supplies: method - Healthy Paws Animal Hospital

By EveAdamson
eashes are a must-have dog
L
accessory, but they get
dirty, worn, or just become so
five-minutes-ago. Sure, you
could buy new leashes for your
dog whenever you need them,
but what fun is that when you
can create sturdy, beautiful,
boutique-worthy and ecofriendly leashes to match your
personal style?
Construct a closet-full to
match all your dog-walking
outfits. (You do have dogwalking outfits, don't you?)
Here's how to make one:
METHOD:
Cut two pieces of rope
approximately 15 feet (for
a 4-foot leash) to 20 feet (for a
1
6-foot leash). If you have a
particularly large or boisterous
dog, use thicker rope.
Make a loop in the middle
of one rope and thread it
through the strap holder of the
leash hook. Thread the ends
through the loop and pull tight
to make a hitch. Repeat with
the other rope so you have
four strands of equal length
coming off the leash hook.
Attach the leash hook to
something such as a stair
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railing or drawer handle, or
have someone hold it. Begin
braiding the four strands as follows: Pick up the far left strand
and weave it over, under, and
over the other three strands so
it becomes the far right strand.
Pick up the new far-left strand
and repeat.
SUPPLIES:
• A 50 foot length of lOO-percent cotton or hemp rope in an
easily braided thickness.
• Sharp scissors.
• A leash hook with a l-inch
strap holder (available at any
hardware store).
• Sturdy natural-fiber yam,
such as the bamboo-silk blend
we used here, in your preferred
colors.
• A yam and carpet needle
that aren't too thick to string
your beads.
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks.
• Metal, wood, or glass beads.
• Ribbon that matches your
yam colors.
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DOGFANCY I June 2010
it, so you have a bundle of four
knots close together at the base
of the handle. Trim ends and
tuck them into the braid, secur-
of the handle using more
yarn. Tightly wrap the ribbon
around the entire length of
the handle. Trim the end,
ing with hot glue.
Thread your carpet needle
fold it over, and stitch it to
the other side of the handle
above the knot. Run a whip
S
with a doubled-over length
The leash doesn't have to
be too tight because you want
to leave space for weaving,
but keep pulling it straight as
you go. Continue braiding
of yam about twice as long as
the leash. Tie a knot in the end.
Beginning under the knot of
the handle, weave the yam
until you have about 6 inches
of unbraided rope remaining.
Take two adjacent strands
of the rope and tie a square
knot in them by looping the
you desire, regular or random.
Repeat with other colors. Be
down the leash in any pattern
3
creative. The leash can have
any woven design you choose.
right side over the left side and
pulling it through the loop it
Tuck loose yam ends into the
braid. Secure with hot glue.
Using more threaded yam, .
forms, then repeating on the
left side. Repeat with the other
two strands.
Loop the end of the rope
to form a handle. Thread
each rope end back into the
braid and tie a knot to secure
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stitch along the inside of the
handle to keep the ribbon
in place.
Clip your new boutiquestyle leash to your dog's
collar or harness, and take her
S
on a walk through the neighborhood. Dress to match your
new leash. Make note of
envious glances. Plan additionalleash designs. Consider
6
going into the leash design
business. DF
Fold over one end of the
ribbon and stitch it
around the knot at the base
EveAdamson is a New York Times
best-selling author, DOG FANCY
contributing editor, and award-winning pet writer. She lives in Iowa
City, Iowa.
sew beads into the braid in
any pattern you like. Run the
yam through each bead two or
three times.
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