My dogs are evil little monsters. The serial killers of the stuffed dog toy world, squeaky plush toys tremble in fear when they walk into the pet store... and they should. My dogs have destroyed every stuffed toy they've ever gotten their paws on, even supposedly tough ones. So, knowing where other toys have failed I decided to try my hand at making a hopefully indestructable stuffed dog toy (that may be too lofty of a goal but hey, it's worth a shot).
Now you may be asking yourself, why bother? Well for one dog toys are expensive, especially if your dog can take a $10 toy that's supposed to be tough and turn it into a pile of shredded fabric and pillow fluff in an afternoon. Also knowing specifically what kind of punishment your dogs dish out on their toys gives you the upper hand over mass produced one-toy fits all store bought toys. Another reason is because it's a fun way to use up fabric scraps from other projects. It's also a good way to improve and practice your sewing skills. I mean really, we're making dog toys here, not wedding dresses. If your sewing isn't perfect your dog isn't going to care. Best case senario your dog loves it and tries to kill it anyways... so less than perfect skills here isn't a big deal. I mean really, what other sewing project gives you so much freedom to screw up?
Now you may be asking yourself, why bother? Well for one dog toys are expensive, especially if your dog can take a $10 toy that's supposed to be tough and turn it into a pile of shredded fabric and pillow fluff in an afternoon. Also knowing specifically what kind of punishment your dogs dish out on their toys gives you the upper hand over mass produced one-toy fits all store bought toys. Another reason is because it's a fun way to use up fabric scraps from other projects. It's also a good way to improve and practice your sewing skills. I mean really, we're making dog toys here, not wedding dresses. If your sewing isn't perfect your dog isn't going to care. Best case senario your dog loves it and tries to kill it anyways... so less than perfect skills here isn't a big deal. I mean really, what other sewing project gives you so much freedom to screw up?
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Signing UpStep 1: Getting Started
First of all you need some supplies and tools.
-Sewing machine
-Thread
-Fabric
I used fleece left over from another project. I like fleece because it's really easy to work with. You can also pick it up cheap if you know where to look. I periodically cruise the discount and rement bin at store's fabric sections. Thrift stores are another good place to look. As long as there are snuggies in the world you can find fleece at thrift stores, trust me.
-Scissors
Optional
-Pins
I can't stand pinning things personally and avoid using them whenever possible but if you need em then by all means knock yourself out.
-Squeakers
This may or may not be optional depending on what your dog is into. Petsmart carries replacement squeakers in their toy section. I got a 6 pack of them for $2. You can also get them online if you're willing to wait. I didn't do this on this project but another option is to raid your dog's toy box for some squeaky toy they haven't touched in months, the upside there is if you use a nylon squeaky toy as the sqeaker inside of a stuffed toy it's less likely to stop squeaking, and if they do rip the stuffed toy open then they get a nice surprise.
-Marker
I usually just start chopping fabric wildly and with total abandon but if you want to mark your cuts before hand or are going by a pattern then go for it.
-Sewing machine
-Thread
-Fabric
I used fleece left over from another project. I like fleece because it's really easy to work with. You can also pick it up cheap if you know where to look. I periodically cruise the discount and rement bin at store's fabric sections. Thrift stores are another good place to look. As long as there are snuggies in the world you can find fleece at thrift stores, trust me.
-Scissors
Optional
-Pins
I can't stand pinning things personally and avoid using them whenever possible but if you need em then by all means knock yourself out.
-Squeakers
This may or may not be optional depending on what your dog is into. Petsmart carries replacement squeakers in their toy section. I got a 6 pack of them for $2. You can also get them online if you're willing to wait. I didn't do this on this project but another option is to raid your dog's toy box for some squeaky toy they haven't touched in months, the upside there is if you use a nylon squeaky toy as the sqeaker inside of a stuffed toy it's less likely to stop squeaking, and if they do rip the stuffed toy open then they get a nice surprise.
-Marker
I usually just start chopping fabric wildly and with total abandon but if you want to mark your cuts before hand or are going by a pattern then go for it.
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Great ible though, would be fine for a regular dog.