How to Make a Cloth Dog Harness

A dog harness is useful for different kinds of exercise that we humans enjoy doing with our dogs. Walking, biking, rollerblading, skiing and running are all easy activities to do with your dog when your dog is wearing a harness. These instructions are for a harness that can be made to fit any size dog. The width of the nylon webbing is recommended to be 3/4 inch wide for small dogs, one inch wide for medium dogs and 1.5 inches wide for giant dogs.

Things You'll Need

  • Nylon webbing Four sliders A metal ring A metal D-ring A plastic parachute buckle Sewing machine Sewing notions (scissors, thread, pins, etc.) Tape measure
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Instructions

  1. Make a Cloth Dog Harness

    • 1

      Lay the webbing over the dog's neck and shoulders. Pull the webbing down around the dog and pin where the webbing ends cross each other at approximately the dog's breastbone. Add six additional inches to this length of webbing and cut at this point to make the collar portion of the harness.

    • 2

      Insert one end of this length of webbing up from the bottom through the first hole of a slider. Insert the webbing back down from the top through the second hole of the slider. Attach the webbing to the metal ring by threading the webbing up from the underside of the ring, bringing it through, and back down through again. Double the webbing back, insert it through the slider again, and make sure it is pulled tight.

    • 3

      Cut a 15-inch length of webbing to make the tie. Place a slider on one end of this webbing by inserting the webbing up from the bottom of the slider into the first hole and down from the top into the second hole.

    • 4

      Insert the other end of this length of webbing from the top into the same circular ring. Make a small loop and stitch this end to secure the ring to this length of the webbing.

    • 5

      Lay another piece of webbing over the dog's back along the mid-section of its body to make the belly strap. Wrap the webbing around the dog until it is comfortably snug but not too tight. Overlap the ends several inches and cut the webbing at this point.

    • 6

      Stitch one end of this webbing piece to the female half of the plastic buckle. Thread the end of the webbing through the holes of the buckle with approximately 1 inch of excess webbing to stitch down.

    • 7

      Thread the other end of this length of webbing through the male half of the buckle. Insert the webbing through the inner buckle hole first and then back down through the outer hole. This end will not be stitched to allow for adjusting the harness.

    • 8

      Make a large loop through the D-ring with one end of the webbing to make the top strap. Thread the belly strap through this loop beside the D-ring. Allow approximately one inch of excess webbing to extend past this point. Stitch the loose webbing end securely.

    • 9

      Stitch a line on both sides of the D-ring to prevent it from moving along the webbing. Do not stitch through the belly strap as you do this. Attach another slider to the other end of the top strap of the harness in the same fashion. This end will be looped around the upper portion of the harness and inserted back into the slider.

    • 10

      Insert the female buckle end of the belly strap through the loop made from the tie. Put the harness on the dog and adjust the sliders for proper fit. To lock the sliders when the proper fit is achieved, pass the loose end of the webbing over the end of the slider and thread it through again.

    • 11

      Push the loop end of the tie between the dog's legs and thread the belly strap through this loop to finish the harness.