Love is in the air! Humphrey has a new neighbourhood puppy pal! No, we haven’t grown the furfamily, but you’ll see our new friend Cooper pop up sometimes on our Instagram during play dates. This DIY double loop dog tug toy might look a little unusual, but was created for function and fun. With two loops and two stick tugs, there are plenty of grab points and play options for multiple dogs and humans. Humphrey has even figured out how to play tug with himself by using a paw with one loop and his mouth with the other. Quite hilarious to watch. Oli and I have been in on the fun with Humphrey and Cooper, too. This toy has been working (playing) hard!
How to Make a DIY Double Loop Dog Tug Toy
Combining Weaving Patterns and Shapes
The spiral weave was used in making this DIY double loop dog tug toy. The pictured toy is made using two sets of four long strands (four blue, four pink) to create loops. These loops are then joined, and the strands split again into two sets of four (each set contains two pink, two blue) woven into the stick tugs and finished with tasselled end knots. It’s a bit like a double dose of our original single fleece loop tug toy.
If you’d prefer a double loop without the added stick tugs, check out our post on weaving a double (infinity) loop DIY dog tug toy or our slightly spiffier DIY split double loop dog tug toy for instead. For crazy loop and stick tug toy combos, read on!
Making a Combination Double Loop and Stick Tug Toy
DIY Double Loop Dog Tug Toy Materials
To create your own similar toy, you will need:
- Polar fleece or alternate fabrics
- Scissors
To weave a toy as shown, clean fabric is cut into eight (8) long narrow strips. I used two colours (blue and pink), with four strands of each colour. You can scale the tug toy to suit your dog and your materials by altering the width and/or length of the fleece strips. Fortunately, when making a tug with fleece there is no need to be too fussy about straight lines when cutting. Wonky wobbles are not a problem. Try to cut the strip widths in similar sizes, as best you can, for a consistent pattern though.
Weaving the Tug Toy
Detailed directions with photos and diagrams for weaving are available in our posts on basic weaving methods. The pictured toy uses a four-strand spiral weaving method (corner-to-corner circle twist). I think the rounded shape of a spiral weave is particularly nice in loops, and I like the spiralling colour effect on the sticks. You could use a square box knot weave instead, if you prefer.
Weaving the bodies of the loops:
- Start with four strands (one loop).
- Leave a generous amount of fleece at the starting point (this will be used for joining and in weaving the handles) and tie a temporary knot to create your starting point.
- Weave a straight length of tug using your preferred weaving style. As noted above, I used a spiral weave for this toy. Detailed instructions as well as additional diagrams and step-by-step photos for this weaving method are available in our comprehensive post on making spiral dog tug toys.
- Stop to leave a similar amount of free fleece at the finishing end. Tip: You can untie the temporary starting knot at any point after getting several layers into your weave to help judge your finishing point.
- Repeat with the other four strands to create a matching length of woven tug with free ends.
Joining to create the loops:
- Take one of your woven tug bodies and pull the loose ends together to form a loop.
- Carefully pair together the loose ends of your strands to create paired sets (four pairs of two). See the tips below on pairing.
- Weave a single knot using the paired strands to secure the closed loop.
- Repeat the same process with your other woven tug body to create the other loop.
Single colours, like my loops, are easy to close. It just takes a little bit of effort to line things up. If you are using multiple colours in your loops, try to align the tug colours as you position the loop closed. Pair with care so that your loop looks pretty when you tie it closed and the pattern isn’t unnecessarily disrupted, if possible.
Joining the loops together and weaving the stick tugs:
- Position the two loops so that the intersections are pressed together back-to-back.
- Position eight strands on each side. For strength of the joint (and looks, especially if using different colours as shown in this toy), it is best if there are four strands from each loop.
- Starting with one side, carefully group the eight strands into four pairs of two and position for weaving.
If your tug uses two or more colours of fleece, take care when you group and position strand colours for the prettiest result. If you’ve used differed colours on each of your loops, pairing two strands from each (two of one colour vertical, two of one colour horizontal) will create the type of spiralling colour shown here.
- Weave using your preferred weaving style until you are nearing the end of the strands. I used a spiral weave. Detailed instructions are available in our post on making spiral dog tug toys.
- Tie to secure, and (optional) trim the loose ends if/as necessary.
- Repeat on the opposite side to create the second handle.
Additional Toy Making Help and Information
As noted above, the detailed instructions for weaving spiral tug toys are available in our archives. Helpful information is also available in our tug toy FAQs, tips, and troubleshooting mini-series:
Safety first, furfriends! Remember, no matter what a toy is made of or how it’s made, toys are meant for supervised interactive play. Know your dog before giving him or her any new toy. Some dogs try to eat toys or parts (whether bought or handmade) and that’s doggone dangerous. Toys are for playing, and playtime is always safer (and more fun!) with you involved. You can read more in our dog toy safety post, including tips and helpful links for safer playtime. Have fun and play safe!
