Crocheting allows you to make almost anything. From clothes to stuffed animals, if you can make the shape with yarn, you can crochet it—including cat beds. Cat beds need to be soft and plushy, making them perfect for crocheting. You can make an adorable cat bed with the right pattern for a very low price.
Because cat beds are one of the easier things to crochet, many patterns exist. However, there are also many different ways to make a cat bed, so many of these patterns differ substantially.
We recommend considering what type of bed your cat likes as well as your experience level when choosing a pattern. However, just because a bed looks more complicated doesn’t make it harder. Many crochet patterns pull off premium-looking designs with minimum difficulty.
The 4 DIY Crochet Cat Bed Patterns
1. Covered Cat Cave (with Ears!)
| Materials |
Chunky Yarn, Hook 6 or Up, Small Cotton Yarn, Wood or Metal Ring (for entrance)
|
| Difficult | Easy |
This domed cat bed isn’t hard to make, especially if you’ve made rounded patterns. It is basically just one giant dome that utilizes a ring for the entrance. Beyond that, the pattern is pretty straightforward.
With that said, the pattern is in the English style. Therefore, you may need some translation if you’ve mostly worked in American style. Luckily, the article describes all terms, and it isn’t challenging to figure out what they mean with the descriptions provided.
You can do this bed in any color you want. You can also adjust the pattern based on the size of your cat or simply change the size of your yarn to suit your cat’s size.
2. Simple, Round Cat Bed
| Materials | Chunky Yarn, US Q hook, Scissors, Tapestry Needles |
| Difficulty | Easy |
This rather simple cat bed is simply half of a ball. Therefore, if you’ve ever crocheted anything in the shape of a ball before, you’ll likely have a rather easy time making this bed. The directions are straightforward and not over-abbreviated, which we find a problem with some patterns. The pattern uses American abbreviations if that is important for you.
You can change this cat bed substantially depending on the size of the yarn you utilize and the color and texture. If you use bigger yarn, you’ll need fewer rows, which may save you time. However, bigger yarn will have larger holes, which can also be a problem.
3. Chunky Yarn Cat Bed (with video tutorial)
| Materials | Chunky Yarn, Appropriately-sized Hook |
| Difficult | Easy |
Truthfully, this bed is extremely similar to others on this list. It has a basic round shape that doubles up a bit towards the top to create a lip. Most cats love it. However, we loved that it has a video tutorial, which may help those newer to crochet. The tutorial is great and explains things better than most other plans on this list. Therefore, we highly recommend it for those who find abbreviations confusing.
You can easily change this bed’s size by adding more stitches. You can also change the color based on the yarn you choose. It does use very large yarn, which means that it won’t take you as much time to accomplish.
Overall, this cat bed is simply a great option for beginners.
4. Hanging Cat Bed
| Materials | Yarn, Scissors, Twine, Appropriately-sized Hook, Rubber Ring, D-ring, Metal or Wooden Rings |
| Difficulty | Medium |
If you’re looking for something a bit different, we recommend looking at this hanging cat bed. As the name suggests, it is designed to be hung. Therefore, it may help save a bit of room compared to other beds on this list.
However, because it uses more materials and has a bit of a more complicated design, this bed is a bit harder to make than other options. Therefore, we only recommend it for those who are somewhat experienced.
Still, even if you’re very new to crochet, this bed isn’t that complicated. Plus, it has a video tutorial, so you don’t have to read any plans. Therefore, it can be easier than you expect.
Can You Crochet a Cat Bed?
Yes. Crocheting a basic cat bed is pretty easy. Simply put, you’ll want to create a magic circle first. Any round crochet patterns use this technique, but there are many ways to do it. Therefore, they usually don’t describe how to make the magic circle directly unless you’re watching a video tutorial (sometimes).
Therefore, if you’re very new to crochet, we recommend learning how to make a magic circle first. It isn’t complicated, but there are several techniques you may want to try to find one that works for you.
After that, you’re just crafting a bowl. Depending on the bed you’re making, you may want to add wooden or metal rings to help the bed keep its shape. The yarn will collapse on itself. Therefore, a domed cat bed will need rings of some sort.
Can You Make a Cat Bed Out of Big Yarn?
You can often make a cat bed out of big yarn. While bigger yarn won’t work for every design, it does work for your basic, round cat bed. Plus, because the yarn is bigger, you’ll have to crochet less when using larger yarn. Therefore, designs made with larger yarn will take less time. For this reason, we highly recommend considering larger yarn if you’re a beginner or don’t want a huge project.
Of course, the space between each stitch will be larger with big yarn. This may cause your cat to slip through the holes or get stuck. Smaller cats and kittens may be especially prone to getting stuck.
Conclusion
Crocheting a cat bed is not terribly difficult. Most of these patterns start with a simple magic circle and move out from there. A basic, round cat bed will be the easiest option in most cases. However, you can also create a dome or hanging bed with some extra materials.
Keep in mind that we’ve used both American and English patterns on this list. Typically, learning to read both isn’t terribly difficult. However, if you’ve only used one of the others, you may want to choose one that’s in the style you’re used to.
Featured Image Credit: Ermolaev Alexander, Shutterstock
