Cope's Party Tie

Cope, our dog, is a sophisticated man and loves to wear ties to parties.

Okay so maybe he doesn't love to wear ties, but he puts up with them and wears them and, I love them :). Yes, I am nuts.

A dog wearing a tie? Really? Well, this tie craze can be blamed on my friend Leslie. She got Cope a red and white check "party tie" from Old Navy last year. When we have people over we put it on him and he is instantly ready to "party". He has worn it to my cookie exchange, new years eve and when he is just trying to impress the ladies.

So, with the Super Bowl coming up I decided Cope (who is named after the famed Steelers announcer, Myron Cope) needed a Steelers tie for the party we are hosting. You see, my husband is a HUGE Steelers fan and so it's only fitting that Cope has a very special outfit for this occasion. Since Cope already has a Steelers collar, I decided to make the tie one that would slip on over it.

First, I used his Old Navy tie as a guide and traced around it. Then, I cut it about 1/4 inch bigger around. The tie itself is about 4.5 inches long. It is 1 inch at the top of the tie and 2 inches at the widest part (right before the "triangle" at the end).

For the knot of the tie I cut a 3 inch strip and folded in the sides to give it more bulk. Once folded it measures about 1.5 inches wide. Also since I was using stripes, I cut the fabric so that stripes of the knot are horizontal and the tie is vertical. That way, it looks more like a real tie and you don't have to worry about lining up stripes.

Since I, ah don't know how to sew, I used Stitch Witch to iron my hems of the knot and the tie. I also cut out little slats where the tie goes into a triangle so that the edges would lay flatter.

Here is what the back of the tie looks like after ironing the hems:

Then for the knot, I used my none existent sewing skills to make a loop (made big enough so that the collar could slip through).

Just a couple quick stitches to complete the loop and then a couple more stitches to attach the tie to knot. And here it is....

Here is Cope wearing his tie. He's not happy because I made him get out of bed to take this picture....

Is this totally and completely crazy? Yes, but at least I embrace it.

Updated Picture: A much happier Cope with his tie (and some additional bling...)