when the cube is finished.
Now take your front piece, and align it with the outer cube first. Place the front so that your inner flap is facing to the outside, right sides of the outer fleece will be facing together to be sewn.
Match the square edges corner to corner and edge to edge, then sew a 1/2″ seam across the top edge.
Repeat on all 4 sides to create an enclosed cube.
Repeat on THREE of 4 sides with the inner cube. Now you will have a “kissing” cube configuration. Both should appear inside out.
When sewing the fourth and final side of the inner cube, leave about a 1″ to 1.5″ opening in the seam, making sure to backstitch on either side.
This opening is where you will turn the cube inside out. Once you have trimmed the threads, you can begin to carefully pull both cubes right side out through this hole.
Turning the cubes.
Once the cubes are right side out, you may close this opening. You must machine topstitch for safety, do NOT handstitch. Turn the raw edges under for a neat finish, then sew about 1/4″ from the edge with tight, neat topstitch.
The closed turning hole.
Tigerlily Threads 