Jingle bells, jingle bells…who doesn’t love the magical sound of jingle bells? Add a jingle bell harness/collar to your reindeer faux taxidermy for a festive wall decor piece!
You Will Need:
- – ~28 inch length of 3.5 inch wide faux leather (or fabric or an already prepared strap trim, in which case the finished width is 1.75 inches)
- – Eight 1.25 inch diameter jingle bells (or smaller)
- – One 2 inch diameter jingle bell (or smaller)
- – Thread, sewing machine, scissors, awl and sewing needle
- – 6 inches of 1 inch wide sew in Velcro® hook and loop tape
Step 1: Create the straps. I used a faux leather, which I love how it turned out. However, you may use canvas or other fabric or even choose an already prepared strap trim. Fold the long raw edges toward the middle of the strap width. Pin in place or use clips to hold (if you have an iron friendly fabric, you may iron to hold). Topstitch the edges, I did each side twice to create a double stitch. If you’re using canvas or another type of fabric, you may want to make the straps by folding to the center then folding over again to tuck the raw edges into the strap. If you opt for this method, you will need to make your fabric 7 inches wide to have a final width of 1.25 inches when finished. Customize the length of the strap to your project by measuring around the base of the neck (it will be shorter for the toddler size).
Step 2: Plot out your jingle bells. I’m showing you the measurements for the one made for the standard size. Mark the center first. Then from the ends I started making a mark every 3 inches, which left the three bells in the center only 2 inches apart but I like how it looks having the three center bells more clustered. These are just suggestions, using the bells you have, plot them out and see what you like best.
Step 3: (optional) I like to poke a hole in each spot for the bell with the awl just to help it ‘sink’ into the faux leather better. This isn’t really necessary and may also depend on the fabric you used.
Step 4: Use a needle and thread to attach each bell to the fabric. Thread the needle through the top loop on the bell and continue threading through the fabric on one side of the bell, through the bell and then through the fabric on the other side of the bell. Do this several times to secure it well. Knot the thread and leave a little tail to help the knot stay (or put a dot of super glue or hot glue on the knot to hold it and trim the thread tail closer to the knot)
Step 5: Cut 2 strips of the hook tape and 2 strips of loop tape to 1.25 inches each. Sew 2 strips of the hook tape to one end of the strap on the under side of the strap. Sew 2 strips of the loop tape to the opposite end of the strap on the top side of the strap.
Your jingle bell collar is finished! Put it on your reindeer wall decor or other project and it instantly adds some festive flare!
Save this project for later…here is a great image for Pinterest!