By Kid’s Craft Contributor, Gillian from the blog “Dried Figs and Wooden Spools”.

We are all about handmade gifts in our house this year, right down to the pets, because they are part of the family too, right? And while we could, and probably will, make some homemade dog treats for our precious puppy, we also decided that a new dog collar would be a fun present for her, and luckily, they are easy to make. You’ll want to vary the size of the strapping according to the type of dog you have, smaller dogs will require thinner strapping and vice versa. For our very average sized dog we used 1 inch thick strapping.

Here’s what you need:

• Nylon strapping – measure around your dogs neck and then add 6 inches. 
• Grosgrain ribbon, the same length, but about half the width of your strapping
• Buckle with an opening that matches your strapping
• D ring with an opening that matches your strapping
• Sewing machine
• Heavy duty thread
• Pins
• Scissors

1. First pin the ribbon onto the strapping, centering in it evenly all the way down. 

2. Stitch just inside the edge of the ribbon on both sides to secure it to the strapping.

3. Slide one end of the buckle onto the strapping. Fold the raw edge under and sew in place by either sewing back and forth several times or sewing an X where the strap overlaps.

4. Slide the D ring and the other half of the buckle onto the other end of the strapping. Secure around your dogs neck to determine the size.

5. Stitch the second buckle into place and then fold the remaining strapping (trim if necessary)  under and slide the D ring between the end and the buckle, sewing it into place and finishing off the other end.