How To Make Dog Collar Decorations
Discover how to make dog collar decorations out of woven yarn. Spruce up an old dog collar or add holiday colors to your dog's collar. Add one or more Homemade Pom Poms for an extra decorative effect.
Although braiding or plaiting methods are used, the final products look woven, so it's also called off-loom weaving. As the latter name indicates, you don't need a loom, just something to anchor your work to. This could be a ladder-backed chair, a towel bar, or else a pencil, dowel or stick taped to a counter or table.
If you’ve never done something like this before, it’s best to start with a small number of strands such as four or six. Choose your own colors and feel free to experiment!
4 STRAND WEAVING
Setting Up:
- Take a 48-inch (1220mm) piece of one color yarn and double it over so you have two strands, each 24 inches (610mm) long
- Put the loop end around your anchor
- Pull the loose ends through the loop
- Even the strands up and tighten the loop
- Take your next color yarn (or the same color if you like) and repeat steps 1 through 4
- You should now have four strands to work with
Weaving:
- Start on the one side and work from that side only
- Weave Strand 1 over Strand 2, under Strand 3 and over Strand 4
- Hold Strand 1 out to the side with one hand till woven in the next round
- Hold Strands 2-4 with your other hand in the other direction
- Now take Strand 2 and weave over, under and over
- Repeat with Strands 3 and 4
- Firm up the weave by pulling on individual strands with an even tension
- Continue until you have the length you want or are about 2 inches (50mm) from the end
- To take care of loose ends, see Finishing Methods below
MORE STRANDS
The only difference in how to make dog collar decorations like these is in the number of strands.
6 STRANDS (FIVE OF DOMINOES DESIGN)
Set up 2 Red, 2 Dark Blue, 2 Red
16 STRANDS (STRIPE DESIGN)
Set up 6 Light Green, 4 Green, 6 Light Green
20 STRANDS (CHEVRON or ARROW DESIGN)
Set up 4 Blue, 4 White, 4 Red, 4 White, 4 Blue
Each of these multi-stranded designs is worked the same way:
- Starting on the left side, take the first strand over, under, over, under until you have gone over half the strands
- Then go to the right side, take the last strand, and do the opposite: under, over, under, over until you have gone over to the middle and over the first strand
- Go back to the left side and repeat the sequence, pulling on each strand in turn after weaving both sides
- This should get the weave from previous rows closer together and looking fairly uniform
- Repeat until you have the desired length and finish as shown below
Combine techniques you've learned here about how to make dog collar decorations into a St. Patrick's Day theme for your dog's collar.
FINISHING METHODS
- Decide which side you want for your right (best looking) side
- Weave the remaining strands back into the wrong side using either a needle or a crochet hook
- Try to weave each strand in among its own color area
- Cut off protruding pieces
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