Paracord was originally created for military use before World War II. Since then, it has evolved into a very versatile tool used in countless industries and by people around the world creating personal projects. Learning how to make a dog collar from paracord is simple and only takes a few minutes.
Paracord is available in many different colors and patterns. It's cheap and very easy to find at most department stores.
Aside from being customizable and looking cool, paracord dog collars are also waterproof and resistant to rot.
You'll be hard-pressed to find a collar more durable than one made from paracord. One single strand of paracord can hold up to 550 pounds of weight!
Now, follow the steps below to learn how to make a dog collar out of this versatile material.
How To Make A Paracord Dog Collar
Supplies Needed
- 550 paracord
- scissors
- lighter
- needle-nose pliers
- buckle
- D-ring
- fabric tape measure
Instructions
Start by measuring the circumference of your dog's neck with the fabric tape measure. Be sure to place two fingers between the tape measure and your dog's neck.
This will ensure the collar isn't too tight, as this will be a non-adjustable collar.
To figure out how much paracord you will need, first you will have to figure out how much of the length will be made up by the buckle.
To do this, lay out the tape measure on a flat surface. Place the buckle at the measurement of your dog's neck. For example, I placed the buckle at the 14″ mark.
Now, see how much space is left that you will need to fill with paracord.
In my video guide above, you will see that my buckle was 2″ long. So, I needed to make up the other 12″ with paracord.
You will need about 2′ for paracord for every inch of the collar.
For my collar, I needed 24 feet of paracord (2×12 is 24).
This is an over estimate, so you'll have some paracord left over at the end. It's always better to have too much than too little.
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Once you cut the paracord to length you will need to get rid of the frayed ends. Do this by slightly melting each end with the lighter and then pinching it with the pliers. This will give you clean ends to work with, and you won't have to worry about the collar fraying over time.
You'll need to tape the buckles to your hard surface.
Using the fabric tape measure, figure out how far apart the buckles need to be and tape them in place securely. Now, you're going to need to fold the large strand in half.
To do this, align both ends of the paracord so there is an equal amount on both sides. Find the loop that is created at the end, put the loop through the top buckle piece and then pull the two strands through it to make a knot. Pull the knot tight.
When learning how to make a dog collar with paracord, this is where it gets tricky. Move to the bottom piece of the buckle and place the two strands through the slit.
Pull the two strands back to the top (making it tight), and pull the left strand through on the left side of the knot and the right strand through the buckle on the right side of the knot.
It's time to weave the paracord. Starting with the strand on the left, weave it over itself, underneath the two middle strands and over the right strand.
Take the right strand and weave it underneath itself, over the two middle strands and under the left strand.
Pull each strand to tighten the knot and slide it up as close to the buckle as you can.
Repeat this weaving pattern down the entire collar until you get so close to the bottom buckle that you cannot weave anymore. You can weave in the D-ring about 1″ from the top buckle.
At this point when learning how to make a dog collar, you should have weaved knots to the bottom buckle until you cannot fit another knot.
Place the left strand through the left side of the slit in the bottom buckle and the right strand through the right side of the slit in the bottom buckle, so they are pulled through to the other side.
Remove the tape and flip the collar over. Cut the strands to about 2″ long. Melt each end and press them with the pliers.
Using the pliers, weave each strand into the middle of the knots on the collar. That's it you've learned how to make a dog collar out of paracord.
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