Dog Rope Toy to Boho Container

3 Materials
$2
30 Minutes
Easy

So strolling through Dollar Tree, I ran across this cotton multicolored rope toy for dogs. I bought it thinking it would make really pretty rope handles for some project someday. By the time I got home, I had a whole new idea for Fido’s toy.

Dog rope toy before unknotting it

Best dog toy rope!

Make your own boho decor with these best dog toy ropes that Amazon reviewers swear by!


I started by trying to unknot it. Funny, because my dog could have probably figured that part out before I did. Apparently it’s knotted pretty tightly. I grabbed a letter opener( a butter knife would also work) and wedged it under a knot and started wiggling it around until I could actually loosen a knot. I continued to unknot the whole thing.

I think my dog would have liked a go at this

Once I got the end unknotted, the cotton rope began to unbraid itself . Not wishing for this to happen, I folded the unraveling part & put a rubberband around the end to keep it from unraveling too much. Once the dog toy was totally unknotted and both loose ends rubberbanded down, I got to work on my idea gluing the rope into a circle. ( My original idea was to make coasters) I quickly went from trying to make coasters, to deciding a little bowl thing would be fun to make instead.

Coaster attempt- not working

I started coiling the rope to form a round coaster. Although it was taking a round shape, the middle of it made it kind of bumpy and I wasn’t comfortable putting a glass on it to use as a coaster. However, I thought it would make a great bottom for a small bowl type of thing. So I kept going and decided to start gluing the coil to itself and going upwards. The bowl was beginning to take shape.

Starting of my rope “ bowl”

Realizing I wasn’t going to get a very big bowl out of my 7 feet of rope, I changed my plan yet again. It was now going to become like a drink cozy thing or plant holder or whatever. I continued coiling and hot gluing every inch or so in an upwards fashion.

I’m liking this so far

I continued coiling and gluing until I was pretty much at the end of my rope. ( pun intended)

Almost out of rope.

When I got to the end, I still had that frayed rope issue going on.

Frayed rope end

This fraying wouldn’t do, so I twisted it, glued down what I could and cut the rest off to use for the top of my rope container.

Frayed part to use

Next, I unraveled the scraps of frayed rope I cut off and ended up with some fluffy rope bits. Those got hot glued on to the top of my rope container for a finishing touch.

Using all of the scraps

Once everything was attached and fluffed out a little on top, I dripped some hot glue into the rope container to kinda keep the bottom from coming undone.

I went from making boho coasters- to a boho bowl to a boho container. It’s all a learning process. The rope container can now be used to hold pencils and art tools, TV remotes or even to use for a plant. If you use it to hold a plant, be sure to line it with a plastic bag or plastic cup first.

Loving my rope cup/container thingie

I sure hope you enjoyed seeing how a dog rope toy from Dollar Tree became a soft sided pencil holder. The particular rope toy I used had 7 feet of rope once it was all unknotted. It made a rope container that is about 3” in diameter on bottom, stands about 4.5” high and has about a 4.5” opening at the top.

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  • Judith Judith on Apr 06, 2023

    I too like that dog toy rope. I think it would make a beautiful macrame plant hanger !

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