Have you ever wondered how to make dog bandanas? If you are a pet lover – and a sports fan – you can make this Furry Fan Pet Bandana for your dog or cat so your best friend can root for your favorite team with you!
What’s so clever is that this DIY dog bandana pattern is made so the cloth slips over your pet’s collar, making it easy and comfortable for your pet! It makes the perfect gift for an animal lover and is super easy to make.
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Cat and Dog Bandanas
This holiday season, don’t overlook your favorite furry fan – even your cats and dogs can show their spirit! Today I want to share with you a simple, fun, and free pattern and sewing tutorial for making cat and dog bandanas. Your Fido will flip for it or, in my case, Chloe the cat!
You will need the following supplies to make a bandana dog collar:
For this DIY project, I used a sewing machine to ensure the seams were nice and sturdy.
- 1 yard of your favorite team’s fabric!
- Coordinating Thread
- Cat or Dog collar
- Erasable marking pen or pencil
- Hard-edge ruler
- A piece of paper (size will vary by how big your furry friend is)
How to Make Dog Bandanas
Let me show you how to make a dog bandana that is sewn into the perfect triangle shape, making it more durable and less bulky around your dog’s neck than a folded bandana. This easy pattern works for any animal that wears a collar.
Making the Dog Bandana Pattern
1. First, lay your pet’s collar out flat and measure it.
2. Fold your piece of paper in half. On your paper, measure over from the fold for 1/2 the length of your collar, and mark.
3. Use your ruler to draw a diagonal line from your mark down to the fold, creating a triangle shape. How big the triangle is will depend on how big your animal is. For instance, the triangle for our dog collar (for a golden retriever) was 11.5″ long along the fold line. However, the triangle for the cat collar was 6″ along the fold line.
4. Next, cut out the triangle and open the paper out. This is your custom pattern piece.
5. Place your pattern piece on the right side of your piece of fabric. Note: when you are cutting out your scarf, consider the print placement. Cut out two triangles from your pattern piece.
Sewing a DIY Dog Bandana
6. Place both triangles right sides facing together. Pin and stitch with a 1/4″ seam allowance along the top edge. Be sure to backstitch!
7. Fold open the scarf and press the seam open.
7. Measure the width of the largest buckle or closure on your pet’s collar. Add 1/2″ to that measurement. Using this measurement, make a mark along the corner seam.
8. Fold in the corner edge to that mark. Press and pin. Repeat on the other side. Stitch with 1/4″ seam allowance on the folded edges. Press.
9. Fold right side together. Pin along the two remaining open edges. Stitch with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Trim allowance close to the stitching line.
10. Now, turn the scarf right side out through the collar opening. Press.
11. Use your marking pen to draw a line from the bottom of both short lines of stitching to form the collar casing. Stitch along the line. Press.
12. Topstitch along the bottom edges of the bandana with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Have fun choosing your thread colors! I used navy blue topstitching on the scarf above and white on the one below, to add some contrast.
13. Finally, thread your collar through the open casing, and dress your pet up in its new favorite scarf!
Tips For Pet Bandanas
- How can you get your dog to wear a bandana? Some dogs and many cats are sensitive to having bulky things on them. This sewn style of bandana is lightweight and not bulky, plus it slides right over a familiar collar, and that’s a lot more likely to feel comfortable on your pet.
- Cotton is the best fabric for your pet’s bandana because it’s easy to work with and you can throw it right in the wash.
- Some dogs really like a wet bandana to help keep cool in the summer time!
- Bandanas for your dog are a super cute way to coordinate outfits with your four-legged friend – use fat quarters or spare fabric from other sewing projects and you’ll have a matching sidekick for a day on the town!
Amy Barrickman is a big fan of giving (and receiving) handmade gifts. When it comes to gift giving, you can’t go wrong giving presents that feature your family’s favorite team. There are so many fun options – you could make pajamas for your kids, or an apron for your grillmaster.
Sweet Treat for Your Puppy
What a great Birthday gift these bandanas will make for your fur babies. Now that you have a great Birthday gift for your puppy, how about a sweet treat. Try this great Dog Birthday Cake it’s safe for your puppy and you both to enjoy.
I would love to keep you fully stocked with creative ideas, yummy recipes, fun crafts, and loads of free printables. Subscribe to Skip to my Lou to get new ideas delivered to your inbox. Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram for all my latest updates.
So nice. I have been thinking of how to create reversible pet bandanas. Thanks for sharing.
Besides your quick and easy pattern for collar covers, you may have saved me a lot of time and have a lot more choices. My black lab, Romeo, was stung by a bee as a pup between his shoulder blades. He’s taken on porcupines, skunks, etc. and needless the say, didn’t win. If he sees a fly, he snaps at it then spends an hour looking at ceilings, windows etc. If it accidentally touches him, he can move a heavy wooden table for 8 across the room, lol! I then started crocheting covers such as orange during hunting season and holidays of course. I also add one row of reflective yarn for night time. He will not move away from the tub until he sees you putting a new cover on! One thing I found was to make it shorter than the collar due to the leash hook and also the extension piece. Thanks yet again!