Alright, let me tell you about this little project I did the other weekend – making a tie for my corgi. It sounds a bit silly, and maybe it was, but I saw a picture somewhere and thought, “Hey, I could probably do that.” Plus, my dog Barnaby has this perpetually unimpressed look, and I figured a tie might just complete the image.
Getting Started
First thing, I needed fabric. I dug through my craft bin, you know, the one where leftover bits of fabric go to die. Found a scrap of old blue checkered shirt material. Perfect. Didn’t want to buy anything new for this experiment. Also grabbed my sewing kit – needle, thread, scissors, the usual stuff. I don’t have a fancy sewing machine, so this was going to be old-school hand-sewing.
The Making Of
Next up, figuring out the size. This was tricky. Barnaby isn’t exactly cooperative when it comes to measuring tapes. I basically eyeballed it, holding the fabric roughly against his neck while he tried to sniff my hands. I decided to make a simple, classic tie shape, just smaller. I cut out two identical shapes for the main tie part and a long strip for the neckband.
So, I started sewing the two tie pieces together, inside out, leaving the top open. My stitching isn’t the neatest, let’s be honest, but it holds. Turning it right-side out was a bit fiddly, especially getting the pointy end to look right. I used the end of a pencil to poke it out properly. Then I stuffed it with a tiny bit of leftover cotton batting, just to give it some shape, and sewed the top closed.
Now for the “knot” part. I didn’t want an actual knot because, well, dog safety. I just folded the top bit over itself and put in a few stitches to make it look like a knot. Simple, but effective enough for a dog tie.
The neckband was just the long strip of fabric, folded over and sewn into a tube. I attached one end of this tube to the back of the fake knot. For the closure, I decided velcro was the safest bet. Easy on, easy off, and if it gets caught on something, it should hopefully just pull open. I sewed a small square of velcro onto each end of the neckband.
The Big Reveal
Okay, moment of truth. I called Barnaby over. He was suspicious, naturally. Getting the tie around his neck took a bit of coaxing (and maybe a treat). The velcro fastened easily. And there he was. A corgi in a tie.
Did it look amazing? Well, it looked homemade, that’s for sure. A bit crooked, maybe. But undeniably, it was a tie.
Did he like it? Absolutely not. He tried to paw it off immediately. Then he shook his head violently. After a few minutes of ignoring it, he seemed to forget it was there, mostly. Got a few funny pictures out of it before taking it off him.
Final Thoughts
It was a fun little distraction for an afternoon. Didn’t cost anything since I used scraps. Was it practical? No. Was it necessary? Definitely not. But I made something with my hands, figured out the process as I went, and got a chuckle out of seeing my dog look momentarily dapper (and annoyed). Sometimes those are the best kinds of projects.
