Hobby Horse

Trot trot to Boston, 
Trot trot to Lynn.

Trot trot to Salem, 
And home again!

My older son received a hobby horse for his third birthday. We named the horse Trusty, and for several happy years they galloped together near and far. Then Trusty retired to a closet.  Two days ago, I realized that my wee Bloom was the perfect age for a hobby horse and so Trusty came out of retirement. He was taken for a gleeful gallop through the house, but I quickly realized that Trusty needed a companion.  It's much more fun to go for a gallop with a friend (or older brother or mama) at your side.

 

Not wanting to lay out money to buy a new horse (a fine stallion, after all, can cost a pretty penny), I grabbed an old broomstick, some felt, some stuffing, my sewing machine, needle, thread and a glue gun.

 

A few hours later, Trusty had a new companion -- a handsome fellow named Ed to gallop at his side.

My pattern was not fancy (you can see it was cut from some scrappy drawing paper.)  I cut 2 of the main head pattern piece, 2 small ears, 1 gusset (the piece which is pointed at the top), and a 3" x 12" rectangle for the hair.

I stitched in the gusset from the chin down to the neck and then sewed over the top & back of the head with the hair sandwiched between.

Cut the hair into fringes, appliqued eyes and stitched on the ears... Stuffed the front of the head, inserted the broomstick and stuffed the neck around the stick. Used hot-glue to attach the bottom of the neck to the broomstick and finally, cut a wide strip of felt and hot-glued it around the base of the neck.

And then our new friend Ed was ready for a ride!!

For inspiration, I found a number of tutorials online. One of my favorites was this one here at Pink Stripy Socks -- a hobby horse made from a hocky stick (and there is a also a dragon design... brilliant!!)

My other favorite tutorial was for these sweet hobby horses at the blog Light Blue Grey.  I love their button eyes and irresistible grins!

Giddy-up!