Hemp Dog Collar

The first project I decided to make was a new dog collar for my pup, Gucci. I got online to find some instruction and I came across http://www.beadage.net/hemp/index.shtml, which was very useful for my first craft with hemp because it provided me with very simple instructions to make the basic hemp knot patterns. Hemp jewelry, if you did not know already, is made by a series of knot patterns one after the other. The first step was to measure out the twine to the appropriate length. I needed four lengths of the thick hemp that where six times the length of the final product. I then tied a regular knot with all four twines at one end to keep them in place. Next, I began alternating the two basic knots that you can find on the website listed above. I needed to alternate these two knots because this would give me the flat hemp pattern. If I were to keep making the same knot, the same way, the patter would end up appearing spiral, like a double helix. After I completed about an inch of the pattern I added on a pink bead. This is where I came across my first problem. The hemp I was using was very thick, so I could not string it through both the inner twines. I decided to string it on the outer left twine and secured it with another knot in the same pattern I had been doing. This technique placed the bead on the outer part of the collar instead of the middle. I actually ended up really liking that look and I would alternate putting a pink bead on the left side and then one on the right side about every inch of pattern from the previous bead. I ran into some technical difficulties at the beginning too, because I had a hard time remembering which knot I had just done and hadn’t I had not gotten a hang of the pattern yet. So, there are some spots on the collar that I was not alternating the knot patterns and it got slightly messed up. Once I understood how the pattern worked it was smooth sailing until the end. After I added on the metal ring that holds her name tag and is where you can attach a leash, I had to add on the buckle that snaps the collar together. By the way, I cut the metal ring and the buckle off of Gucci’s old collar. I was having troubles trying to tie the buckle on the collar tightly, so that it would not come off of her if I was tugging on it with a leash. My roommate figured out a great way to place the knots that hold the buckle onto the leash to face the outside, and the smooth part of the buckle face Gucci’s neck. This way the knots would not bother her neck at all and they were also strong. I had problems with getting the collar to be the right size, too. First, it was too tight. So, I added more knots on and tried to stretch out the hemp a little. Then, it was too big and I had to remove some knots. I finally got it to be the right size; I put it on Gucci’s neck, and took her out for a walk to see how it would work. It works awesome and it looks super cute on her! Overall the project took me about two hours to do with all the resizing and everything. So hemp and beading may be pretty expensive, but it really isn’t very time consuming. It also makes long lasting products because hemp is a very durable material. So, if your dog has a beat up, old, collar--recycle it by taking it apart, and keeping the metal half moon ring and the buckle. Put these recycled peaces onto a hemp necklace, and you have yourself a pretty heavy duty, durable new collar that really looks great on dogs.