Pawsitively Stylish Embroidered Collar Wrap

Dog and cat collars seem like a great place for pets to sport a little embroidered style ... but most of the time, they're too skinny to fit much stitching into. Here's an even better idea: a fabric collar wrap that fits over your pet's existing collar, with border embroidery and a little sparkle if you like!

Read below for these free project instructions!

Supplies & Materials:

Supplies Needed:

1/4 yard sturdy fabric (we used denim)
Temporary spray adhesive
Air-erase pen or other marking tool
Medium weight cutaway stabilizer
7/8 inch wide ribbon
1/2 inch wide sew-on Velcro
Heat set crystals and heat tool (optional)

Designs Used:

For this project, the design we used was the Damask Royal Rose Border - Md. The design we used for the collar wrap is also available in the following design packs: A Dashing Damask Design Pack - XL, A Dashing Damask Design Pack - Lg and A Dashing Damask Design Pack - Md.

There are thousands of border designs that will also look great on this collar wrap. Grab your furry friend and pick your favorite!

Finished Size:

7 1/4 inches wide by 2 1/4 inches high. Wrap can be custom sized to fit any collar.

Gather Materials:

First, cut a piece of sturdy fabric (we chose denim) a bit larger than your hoop. Then, decide how large you would like the wrap to be. Consider the size of the collar and the size of the embroidery design. We are creating a wrap for a large size dog collar which is about one inch wide. So, we decided to make our wrap about 2 inches wide. Also, the design we chose is 6 inches wide. So, we decided to make our wrap about 7 inches wide. Take those dimensions and add one inch to both measurements for seam allowance. Next, using an air-erase pen or other marking tool, draw a rectangle in the center of the fabric using the dimensions you decided on - ours is 8 inches wide by 3 inches high.

Hand drawing a rectangle with a purple marker on a piece of blue fabric placed on a wooden surface.

Measure and mark the center of each side by measuring and dividing by two. Then, draw lines connecting the marks. These lines will be used for hooping.

Close-up of a hand holding a purple pen, drawing a rectangle on blue fabric using a metal ruler as a guide. The fabric is on a wooden surface.

Create a paper template of the design by printing it at full size using embroidery software. If you don't have embroidery software, you can cut a piece of paper the shape and dimensions of the design to help with placement and centering.

Poke a hole in the center of the template and align it with the center point on the fabric. Make sure the design fits well within the shape - there should be at least 3/4 inch space between the outer edges of the design and the outer edge of the shape.

Close-up of blue fabric with a white paper template featuring a crown and swirling pattern pinned in place. Purple lines mark rectangles and cross on the fabric. A hand holds the fabric edge.

Start Embroidering:

Remove the template and spray a piece of medium weight cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive. Smooth the fabric on top and hoop the fabric and stabilizer together by aligning the marks on the hoop with the lines on the fabric. Attach the hoop to the machine and load the design. Move the hoop so that the needle is directly over the center point on the fabric. Embroider the design.

Embroidery hoop with blue fabric inside, marked with purple grid lines in rectangle and cross pattern on a wooden table surface.

When the design has finished, trim away the excess stabilizer on the backside of the embroidery.

Orange-handled scissors cutting a blue fabric with a smaller white fabric patch featuring an orange decorative floral embroidery design on a wooden surface.

Cut out the shape.

Hand cutting blue fabric beside orange floral embroidery; purple markings outline a rectangular section; orange-handled scissors held in right hand.

Cut two strips each of the loop and hook sides of 1/2 inch wide sew-on Velcro using your original width dimension plus 1/2 inch - ours is 2 inches plus 1/2 inch, so we cut our Velcro to 2 1/2 inches.

Two white fabric strips on a wooden surface next to a silver metal ruler marked in inches and a pair of pointed scissors.

Cut four strips of 7/8 inch wide ribbon using the same measurement you used for the Velcro plus 1/2 inch - our Velcro measurement is 2 1/2 inches plus 1/2 inch, so we cut our ribbon to 3 inches. Then, spray the backside of each piece of Velcro with temporary adhesive and smooth it in place onto the strips of ribbon, centering the Velcro and aligning one short end of Velcro with one short end of the ribbon (leaving one short end of ribbon open).

Four fabric collar wraps with orange, yellow, and white stripes lie on a wooden surface; a hand is holding one wrap on the right side.

Next, sew the Velcro in place by sewing a seam around the entire outer edge of the Velcro.

Close-up of a Brother sewing machine embroidering a fabric collar wrap with multiple fabric layers in red, blue, and striped patterns.

Fold the open end of the ribbon in towards the Velcro 1/4 inch and then another 1/4 inch and sew the folded end in place.

Hand holds a yellow and brown fabric strip with stitched edges and a pink hook-and-loop fastener strip on a dark wood surface.

To prepare the back fabric, trace the shape of the embroidered front piece and cut out the shape.

Orange-handled scissors cutting a rectangular piece of blue fabric on a brown wooden surface.

Now it is time to assemble the wrap! Lay the embroidered front piece flat with the right side facing up. Align the raw ends of the two loop side Velcro ribbon tabs with the top edge of the fabric, about one inch from the top corners of the fabric with the Velcro facing down. Pin in place and then tack the ends in place with a few stitches.

Blue fabric strip with orange embroidered crown pattern and two vertical yellow and red striped ribbon pieces pinned on a wooden surface.

Remove the pins and flip the tabs up and lay them flat above the top edge of the fabric. Then, align the raw ends of the hook side Velcro ribbon tabs with the bottom edge of the fabric about one inch from the bottom corners of the fabric and with the Velcro facing up. Pin the tabs in place and tack with a few stitches along the raw ends.

Blue fabric collar wrap with orange crown and swirl embroidery, attached with white and pink striped ribbon loops, pinned with red-headed pins on wooden surface.

Fold the tabs in half and pin them in place making sure that the folded ends of the tabs are about one inch from the outer edges of the fabric so they will not be sewn over later on.

Blue fabric piece with orange embroidery in a floral and swirl pattern, secured with two striped yellow, orange, and white clips, on a brown wooden surface.

Align the back fabric over the embroidered front piece and tabs, right sides together, and pin in place. Sew a 1/2 inch seam along one of the short ends and the top and bottom edges - leave one short end open for turning.

Hand holding a folded blue fabric piece with sewing pins; colorful fabric peeks from underneath on a wooden surface.

Turn the wrap right side out. Press the seams with an iron and fold the fabric of the opening in 1/2 inch and press. Top stitch a 1/4 inch seam along the entire outer edge of the fabric.

Denim collar wrap with red floral embroidery under the needle of a Brother sewing machine on a wooden table, with striped fabric edges visible.

To attach the wrap to the collar, lay the wrap on top of the outer side of the collar, fold the ribbon tabs around, and press the tabs together. Add fun embellishments like heat set crystals for some special sparkle!

Hand holding a denim fabric piece with sewn yellow and red striped loops wrapped around a red adjustable collar with a black plastic buckle, on a wooden surface.

Get Inspired:

Create a collar wrap for each changing season to ensure that your pet is always pawsitively stylish!

View of a light tan dog from behind wearing a blue collar wrap embroidered with red and orange floral pattern. Another dark-colored dog is partially visible in the background.