Tuesday 17 July 2012

Charlie is my darling... the dog bandana tutorial

Everyone should have at least one good friend who hears all their troubles, and mine is Charlie who is a rather handsome bulldog, who hears everything and says nothing... actually he fulfils this role for a number of us.  Recently, he has become quite the dandy about town sporting topical bandanas... he wore a Union Jack for the jubilee but I thought I would use one of the newly launched animal ribbons from the Jane Means collection... mind you, Charlie asked me to let Jane know he is available for modelling assignments when she realises that a bulldog would add that touch of macho doggy class to her great doggy ribbons!


So let's get started, you will need:


A dog
A fat quarter
Ribbon
Cotton
Scissors and pins or cutting mat and rotary cutter
Iron and ironing board
Matches
Fish knife


Iron the fat quarter and fold it on the diagonal to create a square, cut off the excess fabric.  If you have a smaller dog then you will need to cut out a smaller square, you could use Charlie's bandana as a tent for a Yorkie!
Now look at your dog collar and measure the width, Charlie's collar is an inch wide, so line the fold up and cut off a triangle from each side with a base of 1.5".
Open up the square, fold under a seam of 5/8" where you cut off your triangles, press with the iron and sew into place.  Pin the top ribbon .5" from the fold on the right side of your fabric,  remembering to seal the ends of the ribbon with your matches... Now pin the ribbon along one side, an inch away from the raw edge,  slip this ribbon under the ribbon running along the top so that it is not seen, repeat on the other side.  Now at the point of the triangle, you can either mitre the ribbon or cheat... keep one ribbon flat but fold the other one over to create a triangle.
Sew the ribbon in place on the inside and outside to secure it.  Fold the bandana so that right sides are facing, sew using a 5/8" seam allowance along the two sides but leaving open the seams you have sewn at the top.
Turn the bandana right sides out, having first trimmed the excess seam allowance, you can use either side of the scarf to pull it through, use the fish knife to ensure you get a nice point in the corner.  Iron the bandana from the reverse side... this will do two things, a) make sure you don't melt the ribbon and b) raise the ribbon.
Sew straight across the top of the scarf, 1.5" below the fold to create the channel for the lead's collar... I didn't do this initially but have done so since the pics were taken and it gives a much better finish and the bandana lies much flatter.  Slip the collar through the channel, whistle up your model and get out there for a walk.
I think that this has a much great chance of staying around Charlie's neck.  So there you go my first official blog as a ribbon stylist for Jane Means, hope you like it :)


Now if you have time, hop on over to Handmade Monday on Handmade Harbour... Wendy has some brilliant news, she is featured on the front page of Sewing World... isn't that fab?

11 comments:

Mandy said...

What a smart bandana. I love the doggy ribbon.

Wendy said...

I love it. I especially love your "you will need" list. Where else in the world could you find a tutorial that lists dog, fat quarter and fish knife all in one project?
An excellent first Jane means project. And Charlie has a rosy future as a model, doesn't he? Don't let anyone tell him he's not tall and skinny enough ;-)

Mrs A. said...

Great tutorial. Bet he gets a lot of attention around town. Wonder whether I could get my Cat wimpey to wear one!!! Hugs Mrs A.

Christmas Pie Crafts said...

One very smart Charlie - very dapper. Off to dig out the fish knife - another great tutorial, many thanks. Hope you have a good week.

Carolee Crafts said...

Charlie is so sweet and looking mighty dapper in his bandana

Made in Suisse said...

Ha ha, this is great I have been thinking about making Alf a new bandana for a while as the one he's got is looking worse for wear. How would you proceed if you didn't want the collar to slip through the bandana but to just tie a knot at the back of his head?

Chris said...

Charlie is so smart with his new bandanna. I bit he pulls all the ladies.

Ali said...

Wow Charlie looks great. I can't let my son see this he'll be wanting me to make one for his dog. Thanks for sharing. Ali x

knitnrun said...

Charlie is far too cool wearing this. He will definitely be the envy of every other dog in town! (and he knows it!)

Free Spirit Designs said...

such a fab idea! every doggy likes to turn a few heads once in a while!

i completely agree, dogs are great listeners and they give good cuddles too :)

Jan said...

Charlie makes such a great model. I'm sure all the other dogs will be jealous. I love the ribbon.

Jan x