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How To Make The Cutest Handmade Dog Toys

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Do you have a dog? And do you like to spoil it with dog toys? Well, have you ever thought of making your own handmade dog toys?

Apparently us Brits as well as being tea drinkers we love our dogs too!

I’m not fussed about tea (more of a coffee lover), but I do have a dog. In fact, most of my friends and family own dogs too. We love to fuss over them with treats and toys.

This denim dog toy tutorial featured under the letter D in the A to Z of denim upcycles.

Upcycle Your Jeans Into The Cutest Dog Toys.

Our Dog pack..

My craft club friend Wendy’s dog Lottie’s (of giant wall art fame) loves to destroy her dog toys. They don’t last five minutes and Wendy is fed up with constantly buying new ones.

Lottie is not the only craft club dog, there’s my dog Toby a Foxy Russell (Jack Russell, Fox Terrier cross). Toby’s the old man of the pack, we’re not quite sure how old Toby actually is as he was a rescue dog, but think he’s about 14 years old now.

Then there’s Buster another Jack Russell with a Napoleon complex. I couldn’t make just one toy for Lottie. I had to make a pile of handmade dog toys for them all.

Lottie is not interested in the supposedly indestructible heavy-duty rubber dog toys. She likes the soft plush ones that squeak. I suggested making our own handmade dog toys. Not only would we save a bit of money but they may last a little longer.

Toby with his handmade dog toy. Made from upcycled old jeans complete with squeakers for the coolest dog toys on the block.

Why Denim Dog Toys?..

I never throw away old jeans. I even save all the scraps from previous craft projects. Most of the time I find a use for every part of a pair of jeans.

A couple of weeks ago I made some lovely denim hearts out of scraps. I’ve made rugs out of the waistbands, and even lampshades out of the seams.

Since denim is such a robust fabric and as I have lots of it I decided to make my handmade dog toys out of denim.

These dog toys also come with the squeak. However, if squeaky dog toys drive you mad you can leave that bit out.

Luckily these dog toys were really simple to make, therefore, I make a load of them really quickly.

How to upcycle your old jeans into some cool handmade dog toys. complete with squeakers.

By the way, these handmade dog toys aren’t just for Jack Russells but can be enjoyed by any breed of dog. I’m going to give one to the cute Beagle (Millie) round the corner.

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What you need to make denim handmade dog toys

  • Old jeans, or denim scraps. Any part of the jean will do. It’s great if you can get some denim seams on to the dog toys. To achieve a two-tone effect I used denim from more than one pair of jeans. I’m sure the dogs didn’t appreciate this aesthetic but I did!
  • Fibre fill– I fortunately had a load of natural wool fiberfill that had been used as insulation for a fresh food delivery. However, you can use any fiberfill that is child-friendly. (If it’s child-friendly it should be dog-friendly).
  • Needle and thread – I used a sewing machine to make my dog toys, but they are very easy to sew by hand.
What you need to make handmade dog toys.

How to Make Handmade Dog Toys

2. Then lay the dog bone template on the wrong side of your denim scrap and draw round it.

Drawing around dog bone template

3. Using scissors cut out the dog bone shape. Make sure you have 2 dog bone shapes for each toy. I used two contrasting denim shades for each dog toy.

Denim dog bone cut outs

4. Then pin the denim bones right sides together and sew them either by hand or on a machine. Remember to leave a small opening and a 5mm approx margin.

5. Next, by using the small opening turn the denim dog toy the right side out.

6. Finally, stuff your denim dog bone with the fiber and don’t forget to put in your squeaker before sewing up the opening.

These denim dog toys are a bargain. The only cost is for the squeak inside!

DIY denim dog toy
Buster with his handmade dog toy. Full tutorial on how to make these denim upcycled dog toys.


Personally, I think these denim handmade dog toys are the coolest ones in town. Whether or not the dogs think that I’m not sure. I know many dog lovers though that would love to receive one of these denim bones as a gift.

Does your dog love toys? Then why not make them some cool upcycled handmade dog toys from an old pair of jeans. These would also make a lovely present for any dog lover.


 
Top tip: I if you use the pocket bit of your old jeans when making your dog toys, you can then hide a treat inside the pocket. This gives the handmade dog toys an extra fun element as the dog tries to work the treat out of the pocket.

If you are looking for more ideas for denim dog accessories and toys I’ve curated a collection of ideas.

Make your dog the coolest handmade dog toys from your old jeans.
Yield: Denim Dog Toy

Cool Handmade Denim Dog Toys

Does your dog love toys? Then why not make them some cool upcycled handmade dog toys from an old pair of jeans. These would also make a lovely present for any dog lover.
Active Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Difficulty Easy
Estimated Cost $1

Materials

  • Old jeans
  • Fiberfil
  • Dog toy squeak

Tools

  • Scissors
  • Needle and thread

Instructions

  1. Download and cut out the dog bone template from the blog. Or draw your own.
  2. Draw around the template on to jeans
  3. Cut out two dog bone shapes
  4. Pin the denim dog bones pieces wrong sides together
  5. Sew leaving a gap for stuffing and dog squeak.
  6. Turn right side out, stuff and then stitch to close.

