How to make a dog Santa sack

On Christmas morning everyone else gets to wake up to a stocking full of goodies – so why should your furry friend miss out? We're designing them a special bone-shaped stocking. First, draw the shape you want on a piece of cardboard, then grab some scissors and cut it out.

After you've made your pattern, get some hessian, fold it in half, and trace around it. Once you've done this, use a pair of scissors to cut the shape.

Once you've got your shape, fold your top piece away from the bottom piece, so when you glue it together, the edges match up. Wear gloves for this bit – craft glue is tacky! Glue around the edges, but leave an opening at one end so you can get your goodies in and out. 

Grab your top piece and adhere it to the bottom piece of hessian. When the glue is first applied it goes on white, but don't stress – it dries clear. Hessian fabrics have a tendency to fray, so you may want to pop some glue around your top edges to prevent them fraying – use your cardboard again to prevent the top bits from sticking together. Wait for your glue to dry.

We're making our dog feel special by using wooden letters to spell out their name. We chose festive red and greens in the British Paints Spray Easy range and applied the colours to the letters in long, even strokes about 20cm from the can to the letters. Don't forget to use a mask if you're spraying – and make sure you have a drop sheet or newspaper down. Once your letters are dry, you're ready to glue them onto the front of your stocking – use a piece of cardboard inside the sack to make sure you don't glue everything together.