Square Cuddle Cup

Several years ago I received a cuddle cup as a gift for the pigs.  The girls liked it so much, it was either in use or in the laundry.  Making cozies and hammocks seemed easy enough, so I decided to try sewing a couple of cuddle cups.  I used what was on hand, making it of single layers of fleece and cotton fabric with a level top edge.  I discovered a few things.  I wasn't fond of cutting and stitching on a curved edge and I should have stay-stitched the bottom to keep it from losing it's shape in the wash.  It needed more padding.  Lastly, although a single-height top edge made for a simple pattern, the cuddle cup with the low edges was to short for a guinea pig to snuggle up against and the other had such tall edges, they collapsed into the center and made it difficult to get into.

A year or two ago (has it been that long?!?) I stumbled across a photo of a square cuddle cup.  Interesting.  I can do square.  Having sworn off making cuddle cups, I decided to give it another try.  This time I made the sides with the classic dip in the front and add extra padding to the bottom, as well as properly tacked down the insides to the outside.

I had originally written instructions to go with this post.  Ha.  The cuddle cup turned out much better than my attempt at a how-to.  Perhaps I will try again another day.  However, there's a good set of instructions for the traditional round one at How to Make a Cuddle Cup on the Guinea Pig Cages forum. 

As for the cuddle cup itself:  I like the square shape and the other adjustments I made to my old design.  Plus, it appears that Pinniped approves.  That works for me!