[deeahanna]

do any of the little gentlemen here wear bandannas? i found these instructions today and thought someone here might be interested.

You cannot buy bandannas cheap enough to make it worth it. Even if you go buy the expensive fabric ($4.99) if you cut them right it only has to cost you .16 cents a bandanna. Most fabric is 45" wide, so all you need to do is buy 1 1/4 yards (that will be $6.25 if you like the higher priced stuff). I made a little grid so you can see how to cut. I use a GOOD pair of pinking shears (the cheap ones just don't cut it {literally}).

The first thing I do is cut along the selvage edges (the finished edge). With the newly cut edges together I cut down along the long center.

(1) Fold in half and cut through both layers down the fold line. So now you have four layers the should be a square (roughly).

(2) Fold in half again, this time making a triangle. If you match the edges that you have already cut, you should have a little extra (this will be the edge the clerk at the fabric store cut). So cut off the extra and then cut along the edge forming the triangle. You should have 8 layers of a large triangle. My scissors can only cut nicely through 4 layers so I separate into four and go from there.

(3) Fold in half again to form another Triangle and cut along the edge. The long edge should measure about 22". Once again do this four bandannas at a time.

(4) Fold in half along the long edge, but don't cut in half along that fold line. About halfway down the fold line cut from there to the points. This will give you two different sized bandannas. One works perfect for the larger dogs (labs, etc) and a medium sized bandanna that works great for cockers and shih Tzu's.

(5) From step (3) I take some of those and fold them in half forming the triangle and then cut along the fold line.

(6) Same thing as step (4). You fold in half along the long edge but don't cut and the cut about half way from center to points.

If you do this you end up with about 40 bandannas, costing .16 and all different sizes. If you choose cheaper fabric they can cost even less. This is a whole lot more complicated to describe than to do, so really there is no reason to buy pre-made bandannas.