Hand-sewn Nylon Dog Leash

Hello and thanks for reading this Instructable. To make a hand-sewn nylon dog leash you will need the following supplies:

- Nylon Webbing (it comes in various widths, the width you want to use generally depends on the size of the dog this will be used on and the webbing manufacturer‘s recommendations. In this instructable, I used 1 inch nylon webbing, this leash is currently being used with a 49 pound dog)

- Heavy-duty thread, I have not been able to find information on the right thread thickness to use on dog leashes (if you know the proper thread to use for dog leashes feel free to leave a comment with that information) in this Instructable, I just used the heaviest thread I had.

- Heavy-duty sewing needle, in this Instructable I used a heavy duty darner needle. Warning, this can be really hard on sewing needles, one of mine broke in the middle of this project, so you may want to have more than one

- Swivel Snap Hook, whatever width webbing you are using, typically that is the size swivel snap needed, for example, I used 1 inch webbing and a 1 inch swivel snap.

- match

- heavy-duty scissors

- tape measure

Optional:

- D-ring or O-ring

Decide what length leash you want to make and if you want a handle (and if so what size handle) or not*, this will dictate how much webbing is needed. For example, another leash I made was 40 1/2 inches long including the handle, but not including the swivel snap, so I had that 40 1/2 inches + 2 inches (to secure the swivel snap) + 8 1/2 inches (for the handle) = I needed 51 inches of webbing. If you do not want a handle, just add 2 inches of webbing to secure the end of the leash.

*there are pros and cons of having a handle, here’s some to consider:

Cons:

- Dangerous to people, if a dog pulls and any part of your hand, arm, etc. is in the handle it can get broken. (I like to hold onto the outside of the handle, because the added thickness makes it easier to grip)

- Dangerous to dogs and others, is the leash gets away from you or is allowed to drag, humans, dogs, and other pets can get there feet caught in the handle; resulting in tripping, falling, etc. The dog can also get hurt from this if it gets caught on something

Pros:

- easier to grip the outside of the handle

- can attach waste bags to it

- can make the edit as seen later in this Instructable

Next, carefully use a match to burn the ends (this keeps it from fraying).

Put approximately 2 inches of webbing through the swivel snap (see picture).
note: I used tape in the picture to hold the nylon while I got the picture, there is no need to use tape.

Hand-sew a rectangle in the webbing (see picture)

When doing this step I like to insert the needle by one of the previous stitches, pull through and insert back the other way by another stitch (see pictures), and keep doing this until the rectangle is complete; you can also use this method every time you need to stitch over any part of the leash a second time. I like this method, because it looks nicer than more “randomly” stitching over it a second time. I typically stitch over any part of the leash twice, some people recommend stitching any part of the leash three times; you can do either way, it would probably be best to do three times if you have a bigger dog, if you do it three times it couldn’t be done the above method of stitching (at least I’ve never had success doing it like that), it would probably need to be more “randomly”.

Stitch twice diagnally through the rectangle, see pictures

Stitch diagnally, as in the previous step, on the opposite side of the rectangle (see pictures).

Fold the the desired handle length piece of webbing, and stitch like with the swivel snap (see pictures). If you don’t want a handle, fold approximately 2 inches of webbing and stitch as with the swivel snap.

There are a ton of ways you can edit this design, following are a few...

- Long line, a typically 10-50 foot dog leash that is very useful for recall training, tracking, scent work, etc. To make a long line use lighter weight webbing than for a regular leash (typically 1/2 inch wide or less webbing) and make just as a regular leash.

- before stitching the handle closed put a d-ring or o-ring loose in the handle (see pictures). This is handy if you often let your dog off leash, but need to keep the leash with you, because you can drape it over your shoulder and clip the leash to the d-ring/o-ring. You can also clip a waste bag holder to the d-ring/o-ring

I hope you enjoyed this Instructable and find the information helpful, if you have any questions please let me know! Thanks for reading and God Bless!