Parachute Cord Dog Collar

Here's a re-run of a post from January '16. Sarge still wears this collar all the time :)


I made Sarge a new "necklace" out of two colors of parachute cord and added a length of chain to it to jazz it up. I'm calling it a necklace instead of a collar because I don't trust the plastic clasp on this to hold him with the way he pulls on the leash so hard, I use a thick slip-over-his-neck collar when we walk - so this is just for decoration :) If I had a nice gentle dog that doesn't pull like a madman then I would be ok with using it as his collar. You can attach a D-ring if you want to have someplace to clip the leash to.





Search online for the instructions for how to make these, parachute cord projects are everywhere - you can make bracelets, etc. too with the same directions. I had the soccer girls make keychains using this technique (click here to see that post), it isn't hard but I'm not going to try to explain making the knots when other people have already figured out how to teach it haha! One useful tip I have is to clip the top of the piece to cardboard or something, and then clip the middle two strands that are stationary (you make the knots over the two middle strands using the two outer strands) at the bottom of the cardboard - it helps to not have them moving all over when you are knotting.

-Measure your dogs neck, or the length you want a bracelet or whatever to be.
-The directions I was following online said to cut the cords one foot for every inch you will be knotting but that wasn't correct for me. I made Sarge a 14.5" collar so cut 16' of cord and had a ton left over. I used approximately 9 feet of cord (each color).
-Put both of the cords thru one end of the clasp, pull them thru the length you want your project to be plus a couple of inches. In my case I pulled about 18 inches thru. The short cords are the 2 middle strands and clip them to the bottom of a piece of cardboard. The long strands are what you will knot over the short strands.


-Make knots until you get a couple inches from where you want to end, thread the other end of the clasp on (make sure the clasp is facing the same way as the other end, they bow slightly) and fold the short ends back on themselves. Continue making knots over the short ends to weave them in.
-Get as close to the clasp as you can, then tie off. Clip the short ends off that are now sticking out of the collar.






























-Trim off the excess long strands, I left long tails on Sarge's cuz I think it's cute to have them hanging down. Using a lighter or match, carefully melt the end tips of the cord (wherever you decide to cut them off. If you don't want tails, clip the cords close to the collar and melt them there) so the cord doesn't fray.




I decided he needed to be a little fancy and attached a chain to both clips so it sits next to the collar.