Recommended Products

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© Pillarboxblue
Project Type: Sewing / Category: Denim

For more sewn dog accessories visit allfreesewing.com

If you love to craft with denim I have a made a lot of wonderful things out of old jeans, you can check them all out here.:

Unique upcycled denim and repurposed jeans ideas for the home.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Judy G

    Thanks for the great idea. I have lots of old jeans on hand. I was looking for a gift idea for my grand dog. When I downloaded the template, I thought it didn’t appear to be as big as the denim bones appeared in the photos. I made one and it turned out to be about 6 inches long by 4 inches tall. I lengthened the template and the next denim bone I made was about 8 inches by 4 inhces. I am going to send both to my son and my grand dog and see which one they like. Thanks again.

    Reply

  6. Jenni

    I didn’t have any filling so any part of the jean I wasn’t using I cut up kind of small and used as stuffing. I made sure not to have any zipper or anything metal in it. We don’t have a dog but hopefully some like a different texture inside. My boys are going to donate them to a shelter or something.

    Reply

  9. Megan

    I bet I could stuff them with old Tshirt scraps or even denim scraps if i don’t have wool! My guys like crinkly toys so I could even put some water bottle pieces in for that crinkly effect. Cat lovers can also get involved. A little fish. Add some cat nip. Such a cute idea! ???

    Reply

  12. Linda Gwin

    Love the dog bone in denim. I make Ms Lexie her toys. Her favorite is when I use the cereal liner from a box of cold cereal. I sew the liner in part of the seam so it doesn’t get wadded up. They are very crinkly ( got the idea at a baby shower), I put in some batting, cereal liner, a squeaky and she plays for a long time. I am now going to make her some more using your denim and bone shape, along with my cereal liner.

    Reply

  14. Grandmas House DIY

    These are so great and cute! Thank you for sharing with us at the To Grandma’s house we go weekly link party, you will be featured in the new party that starts tomorrow morning! Hope to see you there!

    Reply

  16. Katy SkipTheBag

    I bet my puppies would love this! And I think I’ve got a pair of jeans on their last legs (if you pardon the pun). I love the tip about using the pocket for dog treats! Thanks for sharing on the Waste Less Wednesday Blog Hop!

    Reply

  17. Carole

    This is the cutest project I’ve seen in a long time. My dog would love it and probably rip it apart in minutes. She’s a coon hound and seems to have no boundries when it comes to dog toys. So she finds weird stuff on the farm like pine cones and branches to play with. This project though really rocks and what a great tutorial.

    Reply

  19. Leanna

    This is adorable and cost saving besides. Really simple cool idea.
    I looked at the other Tobie post and your artwork is amazing. Your so casual about it and the skill level it takes. You are a natural artist.

    Reply

  21. Julie

    These are brilliant. We don’t have a dog in our house but I know plenty of people who do and many tell me their dogs like to get hold of soft things, I’m sure this idea could help save lots of slippers over the years! Thanks for sharing at #HandmadeMonday 🙂

    Reply

  22. Sandra

    Our grandpup would get a kick out of these and he wouldn’t be able to rip them to shreds. Thank you for sharing with us this week at Celebrate Your Story, have a great weekend.

    Reply

  30. Susanne

    Claire this is so cute!!! And they even have squeakers!!! Ever since meeting you I have started saving denim, my hubby knows not to throw away his worn out jeans 😉 and our dogs would would love this, especially with the squeaker and a treat hidden in a pocket! Thanks so much for sharing, I am pinning 🙂

    Reply

  31. Susan

    Oh wow – years ago I made my beloved Westie a “blue thing” which was a rolled up toy made up of fabric scraps from a denim dress that I had just made. He loved it so much, even though the seams were uneven. Love the idea of the treat pocket!

    Reply

  36. Frances Lineberry

    These are super cute but please omit the squeakers. My daughter almost lost her dog due to the dog swallowing the squeakers from dog toys. When they did surgery she had several in her stomach, causing blockage. The vet said several dog owners had lost their dogs due to them swallowing the squeakers from toys.

    Reply

  38. Rebecca

    What a super cute idea!!! Our lab puppy (she is 3 but still our puppy) loves squeaky toys and they are expensive. The denim fabric would make it very sturdy and the pocket idea for a treat is genius. Thanks for sharing – Halia (our pup) will thank you.

    Reply

  51. Claire Armstrong

    You can make them any size you want. I have a medium sized dog a foxy Russell and I made the bones 25cm (10inches) in length. If you draw the template out onto a standard A4 piece of computer paper that should be the right size.

    Reply

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