There’s nothing quite as cute as a dog wearing clothes, especially if the clothes in question require a bow tie. While doggy bow ties can be found for a few dollars at your local pet stores, you won’t get the same satisfaction buying one as you would making your own from scratch. That’s why we’ve put together this article with seven of the cutest DIY dog bow ties for you to whip up this afternoon.
Don’t worry; you don’t need to be comfortable using a sewing machine or even a needle and thread to feel the accomplishment that comes from making your own doggy bow tie. Read on to find tutorials for people of all crafting experience levels.
The 7 DIY Dog Bow Tie Patterns & How-to Guides
1. Plaid Bow Tie by The Canine Story
| Materials: | Plaid fabric, thread, fusible interfacing |
| Tools: | Needle, scissors, iron |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
This tutorial from The Canine Story provides instructions on how to make the classic bow tie. While you’ll need to be comfortable with a needle and thread, it is still a relatively easy DIY, and the original creator even has a YouTube video if you’re more of a visual learner.
You’ll need to buy fusible interfacing, which is basically a piece of fabric with adhesive on it. Your clothes iron will be necessary to fuse the interfacing to your fabric of choice. Just make sure you lay the fusing onto the wrong side of the fabric, as it is the shiny side with the adhesive.
The Canine Story also provides the bow tie pattern template, eliminating the need to take measurements.
2. Collar Bow Ties by See Kate Sew
| Materials: | Quilting cotton or fabric scraps, fusible interfacing, braided elastic, thread, glue sticks, seam liquid, cardstock |
| Tools: | Sewing machine, fabric scissors, hot glue gun |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This dog bow tie project is similar in many ways to the one from The Canine Story, except See Kate Sew offers up a big sailor-style version, perfect for the female pup in your life. The bow has an elastic looping on the back that allows you to attach it to your dog’s collar. As with the previous DIY, you’ll need to use fusible interfacing for all of the pieces, so make sure you familiarize yourself with this fabric before attempting this craft.
Please note that you need to sign up for the creator’s newsletter to gain access to the templates necessary to do this project.
3. No Sew Doggy Bow Tie by Helpful Homemade
| Materials: | Fabric, fabric tape, rubber band, glue sticks, elastic ribbon, felt (optional) |
| Tools: | Glue gun, iron |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
If you’re not comfortable using a needle and thread or a sewing machine, don’t worry; you can still DIY a bow tie for your pup with this no-sew project. Instead of needles, sewing machines, or fusible interfacing, you’ll be using fabric tape and hot glue to fuse this bow tie from Helpful Homemade.
It doesn’t get much easier than this. All you’ll need to do is fold and secure your fabric in several spots, and you’ll have a bowtie fit for your handsome pup.
4. Recycled French Cuff Bow Tie by Dalmatian DIY
| Materials: | Recycled French cuffs, recycled shirt button plackets, thread |
| Tools: | Scissors, sewing machine, iron, ironing board |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This adorable French cuff bow tie uses old shirts that are taking up space in your closet, making it a perfect project for someone with clothes to spare. You’ll be using materials from old dress shirts to create this tie and button placket collar band.
The creator includes plenty of pictures and advice for those wanting to tackle this project, making it slightly easier for us visual learners.
5. 5-Minute Dapper Bow Tie by Craft Your Happiness
| Materials: | Felt, Velcro, glue sticks, elastic, thread |
| Tools: | Hot glue gun |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
This dapper bow tie tutorial is super easy to whip together in five minutes flat. You probably already even have all the materials necessary at your disposal. Craft Your Happiness uses lightweight felt material for this simple project as it won’t fray, and no sewing is required.
You can choose to hot glue your bow to the elastic or make it removable by using Velcro. Be sure to print out the pattern template, which provides several size options, so finding the perfect one for your pup should be relatively simple.
6. Bat Bow Tie by Canine Compilation
| Materials: | Faux leather fabric, Velcro strips |
| Tools: | Sewing machine or glue gun |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
Halloween may feel like it’s eons away right now, but it’ll be here before you know it. Get ahead of the curve and spooky crafting with this bat bow tie by The Canine Compilation. This can be a no-sew project, making it a good option for folks who don’t know their way around a sewing machine.
However, if you prefer to sew, the original creator does provide instructions for securing the bow with a sewing machine. If not, you can use your glue gun to achieve the same end.
We like this project because it uses faux leather, which eliminates the need to finish the edges, as this fabric leaves a clean cut and won’t fray.
7. Leather Bow Tie by DOGvision
| Materials: | Faux or real leather, thread |
| Tools: | Edge finisher, awl, scissors, ruler |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This leather bow tie project is sure to make your pup look like a million bucks. You will need a few different tools for this project, like an edge finisher (though you may not need it if your leather is smooth or if you opt to use faux leather) and an awl (a small, pointed tool used to pierce holes in leather).
The DIY is pretty straightforward, but because you may need some specialized tools that you don’t already have in your craft supply closet, we marked it as moderate difficulty.
Final Thoughts
Making bow ties for your dog can be as simple or as complicated as you’d like it to be. If you enjoy learning how to use new tools or working with new materials, we recommend trying the faux leather bow tie from DOGvision.
If you just want a cute bow tie for some family photos and aren’t a whiz with sewing machines, any of the no sew options above will make for an accessible and easy project.
Featured Image Credit: Radek Havlicek, Shutterstock
The 7 DIY Dog Bow Tie Patterns & How-to Guides
