The short answer: the best fabric for a dog bed is one that suits how your dog sleeps and how you live, sewn as a cover you can take off and wash. Every J’adore bed is made from pre-washed, upholstery-grade fabric with a removable, machine-washable cover, so you can choose on feel and look: velvet and faux cowhide for a soft, plush surface, linen and slub canvas for a woven, everyday look, faux leather for a modern room, and sherpa or fleece for pets who love to burrow.
We offer more than 300 fabrics, and you can choose a different one for each part of the bed. This guide explains what each fabric family is like, which suits which kind of dog, how the covers are cared for, and how to see the fabrics in person with fabric samples before you order.
What Makes a Good Dog Bed Fabric
A dog bed is furniture that gets used every day. Before you fall for a color, think about four things:
- How your dog sleeps. A burrower who digs and nests enjoys a plush, soft surface. A dog who runs warm may prefer a smoother, cooler weave.
- Shedding. Hair sits on top of smoother fabrics instead of working into the weave, which makes it easier to brush or vacuum off.
- Washing. The cover will be washed many times. Ours are pre-washed before they are cut and sewn, so they keep their size, and every cover unzips for the wash.
- Your room. The bed sits in your living space for years. Choose fabrics that work with your sofa, rug and walls, or use the bed as an accent.
Our Fabric Families at a Glance
Our 300+ fabrics fall into a handful of families. The names in the configurator tell you which family a fabric belongs to, for example Abbot Ink Slub, Clarke Cloud Linen or Speckled Faux Cowhide Black Velvet.
| Fabric family | What it is | A good fit for |
|---|---|---|
| Velvet (including Micro Velvet and Corduroy Velvet) | A soft, plush pile | Dogs who burrow and nest; homes with shedding pets |
| Faux cowhide | A durable performance fabric with a soft velvety finish, printed in cowhide patterns. No animal hide is used. | Western, farmhouse and rustic rooms |
| Faux leather | Soft faux leathers in browns and tans, some with a velvet finish | Modern rooms and statement beds |
| Linen and Luxe Linen | A woven linen look in solids and prints | Dogs who like a cooler, smoother surface; homes with shedding pets |
| Slub canvas and Luxe Canvas | Our largest family: woven canvases in solids, stripes, checks, toiles and prints | Everyday beds in almost any color scheme |
| Grain sack | Reproduction feed sack fabric, the classic farmhouse stripe | Farmhouse rooms |
| Sherpa and Furry Fleece | Bonded Sherpa in white, ivory, black and dark gray, and Furry Fleece in several colors | Pets who love to snuggle into something soft |
You’ll also find cottons, denim and Denton weaves, flax prints and solids throughout the catalog. A few premium fabrics carry a small upcharge, marked with ✨ in the configurator, and the price updates as soon as you choose one.
Faux Cowhide Fabric
Faux cowhide is one of our most popular looks, and it is not real hide. It is a durable performance fabric with a soft velvety finish, in cowhide patterns such as speckled chocolate, palomino, black and gray, brindle, blonde and brown. It gives a bed the warmth of a western or farmhouse room without any animal product.
You can use faux cowhide on any part of a bed you design yourself, or start from a finished look:
- the Speckled Faux Cowhide Bed and the Vegan Cowhide Cushion, both on our Rectangle cushion
- the Faux Cowhide Cuddle Pet Bed, a bolster bed for dogs who like to curl up
Faux cowhide pairs well with a solid velvet or a neutral linen for the sides, piping or bottom, so the pattern stays the star.
Faux Leather Dog Beds
Our faux leathers, including Sheridan Toffee, Western Chestnut and the Rustic Mesa and Rustic Stone faux leather velvets, give a bed a tailored, modern look that suits a contemporary living room. They are soft to the touch and come in warm browns and natural tans.
See the Designer Faux Leather Dog Bed for a finished design, or check Ready To Ship for faux leather beds that are already made, such as the Brindle Rectangle Pet Bed. For a large dog, the Rectangle cushion can be made in a custom size up to 80″ by 40″.
Velvet, Linen and Canvas: Choosing for Your Dog
Every fabric we offer handles shedding and washing well, so choose on feel and look. The exception is a dog who scratches or digs hard at their bed: for them, choose one of our extra-durable fabrics. Most people end up choosing between a plush fabric and a woven one. Here’s how to decide.
Velvet for burrowers and nesters
A dog who digs, circles and burrows before settling often loves the plush pile of a velvet. It’s soft enough to sink into, and because the surface is smooth, shed hair is less likely to get trapped in it.
Linen for dogs who run warm
A linen has a cooler, smoother feel that suits dogs who stretch out to cool down. Like velvet, a smooth linen is easier to keep free of hair.
Slub and Luxe Canvas for everyday color
Our canvases make up the biggest share of the catalog, so this is where you’ll find the widest choice of colors and patterns: solids, stripes, buffalo checks, toiles, dandelions and playful prints. They’re a natural choice when the bed needs to match a specific room.
Sherpa and fleece for snugglers
Bonded Sherpa and Furry Fleece add a cozy, touchable texture. The Throne Bolster Dog Bed has an attached furry fleece blanket for burrowing, and the Luxurious Blanket pairs a designer fabric on one side with faux fur on the other.
Mixing Fabrics on One Bed
In Design Your Own you choose the fabric for each area of the bed separately. On a cushion bed, that’s the top, the cording (piping), the banding around the sides and the bottom. That’s how you get a bed that’s soft where your dog lies and patterned where you look at it.
Grip Slip-Not for the bottom. On beds that offer it, such as our cushion beds, Grip Slip-Not appears as a choice for the bottom fabric. It’s a non-slip fabric that helps keep the bed from sliding on hard floors, and it’s used on the bottom only.
- Let one fabric lead. Pick a pattern or a statement fabric for the top, then choose solids from the same color family for the banding and cording.
- Use the piping as an accent. A contrasting cording is the easiest way to tie the bed to a pillow, rug or wall color.
- Think about both sides. Several of our beds, including the Cuddle, Cozy Cuddle and Pillow, can be used on either side, which gives you two looks and spreads the wear.
- Start from a finished look. Our beds come with Design Ideas and Signature Styles, fabric combinations we’ve already put together. Load one and change any fabric you like.
Caring for Your Fabric
Unzip the cover, take the insert out, and wash the cover on a delicate cycle in cold water with a mild detergent such as Woolite. Line dry only; a hot dryer can shrink or fade the fabric. Because our fabrics are pre-washed before sewing, the cover keeps its fit after laundering.
For stains, odors, foam inserts and a full washing routine, see our complete dog bed care guide. If a cover ever wears out, or you simply want a new look, you can order a replacement cover instead of a whole new bed.
See the Fabrics Before You Order
Colors look different on every screen. Fabric samples are $1.99 each, so you can feel the texture and see the color in your own light before you commit. Sample-only orders ship the next business day.
More Guides on Materials
- Dog bed fill guide: fiberfill, memory foam and high-density foam, and which suits your dog
- Eco-friendly custom dog beds: our sustainable fill option
- Choosing materials for a dog crate cover
- How to clean and maintain a dog bed
