Hobby Horses

As promised here's the how-to for the hobby horses I made for our cowboy play day. 

You will need:

1 large men's sock (I got mine at the Dollar Store)

fiberfill stuffing

rope or natural sisal

white felt for eyes

felt for ears

2 buttons for eyes

thick yarn

hot glue

3/4" dowel

First stuff the stock until firm working from the toe to  three inches from the top, stuffing a little at a time. Once stuffed, insert the dowel to the half-way point of the sock working the stuffing around the dowel. Bend the toe of the sock down to make a 90º angle. Use hot glue to secure the top of the sock to the dowel. Wrap the glued portion of the sock with the rope, hot glue to secure rope ends.

Next you will work on the bridle and reigns. Cut a 4 foot piece of rope. Wrap the middle around the top toe of the sock about 2 inches from the end. Wrap the ends around the loop you just made around the sock to bring the rope ends back to the dowel. Use duct tape to join the loose ends together and create the reigns.

For the eyes: Cut two round eyes out of the white felt. Make sure they are bigger than the buttons you have chosen. Sew one button to each piece of felt then hot glue the felt eye to the sock, about two inches from the bridle.
For the mane: thread a large needle with the thick yarn. Using a double thickness, starting on top of the head (an inch or two behind the eyes) pull all but six inches of the yarn through the sock. Measure and hold six inches on the other side of the head and thread the needle back through the sock. Continue this way, leaving six inches in each side, until you are happy with the amount the yarn for the mane. Once you have threaded all the yarn through the sock, snip all the yarn ends and tie each piece together at the top of the head. This will cover up the place where you did all your stitching and secure them to the sock.

Finally, to add ears, cut two ear shaped pieces out of felt or fleece. Run a 3/4 inch line of hot glue in the middle of the bottom and pinch the middle together. Then squeeze a line of hot glue along the whole bottom and attach to the sock between the eyes and the mane.

And that's it! Now you are ready to ride.

Everyone needs a trusty steed...

and a good hat. The dollar store hats I picked up are definitely a one size fits none. To solve that problem and to dress it up a bit I made a strap for the hat and a rope embellishment, which was kind of just to cover up the strap mechanics. Using an craft knife I cut a slit on either side of the hat and inserted a strand of thick yarn. Then I put both pieces of the yarn through a large bead and tied it off at the bottom. To tighten the hat and keep it from flying off just adjust the bead to right under your cowboy's chin. To let it rest behind him, just loosen the strap. I used the rope to cover the place the strap goes around the back of the hat. I think it makes it look a bit more authentic too.

Yee Haw, what a week. I hope that you enjoyed all my little cowboy party tips and tricks. It's so fun and easy to make dollar store stuff really work and look good. Have a great weekend!

- Haley