Macrame "survival bracelets" and dog collars

So these survival bracelets are all the rage lately.  I hear it's a military thing... basically you use paracord (it's a relatively expensive special kind of cord that has 7 little pieces of string inside it and it's very durable).  You "melt" the ends to secure ends together or two colors together.  People supposedly wear them to "survive" should they get stuck somewhere undesirable.  I guess you take them apart to fish or whatever....not so much for me.....I'd probably die in a situation where all I had to survive was a couple feet of string.....  unless I had a bow and arrow then I'd go all Katniss Everdeen and shoot my dinner and live the high life.  Anyway....back to the bracelets.  So all my coworkers wear these and some of them make them.  One was nice enough to give me a tutorial.  It was super easy for me to pick up, since I already knew how to macrame.  I don't have step by step pictures, but if you don't know how to macrame, youtube videos could do much better explaining it than I ever could.  So I got to thinking, if I can make a bracelet, why not make dog collars.  So I went and bought some supplies (I found the cord by the foot at the hardware store but they also sell it online).  Through some trial and error with how much cord to use, I figured it out.  You need about 1 foot of cord for every 1 inch of bracelet/collar you want.  You will also need the plastic buckles (also found at the hardware store or online), a lighter and scissors. The cord I bought was cheaper the more you purchased.  By the foot it was 10 cents per foot.  If you bought the 50 foot bundle, it was $4.  if you bought 100 feet it was $8.  online, depending on shipping, it was a little cheaper.  The buckles were 90 cents each or 8 for $3 at the store.  The more you bought the cheaper they were and a lot cheaper online.  So I guess it would depend on how many you are planning to make whether you just buy a few or whether you buy in bulk on line.  The store I bought my supplies at were selling finished bracelets for $6 (they would cost about $1.25 average to make) and I now see that's about the going price for them.  (and they take all of 5 minutes to make).

Some hints.....since they don't stretch, your measurements need to be relatively on target for whatever item you are making.  I've made a few so far....and although I don't particularly like wearing the bracelets (they are kind of bulky) the dogs seem to tolerate the collars just like any other collar and they are super cute and durable! (and a lot cheaper to make than similar store bought collars!) You can make in a variety of colors or even mix colors.  Plus, if you and your dog ever get stranded in the wild, you can "survive". :)