Tulle usually serves as a material for tutus and bridal veils, so seeing it on a dog collar can be a surprise. For sure, a tulle-crafted collar has flair. The colors you choose can make the collar elegant for a wedding, whimsical for a birthday party or Gothic for Halloween.
Fabric Quantity
If you're making a sewn tulle collar, measure around your dog's neck where the collar will sit, then double the total. This is the length of tulle you'll need. You can cut it to width later, but the tulle should be twice as wide as you want the collar to be in the end.
For a no-sew collar you'll need at least two rectangle-shaped strips for every inch of collar. The strips should be 6 inches wide and three times as long as the amount of "poof" you want. For example, if you want the tulle to stick out 3 inches from your dog's neck, the strip must be 7 inches long. Multiply the length of each strip by the number of strips you need to fill the collar to find the total length of tulle you'll need for the project.
Selecting Tulle
There's soft tulle and there's stiff, scratchy tulle. Silk, English and Russian tulle exist, but they're more expensive and probably not the kind you want for your dog's collar. Some people use the word tulle to describe netting, which is usually stiffer than tulle. You'll probably want stiff tulle or netting for your dog's collar so it won't flop at the top and will stand up to a little abuse, even if the dog wears it only for a short while. Pick whatever type you think will look best, but keep in mid that soft tulle will drape over the back of the neck instead of standing up.
Sewn Collar
Lay the tulle out flat and hand-sew a line lengthwise down the center, loosely gathering the tulle as you work. Fold the piece in half, along the line you just sewed, and pin it in place. Sew another seam down the fold, leaving enough loose thread at the end to pull to create gathers in the tulle. Sew a piece of ribbon on each end of the tulle and use the ribbon to secure the collar around your dog's neck.
No-Sew Collar
Lay your dog's collar out flat. Fold a strip of 6-inch-wide tulle, cut to three times the desired length, in half and slip the folded end underneath the collar. Pull the loose ends through the loop created by the fold and pull tight. Repeat the process until the collar is covered in tulle, placing the strips as close to each other as possible. Trim the length as desired or necessary to create the right amount of poof.
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