Fleece Tug Rope

This easy to make Fleece Tug Rope is perfect if you're looking for handmade dog toys.  These are so easy to make that they would also make great gift ideas for dogs if you know a pooch who is celebrating a birthday!

Materials:

• Fleece, about 1/2 yard for a large rope toy
• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Prep your fabric by washing it and drying it to remove any chemicals from the fabric surface.
    
2. Cut your fabric into strips going from selvedge edge to selvege edge (the selvedge is the part that is on the sides when the fabric is on the bolt, you will be able to tell because the side where it was cut from the bolt is NOT a selvedge edge). How wide you cut your strips will depend on how big of a bone you want, I have big dogs so I go about 2-3 inches wide....if you have a little dog make them narrower but don't go under 1 inch wide or it won't hold up! You will need 6 strips per rope.
   
    
    
3. Don't get too fussy cutting them, it's okay if they aren't perfectly straight or exactly the same width.
    
4. Take your 6 strips and lay them on top of one another, tie a knot near one end.
   
    
    
5. Begin braiding VERY tightly holding two strips together for each part of the braid, the tighter you braid the longer it will last and the less little pieces of fleece your dog will eat.
    
6. After 4-5 inches of braiding (2-3 if making a small bone) tie two knots using the middle strips and each side. We're basically just securing our braiding to make sure it stays nice and tight and that the fleece doesn't stretch out as fast if used as a tug toy.
   
    
    
7. Braid another 2 inches or so and then tie another pair of knots as in Step 5. This is creating a nice tight core area where we will make a center knot later.
    
8. Braid for another 4-5 inches and tie off with a large knot just like you made at the beginning, I sometimes will tie a smaller knot with a couple of strands just to make sure my braiding doesn't loosen up while I'm tying this knot. Pull it as tight as you can get it!
    
9. Tie a knot in the middle where your two smaller knots are. This adds strength and durability to the finished item and protects your hands a little more when playing tug.
   
    
    
10. Trim both ends to be nice and neat. All done!