Make Your Own Dog Collar:
For Decoration Only

Ever wonder how you could make your own dog collar with a designer look? It's very easy as long as you only want it to make your dog look fancy and don't plan to use it as a restraining device.

• A discarded plastic container with a circumference fairly close to that of your dog's neck
• A piece of fabric as long as the circumference and double the width you want to end up with. Be sure to add an extra half inch or inch (12 to 25mm) to these measurements for your seam allowances
• A strip of self-adhesive velcro about two inches (50mm) long
• Marking pen that will show up on the container
• Needle and thread or a sewing machine
• Pins
• Scissors that can cut plastic
• Masking or duct tape (optional)
• Super glue or equivalent

• Mark your container with a width a little less than you want the collar to be. Do not include the rim
• Use scissors to make a vertical cut through the rim to the bottom
• Starting just below the rim, use the scissors to cut horizontally all the way around the container
• Now cut along the line you marked for your width
• You should have a plastic strip that is fairly even and a little less wide than your collar will be
• If the strip is not long enough, cut another strip the same width and add it to the first strip with some overlap using masking tape or duct tape
• Trim to size

Sewing The Fabric

• Fold the fabric over the strip, wrong side facing out
• Make sure the plastic strip is tight against the fold
• Pin the loose edges of fabric together tightly along the bottom edge of the strip
• Sew a seam just underneath the pins by hand or machine
• Sew one end closed
• Trim the fabric edges to within a 1/4 inch (6 mm) of the seams
• Take the plastic strip out
• Turn the fabric outside in so you have a tube with the right sides facing out
• Put the strip into the tube
• If it hangs up anywhere, trim the plastic to fit
• Make sure it fits snugly against the closed end
• Tuck in the remaining end and sew it closed

• One side of the velcro has hooks, the other is fuzzy. Glue is added since often the self-adhesive is not strong enough
• Add glue to the back of the self-adhesive velcro strip with the hooks
• Place it on the outside of one end of your collar
• Check to make sure the corners are glued down - add more glue as needed and press firmly
• Take the fuzzy velcro strip, add glue on the back, and place it on the inside of the other end of the collar
• Check to make sure this strip is also firmly attached