Does your dog chew through toys like they’re going out of style? I don’t know about your pup, but Drake’s favorite pass time is de-stuffing anything he can get his jaws on (particularly anything brand new and expensive). So, I thought, instead of spending money on a brand new toy, that will most likely have a life expectancy of less than one hour, why not just make one for FREE! Besides that, this project was so easy that I literally did it at the park while Drake chased squirrels, just saying… it’s that easy!

All you need are three easy materials:

Scissors
2 old t-shirts

Anyways… First cut slits (about 2 inches wide) around the entire bottom of both shirts.

Once you have the slits cut, simply rip along each strip. This should create little strips of long fabric, like below. Drake was clearly ready for me to be done at this point as you can see.

Next, separate and flatten out your strips. I ended up cutting some of mine a bit to make them more even.

Gather your fabric pieces and using one of the strips, tie them together at one end. Section the strips into three parts and braid them together!

After you’ve braided all the way down to the other end, use an extra piece of fabric and tie up the bottom! And that’s it! Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

The perfect tug-of-war toy that was not only free of cost but also good recycling practice! Two birds, one stone… that kind of thing!

Now it’s your turn to get crafty and make your fur-ball happy!

Jessica Cobos

Jessica is the Co-Founder of Gal’s Best Friend and the Southern Editor. She lives in Dallas with her two rescue pups, Drake and Pippa. Jessica is an elementary school teacher who spends all of her free time obsessing over her dogs and working with rescue groups in her community to spread awareness and education about adoption.