Want to add a little flair or a splash of color to your dog’s collar? You and your pup (or cat!) will be jumping for joy once you’ve made this DIY pet bandana. Our free downloadable PDF pattern and video tutorial makes this a quick project for both beginner and more experienced sewists alike. Have a cat or other stylish animal in your life? This bandana will work for any pet who wears a collar. Grab your favorite fat quarter of fabric and let’s get started! (Looking for a dog collar and leash pattern? We got you covered!)

How to Make an Easy Dog Bandana

Materials

*Spoonflower’s Petal Signature Cotton®, Cotton Poplin and Organic Cotton Sateen are great options for a 100% cotton bandana. Use the Fill-A-Yard® 1 Yard Cheater Quilt template to create 9 unique bandanas for under $3 each.

1. Cut Out the Pattern Pieces

Start by cutting out the bandana template. To determine your dog bandana size, measure the length of your dog’s current collar and divide by 2. Choose the bandana template that matches this measurement. Next, lay the template on your fabric and cut around the template with a rotary blade or fabric scissors.

Cutting out the dog bandana fabric using the pattern template. The fabric lays on a green cutting mat and features hand drawn green cacti on a white backgroundl.
Placing the cut out triangle of fabric for the bandana on a cutting mat. The fabric features hand drawn green cacti on a white background.

2. Hem the Bandana

Fold down the edges of each side of your bandana 1/4” (0.64 cm) and press. Fold under 1/4” again, and press. Now we’ve got our double hem. Pin in place and topstitch around the entire bandana to secure your hem.

Pressing the hem of the dog bandana on the wrong side of the fabric.
Ironing the hem of the dog bandana on the wrong side of the fabric.
A close up of the bottom corner of the dog bandana, pinned before being sewn. The fabric features hand drawn green cacti on a white background.

3. Create the Collar Pocket

To create the pocket for the collar, fold over the top of your bandana making sure the edges match up with the corners at the top of the triangle portion. Pin in place and stitch across the long edge of your pocket on the front side of your bandana.

Folding the top of the fabric over to create a pocket to hold the webbing strap with a snap closure for the dog bandana.

Pro tip: Test out your pocket size by sliding your pup’s collar through the pocket before stitching.

Sewing the top pocket of the dog bandana where the webbing strap with the snap closure will be added. The bandana features hand drawn green cacti on a white background.
Meredith is pushing black webbing strip with a snap closure through the top vertical pocket at the top of the dog bandana, which features hand drawn green cacti on a white background.

And you’re done—slip this on your pup for an extra dose of custom cuteness! See another take on this feline and Fido-friendly project using Fill-A-Yard in this companion post.

A white dog with a brown patch over her right eye wears a dog bandana featuring a design with a white background and green cacti
Allie wears a dog bandana in Cactus on White by caja_design.

Meredith smiles and looks at the camera as she holds up her finished dog bandana that features hand drawn green cacti on a white background.

Learn How to DIY a Dog Leash and Collar

Our pup friends Camila and Rufus give this tutorial two paws up.
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