Santa's Canine Helper
Deck your dogs with bells and holly! Get into the holiday spirit with this fun and festive DIY dog collar, an awesome idea provided by DIY network. With just a few supplies and some basic sewing skills, you can create a cute and cozy holly collar.
What you will need:
- green felt
- red fleece
- 2 cm wide elastic
- red bells
- the handy holly-leaf template
- scissors, a sewing machine, needle and thread
Instructions:
1. Determine Collar Size and Sew
Measure your dog's neck. Cut a piece of fleece that is 8 cm wide and 5 to 10 cm longer than your dog's neck. (If your dog's head is much larger than its neck, add an extra 10 cm.) For dogs such as pugs and bulldogs, and extra 5 cm is fine. Fold the fabric in half lengthwise and with a 0.5 cm seam allowance, stitch the fabric down the length, stopping 1cm from one end.
2. Turn the Seam In and Add Elastic
Turn the fleece so that the seams are inside. Usually the easiest way to do this is to clip a safety pin to one end and pull it through. Cut a piece of elastic the length of your dog's neck and thread it though the fleece tube (use a safety pin for that too).
3. Stitch Elastic Together
Overlap the elastic by about 2.5cm and sew together with a zigzag stitch.
4. Stitch Fleece Closed
Fold the unstitched 1cm end of the fleece back on itself to create a clean finished edge, insert the other side of the fleece into the finished edge and stitch through all layers. This will secure the elastic and close the fleece casing.
5. Cut Leaves
Download and print the holly-leaf template. Choose the size of your leaves and cut them out of the paper, then the green felt. Use 2 or 3 leaves for your finished design, or you can double up on the leaves for a more substantial look.
6. Sew the Leaves
If you double the leaves, they will need to be sewn together. Stack two cut leaves on top of each other and sew down the center. Repeat with the remaining leaves.
7. Attach Leaves to Collar
Hand stitch the leaves to the collar.
8. Add the Bells
Stitch the bells to the center of the leaves.
9. Wear It Well
Dress your dog and take heaps of fun Christmas pictures.