Valentine's Bandannas

 

It's nearly Valentines day, so thought I'd share a previous project I did. I made Valentines bandannas for not just Boogie, but our dear neighbors ESA as well. 

1. Measure your dogs neck. Add extra to the measurement for tying it & to accommodate fluff. For example, my dogs neck is 24”, I add 3” fluff & 4“ for tying it, so that gives me 31”

2. I measure a 31” X 31” square of fabric & cut it diagonally (from one corner to the opposite corner) with a pair of pinking shears (pinking sheers keep cut fabric from fraying) so that you now have a triangle shaped piece of fabric.

-Like these zig zag ones here: 

-Or these scalloped ones here: 

-You could also use fray check on the edges. Find it here.

-Or even hemming tape. Find it here.

3. Choose or create your design into a digital format – must be 8.5”x11” or smaller. Ensure the design you create is sized appropriately so it will be fully visible on the bandana once it's tied on. If the bandana hangs down too long, roll it from the top--->down, towards the reverse side until it's as long or short as you like it & measure how big your design should be. Using your paint program or printer settings, adjust photo size to be the same as the area you measured earlier to fit the design in.

I found a graphic I liked (shown below), & used Corel's Paint Shop Pro (but any paint program will work), to add the names in the center of the design. 

4. I then used an iron on transfer paper, specifically for laser printers (works on inkjet as well, but Laser is hard to find & what I have...hence this brand) for light backgrounds (did mine on plain white fabric), as shown below.

You can find it on amazon here. It's $20.99, so it's just over $1/sheet, so very affordable. Be sure to choose the appropriate version of this for the type of fabric you're using...

-Light: is a transparent sheet, so colors or patterns show through & works best on white.

-Dark: is printed on an opaque sheet & does not show through. 

-Glow-in-the-dark: is new & I have no experience with it...yet lol 

Do a test print on regular paper first to ensure, alignment, color, saturation , & size are correct. Once happy on cheap paper, print onto the transfer paper.

Pro Tip: If your design only uses half the sheet, only peel it back as much as necessary from the backing paper & trim off only the portion you need, leaving the other side untouched & intact on the backing paper. *Trimming around the design is tougher if the backing paper is removed first, so choose what's best for you. 

Using a pair of sharp detail scissors, trim around your design as closely as you'd like. Feel free to leave a border around it.

5. Remove backing paper from your trimmed design. The design goes "right side up" as well, so there's no need to flip the image around prior to printing. You will need to use the enclosed ironing sheet to protect your iron from getting the thin layer of vinyl stuck to your appliance. Kitchen baking paper works well for this too. Follow the ironing instructions as given in the transfer paper directions.

It's that easy & you can make any bandanna you like for any occasion at a moment's notice. I think both boys looked gosh darn cute, if I do say so myself!! 

I hope you try making & creating your own dog bandannas, now that you know how easy it is!! Happy Crafting!!