Of the last 7 years of my life, 6 were spent living, breathing, and being everything that is James Madison University.  Now I know what you’re thinking, “SIX YEARS!?”  But don’t worry, I wasn’t one of those ‘super seniors,’ I used those years in a productive matter, receiving both my undergraduate and graduate degrees, but that’s besides the point.

On October 17^th, JMU will host their annual Homecoming game – and this year, I WILL BE ATTENDING!  So I decided to sit down the other day and make a short list of the absolute necessities that I will need :

• Hotel Room Reservation for myself and fellow Dukes – check
• JMU Football T-shirts – check
• Homecoming Tickets – check

Then I decided to create a ‘miscellaneous items I might need to pack … just in case’ list.  (Over-packers always do this) :

• Beanie hat
• Scarf
• Beer Koozie

Of course, I don’t own any of these items in the standard Purple and Yellow colors.  I look at Bruce (my faithful Chihuahua Terrier) and ask him, “You think we should craft these things this weekend?”  To which I get a look that seems to say, “None of this has anything to do with me, why should I care?  Oh, and rub my tummy while you’re at it.”

Well obviously Bruce wouldn’t care, none of these things are for him – and then it hits me!  Bruce owns a bazillion collars for every holiday/event/season of the year, but he does not have a JMU collar to wear on game days!  Obviously, we need to fix this situation.  So today folks, I will be showing you how to craft a dog collar out of an old lanyard.

To start, you need the following items:

• One lanyard (must have a plastic buckle)
• One key ring (my lanyard also came with this)
• Matching thread
• Measuring Tape
• Scissors
• Lighter
• Sewing Machine

The Dog Collar Blueprint:

First, use the measuring tape to measure the length around your dog’s neck (you can also take an existing collar and measure the length of the fabric from point A to B as seen in the picture below).  Then add about 5 inches of length to that.  For Bruce, this ended up being 11 inches.

Next, cut the lanyard apart, measure 11 inches of the cord, and cut.  (Note: if there is a pattern to the cord, be mindful of where you cut.)

After cutting, take your lighter and slightly burn the edges of the cord.  This will make it easier to feed the cord through the buckle, and will prevent the edges from fraying.

Then, slide the key ring and both ends of the plastic buckle onto the cord.  Adjust the buckles so that there is 3 inches allowance on the end where the key ring will be, and two inches of allowance on the other.

Pin down the loose edge one the side without the key and sew.  I went back and forth a few times with the needle to ensure the strength of the seam.

Pin down the second edge, and sew a seam first directly next to the buckle.  Then pull the key ring as close as you can to the new seam, pin down the remaining allowance, and sew your final seam.

Clip all loose threads, and VOILA!  A new collar for gameday!  GO DUKES!

One final note – if you don’t have a lanyard lying around, most fabric stores sell similar cording in the Trim aisle.  My parents dogs, Karson and Kalvin, were quite jealous of Bruce’s new collar, so I went out to Joann Fabrics and found cord in their favorite colors.  Using the buckles and key rings from their old collars and 25 inches of cording for each, I was able to fashion two similar collars for them as well!

Download the pdf printout version here: Dog Collar Tutorial

Like what you see?  I take orders for just about everything here on the site.  Email me if you’re interested.