DIY Poinsettia Collar for Dogs

I have been wanting to get my doggies holiday collars for a long time.  I have admired all kinds of adorable collars on Etsy, but when I add up the cost for all my doggies to get a new collar with a bow tie or flower embellishment...I just cannot justify the purchase.    So this Christmas I decided to give it a try.   I made Poinsettia collars for the girls...and a Bow Tie collar for Toby.







Making the collar:

Rather than buy several kinds of fabrics for each dog, I found a Christmas fabric that had many designs combined into one fabric.  Now all the dogs will color coordinate with each other.


I cut the fabric 4 times the width of the collar I want to make and twice the length of the finished collar.  I folded each strip in half lengthwise and ironed in the crease.  Then I folded the sides toward the crease to create the hem.  And folding the hems together I sewed down the length of the collar to create the collar band.  Then I threaded the ends of the bands through the buckle and sewed them in place to the finished width of each dogs neck.  Since these collars were just for a few weeks of indoor use, I didn't bother using adjustable parts and D rings for collars. If I wanted stronger collars for walking the dogs, I would use nylon webbing inside the fabric.


The Poinsettia Flower Instruction:
The Poinsettia flower can be made in any color or pattern to match any collar or season.

To begin I cut out six 4 inch circles (per collar)

Then I cut each circle down the center to create half circles

Then I sewed the straight sides of the pieces together with the sewing machine.  When you are done the piece is turned right side out and resembles a cone hat.

Holding the cone flat to make a triangle, I hand sewed a loose stitch along the unfinished edge of the triangle.  As I sewed I pulled the fabric tight creating a gather and continued onto the next petal.

I continued sewing and gathering all six petals together and pulling the thread tight, I sewed it to the first petal where I began.

To create the center of the flower, I cut little circle of the collar fabric and covered buttons.  The instructions for creating fabric covered buttons come in the package of buttons.  They take 2 seconds to make the buttons.   With a hot glue gun, I glued the button over the exposed edges of the center of the flower.  I tied twine through the button hole and tied the flower tightly to the collar.

When the collars were finished they looked like this.  It cost less than $10 to make several different collars.  I made them in just a few hours and was not particular to be perfect.  But they worked out just fine....Don't you think?   If you have a sewing machine, and enjoy crafting with fabric, you can have a lot of fun making a collar for every season for your doggy.  He or she will be the smartest looking puppy on the block!

The collars turned out nicer than I expected.  I will take more time to make sturdier collars for next season.