Hello Sewists,

I wanted to share this quick project with you as it has brought so much happiness to me in so many ways – one big up-side of the lockdown is that MrA and I seem to have ‘inherited’ a dog! The keen-eyed among you will have seen Freddy before (… or to use his full name, Mr Frederick P. Peanut III) – well, he moved in at the beginning of the lockdown, and he hasn’t moved out yet – so I decided to make him a collar! (This could be considered a step-down from the matching jackets of a couple of years ago, but I feel it’s very much the beginning of an upward curve!)

When I made matching jackets for us!

This first one was very much a trial as I wanted to test it for strength and design before investing too much cash, but the results have been so encouraging that I’m going full-steam-ahead with more!

What I Had:

  • 1″ Glitzy ribbon (That has been patiently waiting in my stash for it’s time to shine!)
  • 1/2″ Twill tape
  • 1″ Bag Clip-buckle
  • 1″ Matt Black Metal D-Ring

How-To:

  1. Measure the length of an existing dog collar (or dog’s neck), add approx 5cm (2″) each side for a generous double fold and cut 2 pieces of ribbon and one piece of tape to size. Stitch the tape to the wrong side of one of the pieces of ribbon.
Twill tape stitched to wrong side of ribbon

2. Edgestitch the two pieces of ribbon together (both right sides facing out), sandwiching the tape on the inside.

Tape sandwiched between two pieces of ribbon

3. Attach one side of the buckle and zig-zag stitch over the (double-folded) end of the strap.

Buckle stitched on, view from wrong-side
Buckle view from right side

4. At the other end, check the length before attaching the other side of the buckle and the D-ring. Pin it in place and (carefully) try it on your dog.

D-ring and buckle casing pinned to other end of strap

5. When you’re happy with the size, zigzag the double folded edge in place.

D-ring and buckle sewn in place

6. And now it’s ready!

Finished dog collar

7. Grab your dog (on the hottest day of the year) for a photo shoot!

Hot-dog

Now I’ve ordered some colourful buckles and webbing, I’m looking forward to making more. It’s a bit tricky finding buckles, sliders and d-rings in fancy colours (and the right sizes) – this one is 1″ and for Freddy’s size he could probably go down to 1/2″, so I’ll keep looking!

Until next time, here’s a couple of Freddy classics, from the archives!

Happy sewing!

‘Do not disturb’!
2018 Hampstead Heath
Favourite position – waiting for tummy rubs!

Notes to self:

  • Check for leather scraps from this project!
  • Keep an eye out for a nice buckle and some eyelets…
  • Don’t be tempted to make too many just because the hardware comes in multi-packs – save some of the fun stuff for bags too.