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For this blog post I decided to create a dog leash from paracord and a round eye swivel bolt snap, this project is familiar. I have made a few leashes in the past for my dogs as well as for some friends and family. This particular leash that I have created is a thiner bread than others that I have made. I like this design the most because it is the least stiff and it is the most comfortable for myself to hold.
To start the leash I thread the two strands though the eyelet of the swivel bolt so that it makes 4 strands of equal length. Then I use a "Mathew Walker Knot" to secure the cords to the bolt, this is a decorative knot that is very functional. |
Once the cords are secure I began to braid the paracord using a "4 Strand Round Braid". I continued to braid the cords until I had about 4 to 6 inches left. At this point I used the pliers to pull the cords back threw the leash to create the handle, this is called splicing. After splicing the cord about 4in back, I trim the cord with the scissors and use the lighter to melt the ends. Doing this creates a mushroom top at the end of the cord so that it does not pull back threw the braid. Above is a picture of what the handle looks like after this process is done.
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Here to the left is a picture of the finished leash that I have made, measures exactly 3ft including the swivel bolt. To the right I have added two other leashes that I have made. The read one is a bit shorter and the leash on the right side is about a foot longer. On the longer leash I also included an extra short handle to help control my dog when walking by other dogs.
I have also used a cobra weave in the past but didn't have any pictures of this leash. This type of braid produces more of a thick flat leash. |
I can't think of anything that has hindered my creative process for this particular leash. For past leashes things that hindered my process was not knowing how long the cord needed to be to make the the length that I hoped for. Something else that hindered my process is when making leashes for other people as a surprise, it was hard to choose the color of cord because I was not sure what color the person would like best.
In the future I hope to make a dog color or a harnest, using the cobra weave. I still have some designing to do for this, so that I can get a material list for this project.
In the future I hope to make a dog color or a harnest, using the cobra weave. I still have some designing to do for this, so that I can get a material list for this project.