I’m excited to share a very special Dog-I-Y with you today! Natalya Zahn, a brilliant illustrator and mom to a handsome dog named Oscar, is here sharing a very clever (and easy!) DIY project that any doggy parent will appreciate and be able to make. Read on!
After a particularly muddy, spring-day walk with the Beast, Natalya turned to a trusty old hand towel in the hall closet to wipe the dirt and muck off Oscar’s paws — a reasonable but not ideal solution which still left an awful lot of grit on the floor. At that moment, she wondered if there might be a better idea. Perhaps a little pocket-shaped towel that could do double-duty: mopping up the wet and catching the dry (leaving cleaner dog feet and hallways)? And what if said item could hang neatly on a doorknob or hook (rather than draping like gym shorts in a sad corner by the door…)??
Turns out, this isn’t a terribly difficult thing to accomplish and you, dear reader, probably have all the materials you need to make your own right now! Curious? Meet the “Mud Puppy Mitten”! DIY instructions and photos below!
DIY Mud Puppy Mittens
Materials:
- hand towel or dish towel
- ribbon
- sewing machine
- scissors
- pins
Directions:
- Take a hand towel (or dish towel) and fold it in half — “hamburger style” rather than “hot dog style”.
- Find and mark the center then pin down the middle.
- Stitch along the center mark (where you pinned), then cut/trim off one half.
- Take the half with the stitching and turn it inside out. Cut a length of ribbon and create a loop, pinning it to the upper/open corner.
- Sew the ribbon in place, stitching along the open side a few inches. That’s it! You now have yourself a fancy new mud puppy mitten!
To clean your dog’s paws, simply pull their feet into the mitten and rub the muck off — one dirty paw at a time! The dirt and grit will stay inside the mitten.
**We opted for a DARK towel, because let’s face it, anything lighter would just look gnarly in an instant…
Natalya Zahn is a Boston-based illustrator and designer, and the creative agent behind the blog, www.oscaratemymuffin.com – a fully illustrated online adventure following the charmed life of her Rhodesian Ridgeback, Oscar, via stories, recipes, tutorials, and ridiculous paper hats for every occasion.
