DIY toy guide

Under-Chair Denim Hammock

An elevated hideaway slung beneath a dining chair

One leg of an old pair of jeans, four ties and the underside of a chair you already own become a suspended, enclosed bed — the cat gets height and cover, and you lose no floor space whatsoever.

Difficulty
Medium
Time
45 minutes
Cost
Free

🧺 You will need

  • One leg cut from a pair of old jeans, or a similar rectangle of heavy fabric roughly 40cm by 45cm
  • Four lengths of strong cotton tape or webbing, about 30cm each
  • A sturdy four-legged chair, preferably wooden
  • Needle and strong thread, or a sewing machine
  • Scissors and a tape measure
  • Optional: a piece of fleece the same size for a soft lining

🔧 How to make it

  1. Cut the jean leg open along the inside seam and lay it flat, then trim to a rectangle. Denim is ideal here because it takes a cat's weight without stretching.
  2. Fold and stitch a hem on all four edges so nothing frays, and stitch the fleece lining to the wrong side at this stage if you are using one.
  3. Reinforce each corner with a square of doubled fabric — the corners take the entire load and are where a hammock of this sort always fails first.
  4. Stitch a length of tape securely to each reinforced corner, going over the join several times.
  5. Turn the chair upside down and measure between the legs so the hammock will hang taut rather than sagging to the floor.
  6. Tie each tape to a chair leg at the same height, using a knot you can adjust, and turn the chair the right way up.
  7. Test it by pressing down firmly in the centre with your hand — it should take considerably more than your cat's weight without the knots slipping.

💡 Tips

Site the chair somewhere the cat already likes: near a radiator, beside a window, or in the room the household spends most time in. A hammock in a spare bedroom will be ignored no matter how well made. Rub a little catnip into the fabric for the first few days, and resist the urge to place the cat in it — cats accept new furniture on their own schedule and being posted into something is a reliable way to make it suspect. Denim washes and dries well, which is the other reason to prefer it over softer fabrics.

Safety: Check the knots weekly, and re-tie them if any have crept. Use tape rather than cord — thin cord can form a loop a cat gets a leg caught in. Do not use a folding chair or anything lightweight enough to tip when a cat jumps onto the seat above. If your cat is elderly or arthritic, place the hammock under a low chair so the entry hop is short, and skip this project entirely for a cat that cannot jump comfortably.

📝 Notes

Takes about forty-five minutes, most of it sewing, and costs nothing if the jeans were destined for the bin. It suits small flats particularly well, since it adds an entire resting place without occupying any floor at all. Two chairs done the same way give two cats separated height, which is worth more in a tense household than one larger shared bed.

A slung fabric bed holds warmth and conforms around the cat
A slung fabric bed holds warmth and conforms around the cat

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