Fleece Hobby Horse

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• Fleece Hobby Horse Pattern
• Fleece, 1/2yd
• 4 1/2" Tassel Yarn Trim, 1yd
• Painter’s Tape
• 24mm Safety Eyes, 2
• Poly-Fil, 32 oz Bag
• 1" Dowel Rod, 3ft
• Waxed Button Thread
• 2" Trim, 1 yd
• 2" D-rings, 2
• 5mm Cotton Cord, 1 1/2yds
• Super Glue
• Fray Check Liquid Seam Sealant
• Basic Sewing Supplies

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut the pattern pieces out of the Fleece: 2 Head pieces, 2 Ear pieces, 1 Long Rectangular Center piece. Plus cut one circle about 10" in diameter (this will be stuffed and used to create a sort of internal anchor for the dowel rod later.)
2. Fold the curved edges of the ears in so that they overlap eachother, and baste in place.
3. Lay the two head pieces out so that they are mirror images of eachother, and line up the bottom of an ear with the cut slit at the top of the horse’s head. (The tip of the ear should be pointing towards the nose, the front of the ear should be facedown against the head.)
4. Fold the head vertically to line up the slit edges and trap the ear in between. Pin and sew a dart at the cut edge. Start with about a 3/8" seam allowance and taper to a point just past the end of the ear. Unfold and repeat on the other piece.
5. Place your tassel yarn trim in place on the right side of the head, starting about an inch in front of the ear and taking it all the way down to the bottom edge. (Line it up so that the yarn is just as you want to see it in the end. Place the knots of the tassels just off the edge of the fleece. You will trim it off after its sewn.) Use painter’s tape to tape the yarn in place. With a zipper foot, baste the yarn in place. Check to make sure that all the yarn has been basted along the edge of the fleece, then cut off the excess trim starting at the tassel knots. Keep the yarn taped in place and repeat the process on the other piece.
6. Take the point of the long, rectangular center piece and line it up at the top of the head piece, starting just in front of the ear. Line up the edges of the head and center pieces, right sides together, pin in place, and sew with a 3/8" seam allowance. Trim any excess off the bottom of the center piece. Then, go around and cut little triangles into the seam allowance at the curves, cutting a lot of little triangles in the seam allowance around the nose, to help those curved seams lie flat. Repeat the process for the remaining head piece and the other edge of the center piece. After cutting the triangles into the seam allowance of the sescond piece, trm the seam at the top point where the three pieces come together.
7. On the inside, pin the ears down away from the edge. Then turn the head back so its again right sides together, and pin the remaining long edge together, and sew in place with a 3/8" seam allowance.
8. Turn right side out and determine eye placement by stuffing the head with Poly-fil until about the ear, no need to stuff the whole thing. Suggested placement is about an inch in from the ear at about a 45-degree angle. Mark and repeat for the other side. Make a little hole on the mark with an awl and push the end of the safety eye through the hole, securing inside with the provided washer. Repeat for the other side.
9. Set head aside and create the anchoring piece on the dowel rod - this piece will look like a little fleece ball secured on the top of the dowel rod and it will keep the dowel rod firmly centered in the horse’s head.
10. Draw a line around the top of the dowel rod 2" in. Use a handsaw or even just a box cutter to score a groove into that line. Then take a nice long piece of the waxed button thread and the 10" fleece circle and hand sew some long basting stitches about an inch in from the edge around the whole circle. The edge will begin to pull together as you go along. Keep enough of an opening so that you can stuff the little pouch full of Poly-fil until it makes a firm ball, Place the top of the dowel rod inside of the ball and pull the thread tight. Wrap the end of the thread around the groove in the rod and tie. Then, secure it further by taking the end of the button thread (at this point, if you need the thread to be longer, just knot a new long piece on) and wrap it up around a basting stitch, and back around the groove in the stick. Do this all the way around the ball, for about every other basting stitch on the ball. You will start to see the edge of the ball tighten around the dowel rod as you go. When you’ve finished securing the bottom edge, tie a knot and trim.
11. Place the anchoring piece inside of the horse’s head, and add Poly-fl around it until the neck is stuffed very full. Use the waxed button thread again to baste around the bottom edge of the horse’s neck and pull it as tight as possible, tie a knot, and trim. Trim any yarn off the very bottom edge as well. Tuck the raw edge to the inside of the horse’s head unti you can’t see the basted line anymore.
12. Finally, add the bridle and rope.
13. Wrap a 2" trim piece around the nose so that it overlaps at the bottom and pin in place. Use another 2" trim piece to connect the nose piece from one side to the other over the neck, trim it so that there is an inch of extra material on either side so that you can fold it over the nose piece. Slide a D-ring onto each end. Then fold the extra trim under the nose piece, and pin into place.
14. Unpin the bottom of the nose piece, and carefully slide off the two pinned-together sides. Sew the folded edge in place (note - if you are using a thick webbing you can skip sewing this fold and super glue it in place instead.) Then, with the zipper foot on your sewing machine, secure the D-ring in place by sewing a line on either side (about a 3/8" in from the inerior edge of the nose piece.)
15. Place the bridle back in place over the nose and neck, arrange it just as you’d like it and pin in place. Secure the bottom of the nose piece with super glue - glue one raw edge down, then glue a fold in place on the other, and glue over top the raw edge. Then carefully go around the bridle and super glue a few additional areas onto the horses head just to keep it securely in place.
16. Lastly, tie your cotton cord onto the D-ring. First make a loose knot, then dab super glue into the center of the knot, and pull it the rest of the way closed. Trim the excess cord at the end of the knot, and dab Fray Check onto it. Allow to dry.

JOANN HACKS:

• Begin sewing your fleece edges an inch in to keep your presser foot from bunching the fleece up at the edge. Go back and sew that open inch, sewing towards the edge.