Making a Flat Leather Collar Step by Step

This is a plain buckle collar with a D-ring. The steps below follow The Leather Guy's order: set the hardware first, then trim the strap to length, then punch the buckle holes. Tandy's project does it differently. It cuts the straps to length at the start with an end punch, and punches the hardware holes to a pattern.¹ Pick one order and stay with it. Read both sources if something here is unclear. Tandy's order for the edges is also different: it skives, bevels, dyes and finishes, does the edge work, and installs the D-rings, rivets and burrs last.¹ This page sets the hardware first because it follows The Leather Guy, then bevels. That order comes from combining the two sources and is not Tandy's. If you want Tandy's order, bevel and finish the edges before step 5. Sort out the neck size first on the sizing page. Then begin.

Before you start

Blades, punches and finishes can all hurt. Follow the label and the safety data sheet for every dye, solvent and finish, and read it before you open the tin. A safety data sheet may include instructions for the safe use of a material and the hazards that come with it.² Work with fresh air moving through the room. Don't rush. Keep blades and solvents away from children.

Tools and parts

• A strap of leather, a buckle and a D-ring.³
• A scratch awl, punches and a rivet setter.¹
• Rivets with matching burrs.¹
• An edge beveler, a tool that rounds off the sharp corner of a cut edge.¹

Steps

1. Plan the hardware fold. Run the strap through the buckle to see where the D-ring and rivets will sit. One maker pulled through about two inches of leather to make room for all the hardware.³
2. Mark the holes. Mark them with the scratch awl.¹ Pencil or marker also works, as the other maker shows.³
3. Punch the hardware holes. Punch the holes for the rivets, fold the strap back over, mark the holes on the back and punch those too.³
4. Thin the fold. On the back of the strap, skive the marked areas to about half the depth of the leather.¹ Skiving means shaving leather thinner.
5. Set the D-ring and rivets. Fold the strap, sandwich the ring between the layers, and set the rivet nearest the buckle first.³ Install the rivets with the posts facing the outside of the collar.¹
6. Trim to length. With the buckle and ring set, work out how long the collar should be, using the dog or a collar you know fits. Then trim the strap.³
7. Punch the buckle holes. Cut a paper template the same width as the strap, mark a line down the centre, and punch through it.³ Set the first hole in from the end of the strap by one to two inches, and space the others half an inch apart.³
8. Shape the end. One maker rounded the end of the collar for a softer look, and says squared looks fine too.³
9. Bevel the edges. Bevel the top and bottom of the strap.¹ Tandy does this before installing the hardware, so bevelling here, after the rivets are set, is this page's own combination of the two sources. Take care around the hardware. For dyeing and edge work, see the edge guide.

Stitching

Neither project above needs thread, because the rivets hold the fold. If you'd like stitching as well, read Stitching a Collar or Lead by Hand.

Check it before use

Fit the collar on the dog and run the two-finger check from the measuring page. Then pull on the D-ring and look at each rivet. Tandy's own pattern puts the testing on you. Its note says the maker must test the hardware and the finished collar for pet safety.¹