Every dog owner wants great dog accessories for their furry friend, but sometimes we just don’t want to pay a massive amount for them. Shopping online, shopping clearance sales at the local pet shops, and even finding cute hand made items can still end up costing more than you really want to spend. Well, instead of spending a ton of money on little accessories for your favorite pooch, why not learn how to make some cute ones at home without spending any money? Here are three easy do-it-yourself ideas for cute dog accessories that you can easily pull off at home:
- Onesie T-Shirts: For those with smaller dogs or toy breeds, you love seeing them in cute little shirts and other dress up fun but those outfist can be expensive. So why not make your own out of some cute little onesies? You can easily take old or new onesies for babies and turn them into super cute dog shirts. Here’s what you’ll need: 1 onesie, needle and thread (or sewing machine), scissors, pencil or pen, and a ruler. Rule of thumb for these cute DIY shirts, if your dog weighs less than 15 pounds you will need a newborn size if they are 15 and above you will need the 0-3 months size, and if you have a 6 pound or under pooch, look for preemie sizes. Now, put the onesie on your dog with the graphic up on their back. Mark off where the bottom should be cut right about where their hips start, so nothing is in the way of them walking. Cut along that line, then sew a simple hem in that area of the onesie. Once your hem is done, so is your new dog shirt! It really is that easy!
- Snazzy Dog Collars: Oh don’t fall for those cute little blinged up collars at the pet store that cost $20 or more. You can easily make your own at home with just a few things and you’ll be able to totally customize it however you want! Here’s what you’ll need: a plain dog collar of your choice, different sized and colored rhinestones, hot glue gun, and tweezers. Now, you simply warm up the hot glue gun (which can be found at most larger discount stores for less than $10) and use the tweezers to hold the rhinestones as you put a small dot of hot glue on them. Place them on the collar where you want them to go with the tweezers and let dry. You can use strong craft glue for this, but hot glue will give and bend a bit more when the collar is bent around your dog’s neck. With this easy idea, you can make different collars for different times of the year or as your dog gets older.
- Costumes: Halloween and other holidays mean fun dress up times for your tiny dog but expensive items for you. Thank goodness there are thousands of different dog costume patterns out there that you can easily make at home! It is a bit harder to show you exactly how to do these all in one article, because there are so many different costumes out there. The great thing is that there are hundreds of free patterns that you can find all over the place for costumes like hot dogs, a shark eating your dog, a cowboy, and so on. Or with just a little bit of imagination at a thrift shop in the kid’s section, you can find some great ideas for the perfect dog costume for your little baby.
With just these three little ideas, you can easily cut out some of the biggest costs that come with dog accessories. Making your own collars, your own clothing, and your own costumes for your dog will not only help you save money, but it will help keep you up on the latest trends in dog accessories as well as your pooch looking as cute as possible.