Piggy A-Z: D for Do It Yourself (DIY): a fleece pillow

Some weeks ago I made a little photo tutorial on how to make a very simple guinea pig pillow. We bought one like this when we got Bérke, a couple of years ago. We could easily have made a pillow like this, and will show you how below, but we liked to support the shelter where we got Ber by buying the pillow.
Btw, on world animal day (4 October) it was  Berke's 5 birthday, so belated carrotbeers all around!

So what do you need to make a pillow for your guinea pig?

- Fleece fabric (one or two colors, more if you want it to be multi colored, but for this tutorial I will use two colors), preferably washed (so it has already shrunk if it does that)
- A sewing machine, or needle (and some handsewing skills)
- Thread

- Pins
- Teddy bear / Fibre filling
- Scissors
- Chalk (or something else you can use to mark your fabric)
- measuring device, like a ruler or measuring tape.

Decide how big you want your pillow to be,
add some seams (All round) to that number and
draw that rectangle on one of your fleece fabrics

Cut out the rectangle and put your cut-out rectangle on top
of your other piece of fleece fabric.

Pin the rectangle to the other colour fleece
and cut it out

Fleece has a wrong and a right side. In general
The fuzzy side is seen as the right side, and
the very smooth often slightly shiny side
is the wrong side of the fabric.
However feel free to use the side you like on the outside

Put the right sides together and pin. This means
the wrong sides (the sides you what on the inside
of the pillow) are on the outside.
Unless you want the seams on the outside then
you put wrong sides together and pin

Sew together 3 sides of the rectangle,
to make sure the treads stay in place
sew forward, a bit back and forward again,
at the beginning and end of your sewing. 

Most sewing machines have
a button to sew back.
Leave one shorter side open.
To turn in the corner,
put the needle through the layers of fabric,
 lift the foot and turn.
Put the foot down again and continue

If you want seams on the inside (!): Cut of the 
corners off the side you just sewn (as shown)

This makes for a more defined corner 
when you turn it inside out.

If you want the seams on the inside, turn inside out,
 otherwise don't turn. Stuff and pin closed.
Fold the seams inside if you want seams in the inside

Here it is pinned closed with seams folded inside

Sew the short side closed, again go forwards and
back at beginning and end of your sewing
This is how it looks sewn on one side

And the other side.

It's done now and can be given to your piggies!

As far as I know fleece can be washed (not too warm though!) And the filling is washable too, might be useful to check if you can wash the filling when buying it.

Enjoy, if your slaves make a pillow for you we would love to see them!

Slave Mikey, as requested by her Guinygirlz and Bérke to make this tutorial

Guinea Pigs React to Donald Trump

We could not resist this topical video...

Dangermice get a bath.

Our Slave decided that we needed a bath. We have to admit to not being the best behaved piggies in the house and we were really naughty when Slave tried to catch us. She had to resort to trapping us in pipes and transferring us to the big box that she uses to transport piggies upstairs to the bathroom.

We did not behave very well in the bath either and Slave said that it was like the Wall of Death as we raced around running away from the shower hose ( well, wouldn't you?) but she washed and lathered us much to our disgust.

After we had been shampooed and rinsed, we were put back in the box full of towels to dry off. Here we are.

Then we tried to escape by climbing on each other but Slave was watching and we did not get away.

All the Piggyfriends get treats when they are drying off but Slave decided that she deserved one more than we did so she had some chocolate. Not fair!

Then she CUT OUR NAILS! Eeek! Actually Casper was very good and sat still for this to be done so she relented and gave us a treat after all.

We had some Savoy cabbage that she had collected from her friend's farm this morning. We do look nice and white again so maybe we should not have made so much fuss. Maybe next time.......

Friday Video ClearScore Summer 2016 TV ad: Pineapple

Whee are a bit late posting this Friday video, but better late than never right?

See how we have grown!

This is a post from Magnus and Ivan Piggyfriend. Slave has been on holiday and her wonderful son has been pigsitting. When she got home, she was astonished at how much we had grown. She says that we get bigger by the minute so we thought that we would show you this pigture of us with our mentor, Tyrion.

That is him on the left, Ivan is in the middle and Magnus is on the right. We are enjoying a pile of grass from Slave's friend Roly's farm.

Does anyone have a pigture of their own piggy? We'd love to see them.

I was very brave today!

I am Fernando Piggyfriend and when I grow up I am going to be an Agent but in the meantime, look what happened to me today!

Slave says that I must have had a long haired piggy in my ancestry ( but I do not know as I came from a rescue ) and my coat grows long at the very back. It was getting tangled so she said that I needed a haircut.

I was grabbed from my wooden house, wrapped in a towel and look what she produced.

A pair of scissors bigger than me! Slave says that they are the very best pair for piggy haircuts and she should know but I was very apprehensive. It only took a moment and my rear end was as neat as can be.

Maybe haircuts are not to be feared but I envy my brother, Martin, whose fuzzy coat does not seem to grow.

Friday Video Deezer - Mating Season (2016 UK Ad 30sec)

Even if Egg adverts have decided to abandon guinea pigs we are pleased to say that other advertisers have not been so short sighted....