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Weave a sturdy rope toy that's comfortable for you to tug and perfect for your dog to sink his or her teeth into. This rope is especially soft for dogs with new or sensitive teeth, but can be braided tightly for strong chewers.

Materials:

3 1/4 yard pieces of different colored or patterned fleece
scissors or a rotary cutter
2 rubber bands

Steps:

Figure A

1. Fold each piece of the fleece selvage to selvage to cut long strips (figure A). (Tip: Selvage is the end of the fabric with writing on it.)

Figure B

2. Cut three 4" strips from the folded edge using scissors or a rotary cutter and a ruler (figure B). Note: A 4" strip width will give you a "medium-width" dog toy. If you want it smaller or larger adjust the strip width.

3. Unfold the fabric strips and stack one strip of each color/pattern together.

Figure C

4. Wrap a rubber band around the edge of the fleece, about 5" from the end. Don't worry about cutting off the edges with selvage at this point (figure C).

Figure D

5. Now braid the three strands together. Tip: The easiest way to get a tight braid is to hold the rubber band-wrapped edge between your knees, but you can also tape it or pin it to a solid work surface (figure D).

Figure E

6. Make sure the braid is nice and tight so it's harder for the dog to get its teeth through. Make the braid about 20-27" long, leaving some unbraided fleece at the end. This gives room to tie knots (figure E).

7. Wrap the second rubber band on the end of the unbraided fleece.

Figure F

8. Make a knot that falls in the intersection of the unbraided and braided section (where the rubber band is located). This keeps the braid tighter (figure F).

9. Cut the rubber band and pull the knot very tight. The tighter the knot the longer it will last for your dog.

Figure G

10. Trim both unbraided ends of the bone so they're roughly the same length (figure G). The length of the ends is up to you. The rope made here is trimmed to 3".

Figure H

11. Fringe the edges by cutting each end of the fleece into strips (figure H). (If you have a strong chewer you may want to skip this step.)

12. If you find the rope is too long you can tie a knot or two in the center.

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