I had been wanting to buy holiday bandanas in a plaid print for my doggies, Pete and Susse, but instead of buying them I got creative and made a plan to DIY them!
I have so many larger wrap scarves. One in particular is very festive red plaid print, and is also really large. So large that I felt like it was swallowing me every time I wore it. I had the idea if I cut it in half length wise I would still be able to wear one half as a scarf and with the other have I should have enough material to make a bandana for each of my dogs. I figured I would give it a try and I am so pleased it turned out!
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THE MATERIALS
- 1 wrap scarf (this is similar to mine, but if you have an extra wrap scarf laying around like I did use one of those or find fabric at a local fabric store – the remnant section is usually a great place to look!)
- fabric scissors
- sharpie
- ruler
THE PROCESS
Lay the scarf out on a flat surface, I chose my kitchen table. Cut the scarf in half wise, which left each half about 15 inches wide. Remove any excess strings from the cut edges. Keep half of the scarf to use as normal!
If you are making two like I did, cut the second half of the scarf in half width wise so you have two equal halves. Mine were about 30 inches long each. Use your dog’s collar as a guide for the minimum length the circumference of the bandana will need to be and add 3-4 inches to each side to leave room for tying it. Extra can always be snipped off later. My dog’s collars are 14 inches and 16 inches, so I aimed for total lengths of 22 inches and 24 inches respectively.
Next I used my sharpie and a ruler to draw a guide to cut along. I marked the halfway point down one side of the fabric and drew a triangle for the bandana part, leaving 4 inch “tails” on either end to be used as ties.
That’s it! I touched up the edges a bit where my cut lines weren’t as straight as I wanted, but overall they turned out great!
Of course immediately put them on the dogs. They weren’t sure at first, but after a little bit they didn’t even notice they were wearing them. They will definitely be wearing these on Christmas for our annual family Christmas picture. Maybe I’ll even wear my matching scarf – doesn’t everyone match their dogs?
I think they turned out so cute!
