Last summer, I saw an article in Martha Stewart Weddings about cute ways to dress your dog for your wedding day. There is no chance that our dog, Lola, is well behaved enough to be a part of the wedding itself but we would like to get a few pictures with her beforehand. The article contained several collars and leashes made of ribbon, but I thought that the pearl collar was too cute!

To make the collar you need:

•    Embroidery thread
•    Large faux pearls (I used 18mm ordered on ebay)
•    Sturdy needle
•    Double-faced satin ribbon

I also eventually opted for a clasp because tying the thread in a not wasn’t quite as sturdy as I needed it to be. Lola isn’t a huge fan of the collar so I need to be sure it will stand up to her attempts at removing it!

So first, measure around the dog’s neck and add about 12 inches.

Tie a knot in one end of the thread, thread a needle and start putting the pearls one by one.

It took exactly twenty 18mm pearls to make the right size collar for Lola. The $5 package that I bought had about 35 pearls in there, so I used a little more than half.

Once all the pearls are on tie another knot in the opposite end and you’re finished with this step!

Again, I eventually decided to use a clasp because just tying the string around her neck didn’t work out very well. I bought a regular nylon collar for $3 and when I got home I just cut the clasps off either end and tied them to the embroidery string.

I tied about 6-7 knots on each side and tried to get the pears as close to the clasp as possible. This did make it a little longer that it was originally, but luckily before I actually tied the claps on I tested it out. I was able to tug gently and slip one of the pearls off over the end knot to make it a little smaller.

Once the collar is on take some satin ribbon and tie it around the clasp into a bow…I couldn’t get her to sit still long enough to take a picture of that step! But here she is, in all her pearl collar glory:

Admittedly, she’s still not a huge fan, but hopefully if we let her wear it around the house a little she’ll get used to it.

Are any of you making special collars or leashes for your pet to use on your wedding day?

Contributed by Darci L.
Blog: http://www.with–this–ring.blogspot.com/
Used with kind permission from the author.
Copyright 2008 • All rights reserved.

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