BZ Dogs: Mr. Zachary

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Mr. Zachary

Dog Blog Post #2452

All the time I've spent watching the Olympics has at least one upside - a pair of new collars for the boys with a third started tonight.

This one was inspired by Ice Skating costumes with an eye toward the patriotic holidays.

I admit to being rather pleased I could trot it out much sooner.

The blue sequin fabric was a remnant. The red purchased off the bolt to match using a 40% off coupon. I picked up the white ribbon on deep discount after the Christmas Holidays.

The ribbon is actually quite elegant up close, and I was a bit surprised it wasn't moved over to the "Princess" isle as there is nothing specifically Christmas about it.

The basic frame for the collar is a 4" wide strip of heavy white felt, cut into two pieces, one for the red and one for the blue. The sequin fabric - rather slinky stuff - is simply turned over the felt around the edges and stitched by hand.

Tip of the day: avoid skewering sequins - they dull your needle and leave it sticky

The completed red and blue were stitched together, edge on, at the obvious places and then the ribbon sewn around the top.

The whole thing took me about four hours or so of very distracted sewing.

I love using felt as a base for prop-collars as it's heavy enough to hold down the boys' ruffs yet soft, pliable, and easy to sew. It also tends to "grab" the fur and stay put.

This isn't thin by-the-sheet felt, but the nicer kind you buy off the bolt. At ~$7 a yard and 60" wide, it's a really good deal. That's 18 collars at $0.40 per collar.