the thrifty crafter

I’m one of those knitters that never really progressed beyond scarf-making.  I love to buy yarn, however, and have an entire bin of the fuzzy stuff in storage that quietly waits to be used. Recently, I decided that my friends and family had been subjected to my scarves long enough, so it was time to move onto the dog.   I’m not sure he thinks he looks quite as fashionable as I think he does, but it is a great, festive accessory for winter. Just wait ’til you hear all the “Look, Mom, that dog is wearing a scarf!” comments.  It is pretty darn cute.

I fashioned this scarf from plain old, dirt cheap Red Heart acrylic yarn, in basic knit stitch. I casted on 18  for the proper width for my dog’s neck, but you can adjust your width accordingly.  The only fancy thing this scarf has is a keyhole built in so it won’t fall off.  All you do is after you’ve knitted enough to wrap around your dog’s neck (about 90 rows in my case), you begin your next row and at the halfway point, in my case after nine, you tie on a second skein.

Knit both sides at the same time, rejoining the sides with one skein only when you have about a 2.5 inch opening (or whatever is big enough for the width of your scarf.)  Continue for another 2.5 inches to finish and bind off.  Cut and add tassles to end opposite of keyhole for some extra pizazz. Try the scarf on your dog and sew on a button to secure keyhole end of scarf.  Personally, I think the button is what makes this scarf so darn cute!

Finished dimensions for my 20+ lb Jack Russell: 3.5 inches wide, 22 inches long (not including tassles), 2.5 inch keyhole, 2.5-3 inch tassles, 6 inch neck opening when buttoned.

If you need a good handbook for basic knitting, I like Stitch ‘n Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook.  The Windy City scarf on page 159 has a keyhole, if you need additional help.

Doesn’t he make the best doggie model?

A while back, I made a reversible dog bandana that fastened with velcro.  While it is a great accessory that can significantly cut down on your doggie accessory stash, this Slip-On Bandana is so fast and easy to make, I couldn’t resist posting another one.  No pins required, just some fabric and a sewing machine.  So get crafting and fashion some pet holiday flair!

What you need:

• scrap fabric (I used a holiday print)
• sewing machine with matching or contrasting thread
• scissors

Here’s what you do:

1. Approximate how large of a bandana you would like on your dog’s neck. My little pup is a Jack Russell mix and is about 20 pounds.  I made his bandana to a finished 5.5″ at the base and 5″ tall from the folded base to the point.
2. Fold your fabric in half and cut a out a pentagonal shape with right angles at the base, making sure to put the base along the folded edge (one less edge to sew!). My original dimensions were 6 inches at the base, 4.5 inches along the parallel sides, then 5 inches on each side that makes the point.

   

3. Turn fabric inside out and sew along all edges, leaving an opening to turn it right-side out.
4. Turn out and press, then fold remaining edge in and top-stitch shut.
5. Fold base edge over (this is the slip-on part so make sure your collar will fit) and stitch.

   

Cost: I purchased my fabric quarter from Joann’s in the clearance bin for $0.50.  Can’t get a thriftier craft than that!

While my husband doesn’t love anything that makes our little dog look adorable, I happen to like giving him a little spirit for the holidays.  Recently, I saw a reversible dog bandana in a retail pet store that I thought would be super easy to recreate using spunky prints for the various seasons throughout the year.  By making a two-sided bandana, you can cut your adornment stash in half AND appease your husband by having less stuff!

For spring, I chose to do one side green for St. Patty’s Day and one side in pastels for Easter. My favorite place to shop for the prints (since you only need a small amount of material) is the clearance fabric bin at Joann’s.  The quilting quarters and Fat Quarters are only $0.50!  Using velcro closure, which you can usually find at the 99 cent store, this pet project definitely qualifies as a thrifty craft!

Here’s what you need:

• two spirited, holiday print fabrics
• scissors
• thread & sewing machine
• velcro
• hot glue gun and glue sticks (optional)

Here’s what you do:

1. Measure you dog’s neck.  Our barrel-chested little Jack Russell mix measures 14 inches.

2. Iron and pin your two fabrics together, print side in.

3. Trace out a bandana shape on your fabric (or if you plan to make more, trace onto a piece of stiff cardboard to create a stencil), using the neck measurement as a guide to the length (add at least an inch to have  an area for overlap).  For my bandana, see the measurements below (and no, I did not use the pythagorean theorem to find the length of the hypotenuse of the triangle – just connect the dots!!!)

4. Add 1/4 to 1/2 inch seam allowance along the outside of your tracing – this is the line where you will cut the fabric.

5. Pin, cut and sew, leaving one open edge to turn out your bandana.

6. Turn out, iron and close open edge.

7. Cut velcro into a 1.5 inch strip. Use hot glue gun with fabric glue (or use a sewing machine..i just got lazy!) to affix your velcro strips.  On one side, with the point of the bandana facing you, position velcro vertically, then flip bandana over, with the point still facing you, and position second velcro horizontally.

Cost: $2, with lots of extra velcro for other projects and enough material for a second bandana for a similar size dog!