Tried making a braided rope toy with old t-shirts and was sure it would fall apart

I had a pile of old t-shirts sitting in a bag for months and finally decided to try that braided rope toy pattern I keep seeing. Honestly I figured my dog would shred it in five minutes and I'd be picking up fabric strips all over the yard. But I followed the tutorial step by step, cutting the shirts into strips and stretching them tight before braiding. The trick was pulling each strand super tight as I went, not just loosely weaving them together. My pup took that thing and dragged it all over the house for two days before the first thread even popped. I was totally wrong about how durable it would be. Has anyone else had a different experience with fabric vs paracord for tug toys?

2 comments

2 Comments

paul_morgan1mo ago

Blew my mind how well those braided t-shirt toys hold up. I did the same thing with a bunch of old concert tees, figured my ankle biter would chew through it in an afternoon. Nope. That thing lasted through three camping trips and a move across town before it started fraying. The stretching trick really is the key, I didn't do it tight enough on my first try and it unraveled within a day. Fabric toys are quieter too, no squeaker to drive you crazy at 2 AM. I'm never going back to buying the expensive store-bought ones again.

stella3071mo ago

Oh man, I feel like SUCH a sucker now for all those fancy dog toys I bought! My pup's favorite toy is literally just an old sock tied in a knot, and he treats it like it's made of gold.