Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts

Friday, 1 December 2017

DIY Squeaky Stuffed Santa Claus Christmas Dog Toy

Hello December, hello summer, hello countdown to Christmas! We have a Christmas post for you every weekday between now and the start of our offline holidays, with toys, decorations, treats, and more!  It has been a while since our last toy post, so I thought I'd kick of the Christmas fun with a toy, the first of three triangle toys we've created for this Christmas. Meet squeaky Santa:

Homemade Christmas Santa dog toy on a red table with wrapping and craft materials

This DIY squeaky Santa Claus softie dog toy is part of our three-piece set of Christmas triangle toys.  Triple the squeaky holiday fun!  There are no doggy play pictures in the post as Humphrey is counting down the days until his Christmas morning squeaker fest. :)  Here's how Santa was made:


Monday, 27 November 2017

DIY Fringed Flannel Dog Bandana with Accent Trim Neck Tie

Smiling Dalmatian dog wearing a fringed blue flannel bandana

Matching blanket scarves for you and your pup? Why not! I have to confess that I'm not a huge fan of fringes. Whether its scarves, blankets, carpets, whatever, I find myself always fussing and smoothing to try and tame unruly strands into orderly obedience.  Buuuut when I saw this pretty plaid flannel on the clearance rack of my local craft shop, I simply had to buy some, and it was just begging to be fringed.  My compromise is that there is no fiddly fringing in the knot area thanks to the accent neck trim.

Monday, 16 October 2017

DIY Squeaky Stuffed Witch Halloween Dog Toy

Dalmatian dog with a homemade Halloween witch squeaky toy

We've got a witch! A witch! A witch! We have found a witch. May we BITE her?  This DIY squeaky softie dog toy is a fun Halloween treat and easy to adapt to different witchy styles.  Humphrey is loving his coven of squeaky witches. He has three of them, spoiled spotty devil, but it has been a bit of a special time around here lately as noted at the end of the post.  A little spoiling and some Humphrey-centric fun was definitely in order.

Friday, 7 July 2017

DIY Squeaky Ice Cream Cone Softie Dog Toy

Dalmatian dog biting a homemade dog toy shaped like an ice cream cone

"I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!"  Or pleading puppy dog eyes and wizzles of impatience as the case may be. :)  Made of scrap fleece with easy-sew eternal seams, this ice cream toy concept can be easily scaled and customised to suit your sewing and toy preferences. I opted for simple vanilla but with the tricky to sew but oh so cute cute sprinkles with a cherry on top. I also thickened the cone with extra offcuts to create a waffle cone texture just for fun! Waffle cones are my favourite after all!

Tuesday, 27 June 2017

DIY Reversible Dog Bandana with Accent Trim Neck Ties

Dalmatian dog wearing a DIY bandana with blue stars

This pawesome dog bandana DIY is fully reversible and deceptively easy to sew. It is a simplified version of our fully bound bandana that skips the side trim on the triangle, eliminating corner turns which makes this a fancy looking bandana which requires only basic machine sewing skills. In all honesty, it might be simpler (if, like me, you hate hand stitching closures!) than a basic reversible bandana, but it's all a matter of personal preference and doggone great style. Choices, choices... On the subject of which, this bandana is a starry combo of red, whites, and blues in honour of our fab furfriends celebrating the Fourth of July next week but not so over-the-top that it wouldn't work for many other fancy dress occasions or just general wear, like our Canada Day bandanas. Woofs!

Friday, 23 June 2017

DIY Fancy Dress Dog (and Cat!) Bandanas with Trim + Ties

DIY white dog bandanas with red trim, with a big varsity letter iron-on initials

These pretty red and white bandanas were created for our boys for Canada Day, but they can do double duty for general wear as well special red and white events like Valentine's Day or Christmas holidays. I even made a mini-bandana for Tiger, although his doesn't have a monogram iron-on as it's much smaller.  Fun fact: Tiger was born in Canada, and has had a rather well-travelled life for a rescue cat!  This DIY is easily adapted to other colour schemes, or for our Canadian readers, you can go full maple for an extra special Canadian version by using pattern fabrics, a maple leaf iron-on (not readily available down here!) or stamp your own design.

Friday, 16 June 2017

DIY Ladybug Stuffed Squeaky Softie Dog Toy

It's almost summer for our northern hemisphere furfriends and here's a summer squeaky toy to celebrate your equinox, midsummer, summer holidays, or just because! Ladybugs are one of our favourite garden helpers and are well-suited for a very cute and simple toy design. I have to confess that I also made a happy little honeybee summer squeaky but forgot to insert my stinger piece before sewing it together so it wennt straight to the toybox instead of blog pictures. :)  Also, many of you will be celebrating Father's Day this weekend too, and we'd like to wish all the Dads, Fathers, Furfathers, Poppies, Grandpaws, and other Father figures a wonderful weekend!  Our Father's Day is celebrated in September, but you can find a few pawesome Father's Day ideas in our archives.  

Dalmatian dog playing with a ladybug shaped dog toy

Friday, 9 June 2017

DIY Stuffed Squeaky Softie Shark Dog Toy

Oh the shark has, pretty teeth dear, and he shows them, pearly white... When I found this grey fabric, I simply had to make a shark toy.  Not only is it a fun shape for a toy, Sharkie (Baby Shark, Sharkle Fang...) has been Humphrey's nickname since his nibbley puppy days and a shark toy would be just perfect for our wild beasts.  Shark attack!

