Remnant Rehab: Dapper dog bow tie
If every girl’s crazy ’bout a sharp-dressed man, you can imagine how gaga they’d go for a sharp-dressed dog.
This Halloween, make your classy canine a bow tie.
I have seen a real bow tie tied onto a dog, but if that’s beyond your skill level, this bow is easy to make and slips onto a dog’s collar with a piece of elastic.
My coworker’s dog, Gus, gamely modeled the bow tie. He’s going as James Bond for Halloween.
Gus’ collar is 7/8 inch wide with a clip opening, which is how I decided my measurements of the center piece of the bow and the elastic. For a smaller dog, you can adjust the dimensions to make a smaller bow.
Supplies
- fabric
- ruler
- scissors
- elastic
- coordinating thread
- sewing machine
- hand-sewing needle
Instructions
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Cut an 8 inch square from your fabric. Then cut a 2-inch strip from one side, giving you a 2-inch by 8-inch rectangle and a 6-inch by 8-inch rectangle. The large rectangle is for the bow, and the narrow strip is for the center.
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Fold the large rectangle in half, right sides together, to make a 4-inch by 6-inch rectangle. Sew around the open edges with a 1/4-inch seam, leaving a 1-inch to 1.5-inch turning hole. I left the turning hole in the middle of the long side, where it will be least noticeable. Flip the rectangle right-side out and hand sew the turning hole closed.
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Fold the narrow rectangle in half, right sides together, so the strip is 1 inch wide. Sew along the long open side with a 1/4-inch seam. Leave the short ends open. Flip right-side out.
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Cut two 1.5-inch pieces from the narrow tube you just sewed. Cut a 2-inch piece of elastic.
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On the tubes, move the seam to the center. Lay the tubes together with seams facing out, and sandwich the piece of elastic between them. Sew the three pieces together at each cut end with a 1/4-inch seam. Turn right-side out. The elastic will be the back side.
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Slip the large rectangle through the center piece and arrange the bow to your liking. On the back side of the bow, use tiny stitches to hand sew the center piece to one of the folds in the back layer of the bow. I did a few stitches on each side.
The bow is ready. Slip the elastic onto the collar for any formal occasion. Weddings, New Year’s, black-tie galas — you name it, your dog will be dashing.