Here’s a fun way to upcycle an old T-shirt you’ve been meaning to donate: turn it into a DIY Tshirt dog toy! Check it out!
Looking for some fun, DIY dog toys you can make at home? If you’ve got some old t-shirts lying around, put them to good use with these easy-to-make toys! This is a fantastic project for novice sewers and can be done in an afternoon. Your pup will love playing with these soft, colorful chew toys. And you’ll love knowing that you made them yourself! Therefore, keep reading to learn how to make three different kinds of DIY Tshirt dog toy items.
Materials To Make A Tshirt Dog Toy:
- Old or discarded T-shirts
- A tennis ball, or a squeaker ball
- Scissors
- Ruler or measuring tape
How To Make DIY Puppy Teething And Tug Toys
These little teething toys and longer tug ropes are two of the most basic sorts of Tshirt dog toy products. No stitching or special procedures are necessary because the shirts are cut into fabric strips and braided together! Two shirts are required for each dog toy, or you may cut a rainbow of strips from a pile of old shirts and save the surplus fabric for future toys!
Method 1: How To Make A Small Teething Tshirt Dog Toy
By Cutting Short T-Shirt Strips
1. Arrange the shirt neatly on a flat surface, front facing up. Make small 1 to 2-inch slits through the bottom seam every 1 to 3 inches using your measuring tape and scissors, depending on how thick you want the fabric strips to be.
2. Gently pull or cut each strip upward towards the top of the garment, ending just before the armpit. As a result, your garment will appear to have lengthy fringe or tassels. After that, pull each strip gently so the cut edges curl over, then trim them from the top of the shirt.
3. To construct ties for your toy, cut approximately 2-inches of the cuff or seam end off each sleeve, then cut the circle of cloth into a short strip. You’ll need two ties (one shirt) for each toy you intend to make.
4. Repeat the previous steps until you have gathered strips of cloth in all of the colors you choose. Depending on how many t-shirts you start with, you may have excess fabric strips.
Method 2: How To Make A Rope-Style Tug Tshirt Dog Toy
Out Of Long T-Shirt Strips
1. Lay out the shirt and cut the neck and sleeve portions away from the body, leaving a tube of fabric on the table. As with the smaller toy above, cut off the ends of the sleeves to form ties.
2. Cut or rip the fabric strips towards the opposite seam, creating loops of fabric resembling fringe connected together at the shirt’s uncut seam end.
3. Gently pull the loops to curl the edges under, then clip each loop from the seam and cut it into long strips. Braid these strips into a long tug toy, similar to the short puppy tugger seen above!
How To Assemble A Puppy Teething Or Tug Toy
1. Make a bundle of your short or long fabric strips.
2. Tie the bundle together a few inches from the end with a fabric sleeve piece and double-knot to secure.
3. Separate the bundled strips into three equal portions and tightly braid them together, stopping a few inches from the end.
4. Tie and knot the braid’s ends with another short fabric piece. Trim the tassels and you are done. One teething or tug toy is ready for use!
- Optional step for a lengthy tug toy: Tie the loose ends into a huge knot over the sleeve strip before trimming the tassels for a more stable and lasting tugger!
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How To Make DIY Braided Ball Tugger
Another Tshirt dog toy concept makes a more sophisticated tug toy with numerous “arms” emerging from a fabric-wrapped ball using a different fabric cutting process. If you have any striped t-shirts lying around, use them for this project since they look great, and consider using a squeaker ball instead of a regular tennis ball inside!
1. Arrange the shirt neatly on a flat surface, front facing up. Cut horizontally through the top of the shirt, just below the arms, with scissors to make a tube of fabric, discarding or preserving the top for future purposes.
2. Cut a loop approximately 1.5 inches from the bottom seam of the tube and cut one end so you have a long, thin strip of cloth to use as ties. The blouse I wore in the photos came with ties, which I simply snipped and preserved for that reason.
3. Cut the remaining tube of fabric in half horizontally, creating two equal-sized tubes approximately 5 to 6 inches wide. Cut each tube along one side to get two equal-sized cloth rectangles.
4. Arrange the rectangles in an X configuration on the table, with their centers overlapping. Put the ball in the middle of the X. Tuck in the edges of the cloth as you wrap it around the ball to completely surround it. Hold the ball and fabric bundle in place with care and fasten it with a piece of fabric.
5. Using scissors, cut each of the four fabric rectangles lengthwise into three smaller strips. And give them the pull to curl the edges over. Braid them together to form four pulling arms.
6. Tie a piece of cloth to the end of each “arm” braid to secure it. Then remove the excess.
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Conclusion
So, there you have it! Three easy DIY dog toys you can make from old T-shirts. Undoubtedly, your pup is sure to love them all. And you’ll feel good knowing that you made them yourself – with a little help from us, of course. Now, get crafting and let your creative side shine! Have fun making them and watching your furry friend play!
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