Dalmatian dog with homemade shark dog toy

Friday, 2 June 2017

DIY Squeaky Softie Sprinkled Donut Dog Toy

Dalmatian dog playing with a homemade donut shaped dog toy

Happy Donut Day!  Today's doggone great DIY is an easy-sew squeaky softie donut dog toy. It's a simplified versions of our DIY monogram birthday cake/eclair softie, made with external seams  for simple two-piece joining. Nibble on donuts?  Don't mind if we do!  Humphrey (like most of us when offered donuts...) was wild about it! Check it out:

Friday, 24 March 2017

DIY Squeaky Easter Egg Stuffed Softie Dog Toys

Dalmatian dog playing with homemade Easter egg dog toy with brightly coloured ribbons

Calorie-free DIY doggy Easter egg fun! You can even burn off a few naughty treats with some pawesome playtime together! I made two toys (one for each dog), but of course the only thing better than playing with your own toy is playing with your brother's toy, and the only thing better than playing with your brother's toy hording them BOTH... right Humphrey??? Check out this rather guilty looking face and the cheeky snaps below:

Friday, 3 March 2017

DIY Rainbow Bone (Rainbone!) Squeaky Dog Toy

Dalmatian dog playing with a rainbow bone homemade dog toy

Pot of gold? This rainbow has a pot of spots at the end! Lucky dog indeed. :)  Check out those crazy eyes - Humphrey's found a treasure and there's no way he's giving it up! The bone is looking a little lumpy in this particular picture from being wildly fanged, but crazy eyes was my favourite shot!

Friday, 24 February 2017

DIY Squeaky Stuffed Snake Dog Toy

Dalmatian dog playing with homemade squeaky snake dog toy

This sturdy stuffed toy has squeaker all through the body and sewn in compartments to make a wiggly stuffed snake that's tricky to eviscerate (and toy hospital friendly for repairs).  Although stuffed toys are strictly for indoor play, I couldn't resist putting snakey in the shrubbery for a few blog  photos...of course, that was a short lived failed plan, as Humphrey's toy homing beacon was active.  I really love living somewhere without any real snakes in the wild!!!  On the subject of snake-free islands (hehe) our St. Patrick's Day posts start next Friday so stay tuned!  Both Humphrey and Oli both LOVE this toy, although Humphrey has laid claim and has been known to wear himself out playing then fall asleep on top of snakey, lest Oli make a move while he snoozes. Ha! It's jam-packed with squeaky goodness, wiggles wonderfully when shaken, and yet it's crazy tough.  Definitely a design I'll revisit in the future.

Friday, 17 February 2017

DIY Mardi Gras Dog Toy + How to Sew a Multi-Coloured Ball

Laissez les bons temps rouler! With our Mardi Gras coloured DIY dog ball, the good times are quite literally rolling (and squeaking!) around here! You can adapt this doggy DIY to use any colour combination you wish, but since we're posting this just before Mardi Gras our ball is made in the official Mardi Gras colours of purple, green, and gold.  If you're looking for a Mardi Gras doggy DIY but aren't keen on sewing, you can easily adapt these colours into any of our other pawesome doggy DIYs. Even a basic tug would be fabulously fun in purple, gold, and green.  Easy peasy!
 
Dalmatian with homemade Mardi Gras ball dog toy

Friday, 10 February 2017

DIY "Love Bone" Valentine's Day Squeaky Softie Dog Toy

Dalmatian dog playing with homemade dog toy shaped like a red bone with the word LOVE

Love love love love love love love love love love love... You can never have too much love or squeaky toys, am I right?  Humphrey seems to think so, check out these action shots playing with his new squeaky Love Bone toy:

Monday, 12 December 2016

DIY Frosty the Squeaky Snowman Dog Toy

Dalmatian dog playing with homemade Christmas dog toy shaped like Frosty the Snowman

Frosty the Squeaky Snowman was created as a matching toy for our Squeaky Santa Christmas dog toy. I wanted to make a few extra tough toys for our Christmas playtime and, like Santa, Frosty combines  a sturdy material base with decorative fleece embellishments for a tough but cute softie. Here's how to make your own Frosty!

Monday, 5 December 2016

DIY Reversible Dog Collar Bow Tie (Standard or Oversize)


Doesn't Humprey look doggone dapper in his oversized polka dot bow tie?  And Professor Oli? These are deceptively simple to sew and can be whipped up in minutes with simple materials.  Here's how to make your own!

Thursday, 1 December 2016

DIY Squeaky Santa Claus Christmas Softie Dog Toy


The Barkmas Bonanza begins! We have a Christmas post for your ever weekday between now and the start of our offline holidays, with toys, decorations, treats, and more. We're kicking off with a squeaky Santa Clause dog toy DIY.  I love working with fleece and it's great for woven toys (stay tuned for some awesome DIY Christmas tugs later in our Barkmas shares) and easy for sewing softies, but  I wanted to some extra tough toys for Christmas playtime.  Santa combines  a sturdy material base with decorative fleece embellishments for a tough but cute softie.

Friday, 25 November 2016

DIY Squeaky Softie Christmas Tree Dog Toy


We have some very fun DIY dog toys for you this Christmas and first up is an easy squeaky Christmas Tree. It's one of our simplest holiday DIYs! Since there is no pattern or special shapes needed, it's very easy to scale to your dog/preferences.  It also looks fabulously festive with or without the trunk and/or star if you'd like to simplify.  Squeaky softies are always popular with our dogs and they always want the toy the other is playing with (typical kids!) so I made two squeaky Christmas trees and have hidden them away for their Christmas stockings. :)