How to Turn a Dog Collar into a Leather Bracelet

An old dog collar can be turned into a bracelet that gets worn every day. This guide makes one in the style of my Buffalo Leather Bracelet: 12 mm wide, with a brushed metal clasp.

The collar is stripped back to a single strip, cleaned, cut down to 12 mm wide and fitted into the clasp. The wear stays. That's the point of it.

Before you cut anything

Check the collar over:

• What it's made of. Most are leather. Some are two layers stitched together, or leather over nylon webbing. A laminated collar can be split back to one layer; webbing can't be used.
• How much clean length there is. The holes and the bit that sat under the buckle are usually the most worn. You need a run of about 200 mm without holes for an average wrist.
• Whether it's still sound. Bend it hard. Fine surface creasing is fine. Cracks that open up across the grain mean it won't survive being worn on a wrist.

Working out the length

Part	Size (mm)	Notes
Bracelet strip	12 wide	Same width and feel as the buffalo bracelet
Strip length	wrist + 15 − clasp + 2 × cap depth	Clasp measured closed, end to end
Clasp	12 internal width	Brushed metal, glue-in end caps

Example: a 175 mm wrist with a 30 mm clasp and 5 mm deep caps gives 175 + 15 − 30 + 10 = 170 mm of leather. Order the clasp before you cut. You need it in your hand to measure.

Materials and tools

• The collar
• Brushed metal clasp with glue-in end caps, 12 mm internal width
• Saddle soap, a soft brush and a lint-free cloth
• Leather conditioner (sparingly)
• Seam ripper or a sharp scalpel, for unpicking stitching
• Straight edge, rotary cutter or knife, and a cutting mat
• Two-part epoxy (or whatever glue the clasp supplier recommends)
• Edge beveller, burnishing compound and a slicker
• Edge dye close to the collar's colour
• String and a ruler, to measure the wrist
• A scrap of similar leather, to test the fit in the clasp first

Strip down and clean

1. Take a photo of the collar first. Front and back, laid flat. If the owner asks later what happened to the name tag or the D-ring, you've got it.
2. Remove the hardware. Unpick the stitching round the buckle and D-ring with a seam ripper. Drill out rivets from the back rather than levering them, or the leather tears. Keep everything and give it back.
3. Split any layers. If the collar is two pieces stitched together, unpick the edge stitching and separate them. Decide which layer has the better face. Usually it's the outer one.
4. Clean it. Work saddle soap into a lather with a damp brush and go over both sides. Wipe off with a cloth. Don't soak it. Old collars hold a surprising amount of muck, so it may take two goes.
5. Dry it slowly. Flat, at room temperature, overnight. Not on a radiator. Heat on old leather makes it go stiff and brittle.
6. Condition lightly. A thin coat, rubbed in and buffed off. Too much and the edges won't burnish and the ends go soft in the clasp.

Don't sand out marks or scratches. They're the reason the collar is worth keeping.

Plan and cut

There's one collar and no spare. Measure twice. Then once more.

7. Measure the wrist. Wrap string round the wrist bone, mark where it meets and lay it flat on a ruler. Work out the strip length from the table above, with the clasp in your hand.
8. Pick the section. Lay the collar grain side up and find the run you want on the wrist. It doesn't have to be the cleanest bit. A worn patch where the lead clipped on can be the best part. Avoid old holes landing in the middle of the top of the wrist.
9. Mark and cut. Square both ends with a straight edge, then cut. Cut it down to 12 mm wide, taking it from the middle of the collar so both edges come out even.
10. Shape the ends. Leave them square. They go into the clasp caps, so they need to sit flat against the back of each cap.
11. Keep the offcuts. There's often enough for a keyring, especially from the buckle end. Worth offering.

Any old holes left in the strip can stay as they are. Burnish inside them so they look finished, not damaged.

Edges and clasp

12. Bevel the edges. Both long edges are freshly cut now, so bevel them evenly. Stop just short of each end, where the leather goes into the cap.
13. Dye and burnish. Edge dye first, matched to the collar. Let it dry, then burnishing compound and the slicker until it shines. New edges next to old leather can look too fresh, so take the dye a touch darker if in doubt.
14. Dry-fit the clasp. Push each end into its cap without glue. It should be snug. If it's too tight, skive a little off the flesh side at the very end. Test this on the scrap first.
15. Check the length. With both ends in and the clasp closed, try it round the wrist, or round a tube of the same size. Trim now if it needs it. After the glue it's too late.
16. Glue the ends in. A small amount of epoxy in each cap, push the leather fully home and wipe off any squeeze-out straight away. Lay it flat and leave it to cure fully.
17. Check the closure. Once cured, pull hard on each end. Nothing should move. Open and close it ten times.

Final checks and care

• It fits with a finger's width of room, not tight against the wrist bone
• The clasp closes cleanly and stays shut when the wrist bends
• No cracks opened up during cutting or fitting
• All edges are smooth, including inside any old holes
• The collar's hardware and any offcuts go back to the owner

Care notes to pass on: it's old leather, so it's already done most of its softening. Keep it out of water where you can. If it gets wet, let it dry on its own, away from heat. A thin coat of conditioner every few months stops it drying out. The marks will keep building up. That's fine.

Rather I made it?

If you've got an old collar, lead or strap and would rather not take a knife to it yourself, get in touch through my bespoke projects page.