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Having a puppy means a whole new routine. Seriously. In the first few weeks, it was like having a newborn but harder. I mean, it was the same midnight potty breaks, except she could run away from you and pee in the corner when you tried to put on the leash.

But as she’s grown, we’ve all settled into an easy routine, our collective favorite part being our nightly walk around the block (with my 5 year old, of course). We always stop to play with the neighbors and their kids & puppies, and really, it’s helped us get to know our neighborhood. She’s opened our horizons and helped us connect with new people, not to mention that she’s made it really easy to make new friends. It’s really improved our life to not only have her in our home, but to give us a greater feeling of belonging in our new community.

Of course, this walk comes after dinner time when Bug and I settle in for a chat about our days while Ruthie digs in on her Puppy Chow. I love it because it’s made by dog lovers, for dog lovers, with all the nutrients my puppers needs to grow (21g of protein per cup – it’s a lot). It’s also really easy to find (we get ours at Target), so we never have to worry about the panic of not being able to find her fave food and the resulting messes in the days following. Seriously, it’s a thing.

With Halloween approaching, I’ve wanted to make sure we include her in the festivities, even if it’s just on our walks. See, my puppy’s name is Ruth Bader Ginsbark. I know, it’s super nerdy, but when we first got Ruthie, she just had that spunk and sass, and it just felt right to name her after the Notorious RBG (aka Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg). Needless to say, her Halloween costume was easy to choose.

I know, it seems ambitious, but my abuelita would make us costumes as kids, and she even tried to teach me how to sew (even though I was terrible at it – really, I look at sewing machines and they break in anticipation). However, she taught us a sense of industry and pride, and it’s a tradition I still like to honor – even for the puppy!

So I made her a jabot – the ruffly collar like Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is known to wear. While they can be sewn, I used a cool-temp hot glue gun because my ambition has its limits.

How to Make a Jabot

Supplies

• White Fabric (a square yard is more than enough)
• A Spool of Wide Lace Ribbon
• (optional) A Spool of 1/2″ Lace Ribbon
• Scissors
• Velcro
• A Cool Temp Hot Glue Gun (cool temp is important! You’ll be pressing ruffles with your fingers) -OR- A Sewing Machine & White Thread
•  Your Dog’s Collar (I chose black, because robes)

Instructions

1. Cut 4 pieces of fabric, one as long as you want your jabot to be (your base), the next being about 2 inches shorter than the base (your backing), and the last 2 being half that length (your flaps). I laid them over each other to JUST cover the top of the ribbon below it (ya know, to hide any flaws).
   
   
2. “Hem” the largest piece so the top is narrower than the bottom. This will be your base.
   
   
   
3. Cut a length of lace ribbon and glue it or sew it to the bottom of the wider end of the first piece. It will be the base that hides the plain fabric below. FANCY!
   
4. You’ll come back to this step a couple more times. Cut a length of ribbon about twice the length of the section you’re working on. Place a dot of glue about the ribbon’s width from the bottom of the piece, and place the ribbon down on it. Place the next dot about a half inch over, then pinch your ribbon down to make a ruffle.
   
   
   
5. Wrap the ribbon around the back of the base and secure it with a dab of glue. If you’re sewing, you’ll wrap it around before the previous step and just sew straight across to secure the back as well.

   At this point, it should look like this:

   

6. Hem the next piece, then glue it onto the base – don’t shape it yet! (Unless you’re sewing it, then wrap it around the stitch straight across.)
   
   
7. Repeat step 4 on this piece.
8. Flip the whole thing over and wrap the fabric and lace around the back, then glue it down to seal it in place and keep the flapping to a minimum.
   
   
9. Repeat steps 6-8; it should look like this when you’re (almost) done.
10. Finish the top with a length of ribbon laid flat. If you still have additional space between the lace ribbons and the edge of the top piece of fabric, you can add another flat length of ribbon.
    
    
11. “Hem” the backing, making sure the shape approximately matches the shape of the base of your jabot. Glue it down on the back of your base, covering the lace edges so they won’t lift. CLEVER, RIGHT?!
    
    
12. With the jabot face-down, place your collar across the top of the backing. Fold the remaining top flap over to approximate placement for your velcro strips. (Yeaahhh, you can measure, but ya know.) Place your velcro at the edge of the top flap, and place the opposing velcro strip on the backing.

    

    

    

    

That’s it! You did it!

I’ll be most excited by the people who get the reference, and I also love that this tutorial can be applied to a simple necklace or choker if you happen to want to dress up as the Notorious RBG yourself.

If you love Dog Chow (or Puppy Chow) and adorable pictures of other people’s pups in costumes as much as we do, make sure to follow them with #ThrowItBarkDogChow or on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and/or YouTube.

Purina is giving away five year’s long supplies of Dog Chow from Target! Enter for your chance to win one of these fabulous prizes for you and your furry best friend!
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