How To Make Fleece Liners.

Mkay, I want to say this isn't mine, but I copied it from CnQ when it was still running for future reference when I can find some fleece. It's a VERY WELL written instruction guide so I'd like to post it. Whoever owns it can come forward and mods can insert the name if they'd like.


Step 1: Measure out your cage floor and buy the amount of needed fleece. Note: you sew 2 pieces of fleece together, so keep this in mind when figuring out how many yards you need.

Step 2: Before you do any sewing, wash your fleece. This will pre-shrink your fleece, so that the liners themselves do not shrink in the wash, leaving you with exposed pans.

Step 3: Cut out your fleece to the appropriate dimensions. I like to leave .5-1 inch of leeway. Your life will be much easier if you pin these two pieces together:



Note: This particular liner was being made for the FN pan with a cut out- if you are just doing a regular liner, do not cut the corner out.

Step 3: Sew the two pieces of fleece together. BE SURE TO LEAVE A SECTION OF FLEECE UNSEWED. This is critical so that you can turn your liner inside out, to hide the stitching.Once you are done doing this, sew a layer of quilt over the top. (Remember not to sew the opening shut). This can be bought at JoAnn's- if you aren't sure what it looks like, you can see it in this picture. If your sewing machine can handle it, you can sew the two pieces of fleece together and the quilted material on top all at the same time.
Opening Left:








Step 4: Reach through the opening and pull your liner inside out, so that it looks like this:


Step 5: Hidden stitch the opening closed. If you do not know how to hidden stitch, Here is a good tutorial.




(Sorry about the horrible quality pics, the originals were GREAT but I was having a lot of trouble trying to copy them from Word Document to my desktop.)

It wouldn't let me post more than 5 images, so here's the last one.


The end result: your liner!

Thanks for reposting that! I was going to but hadn't gotten around to it. I have the original pictures if you would like to replace yours with them.

Stackie said:

Thanks for reposting that! I was going to but hadn't gotten around to it. I have the original pictures if you would like to replace yours with them.

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Sounds great if I can get it edited in time, or if you want to post them yourself in a reply or something. Thanks for making it, I have it posted with my 'To Do' list =P

I think your pictures look okay and pretty much give the gist, if anyone would like to see the original ones just feel free to PM me and I will send them to you.

Stackie said:

I think your pictures look okay and pretty much give the gist, if anyone would like to see the original ones just feel free to PM me and I will send them to you.

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That works lmao. It was my pleasure to post them, they're great instructions. I couldn't figure out heads or tails on how to do it on my own and now I feel like a pro.

My biggest problem has been measurements... I know in theory - measure pans, add a couple inches for seam allowance, and try to use less than that for the actual seam allowance. But in practice... I swear I left myself an extra couple inches in ADDITION to the seam allowance, and still gotten 3 of 4 liners a little to a lot small Any ideas? or do just suck at this? I plan to make a couple more this weekend...

Did you wash them after you sewed them? Also, when you are pulling the liner through the hidden stitch, be sure you get the edges pulled through all the way. They like to stick.

I didn't, but they were too small even before washing, and they didn't seem to shrink appreciably after. And yes, I am trying to pull things through as thoroughly as possible, get all the corners pushed out... I don't hidden stitch the entire 4th side (though the stitch I use might be different from the one you do)... and it's too small in all dimensions... It's probably more a measuring problem than anything else :\

When I make my liners for my FN, I always cut the pieces at 38" x 26", which gives me over 3" on each end. The inside of the Bass Equipment pans are 34 5/8" x 22 5/8". I've usually gotten pretty close to the right size with my measurements, but I always do better if I pin it. I'm no expert in sewing, but I've made a good 30 liners so far and they all fit well. I don't mind if they're a little larger, but I make sure they're not going to be too small.

Other options for the middle 'absorbent' layer are old terrycloth towels or another layer of fleece. I personally used towels because it makes a nice cushion and the ones I had were exactly the right width for the pans (just cut to length). This helped a lot with getting the sizing right.

equus_peduus said:

My biggest problem has been measurements... I know in theory - measure pans, add a couple inches for seam allowance, and try to use less than that for the actual seam allowance. But in practice... I swear I left myself an extra couple inches in ADDITION to the seam allowance, and still gotten 3 of 4 liners a little to a lot small Any ideas? or do just suck at this? I plan to make a couple more this weekend...

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Are you using an appropriate measuring device? I'd use a metal tape measure (like a carpenter uses) for measuring the cage, then I'd use a yardstick with the fabric on a flat table for measuring the fabric. Fleece stretches horridly so you must be sure it's perfectly flat and unstretched when measured.

The best option is to make a paper template before you cut any fabric. Draw the liner out on brown paper and cut it out. See if it fits the pan. Adjust accordingly then use the paper pattern to cut your fleece. Pin it down and cut the fleece 1" larger on all sides and then use a half inch seam when sewing.

The template is the greatest thing! It makes it so much easier. I use cardboard templates since I make a lot of fleece items.

Like HedgeMom said, fleece stretches horridly!! I pin a lot because when you are sewing fleece you can accidently pull on it and end up all wonky at the corners!

Liners aren't too bad to make once you have your measurements figured out.

Do you ring them out and then line dry them? Or can you throw them into the dryer on low? I haven't used fleece liners in quite awhile.

I've been using the extra pan as a template (the first one I used a regular measuring tape)... I pin some, but haven't had too much trouble with it stretching while sewing. I'll keep playing with it... got too much fleece last time, so I've got lots to experiment with - and any that end up being the wrong size (once I have enough), my cat doesn't mind on her bed

I looked up the measurements for the pans for my ferret nation cage online and cut it about another inch each way. One fits perfectly, one is a little big, but always make sure you measure twice and cut once!!

gella said:

Other options for the middle 'absorbent' layer are old terrycloth towels or another layer of fleece. I personally used towels because it makes a nice cushion and the ones I had were exactly the right width for the pans (just cut to length). This helped a lot with getting the sizing right.

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We also use towels for the middle layer as well. I look for them at garage sales to save a bit on $$.

I was wondering if anyone knew the approximate cost to make 1 of these. Thank You! I'm trying to get an estimate of how much money I need for the Ferret Nation cage I want to buy

It depends on the price of the fleece. You could get a yard of solid fleece for $5 or less and then get a yard of batting for $3-5. It takes about a half a yard on each side of fleece and then a half a yard of the batting, so approximately $7-8.

On the other hand, if you don't want to sew one - there are plenty of people on here who sell them.

I'll check into that, I don't sew Do people have issues with their chins chewing up the fleece?