Yeah, you read that right. Glamorous hobby horse. You may laugh, but take a look at this awesomeness:
Awwwww yeah! She’s so pwetty. I wish I had some awesome pics taken outside with a little tyke enjoying her new friend, but alas, this is a Christmas gift, so these pics of the poor horse propped up with my feet while I click away quickly (hiding upstairs while my daughter watches Dora downstairs) will have to suffice. 🙂
If you follow my blog, you might remember the hobby horse I linked to in my 25+ Gifts for Boys Round-up. That hobby horse by Dandee Designs really lit the fire for me. I was hoping to find a cute girly hobby horse or unicorn or something and kept browsing Pinterest and Google, and I found another good hobby horse tutorial! This one is from Family Fun:
The two tutorials are pretty much identical, and while I like the concept, the lazy mom in me kept saying, “I REALLY don’t want to cut and thread a million pieces of yarn!!” So I kept brainstorming for something else to use as hair. What better way to get my creative juices flowing than to clean!! Yippee!! (where’s that sarcasm font when I need it?)
But this time it really worked! I picked up one of the 1500 feather boas we have in our playroom and was like, “LIIIIIIGHT. BULB.” (in my best Gru voice) HAIR!!!
So please feel free to use either Dandee’s tutorial or the Family Fun one, and I’ll fill you in on the differences I did.
Supplies for my Girly Hobby Horse:
-1 fluffy sock – These fuzzy socks found on Amazon
are less than $3 for a pair
-Filling of some kind (I used an old pillow’s guts)
-Googley eyes – This multi-pack found on Amazon
is $5 for 120
-Eyelashes (found at Dollar Tree in make-up section)
-Glitter foam or felt for ears (found my glitter foam at Dollar Tree in craft section)
-Hot glue
-Yarn (for nostrils, bridle, and to attach reigns)
-Yarn needle – found mine at Walmart near yarn — who knew? 😉
-Regular needle and thread (to attach feather boa)
-Feather boa – mine was about 60″, and This $2 one 
found on Amazon is the cheapest one I’ve found
-Wooden dowel (I used what I had on hand, and I think it’s a bit small. I would recommend about 3/4″ wide and cut it to 2.5′ long)
-Beaded necklace (Dollar Tree has a pack of 10 for $1)
Like any obsessive crafter, I had all these supplies on hand except the fluffy sock. Here’s my fluffy sock. It looks sparkly. I’ve seen other fluffy socks at the Dollar Tree, but this one is like snow. I love it.
Follow their directions and fill the end of the sock first.
Then thread your yarn needle and make a couple of nostrils.
I used the googley eyes and eyelashes from one of our two FLAMINGO COSTUMES since I knew they probably wouldn’t be needing two of the costumes at once again. One glamorous flamingo is sufficient. I also used the glittery beak as the ears. I set my eyes back 5″ from the front. My first instinct was to have them set back farther, and no one really explained where to put them. I decided to check with the “mane” on, and I definitely needed more space for the coiffure.
Bust out your 5th grade skills and trace out some ears. Then cut them out and pray it doesn’t look like a demented rabbit.
Pinch each ear together in the center and hot glue it. Don’t glue too far down the sides. You don’t want it closed completely…just a nice center crease.
Since the foam is stiffer than felt, I propped mine straight up and just stitched straight through the foam and then went back down through the sock. The fluffiness of the sock meant that I could be a little sloppy. He he
Plus I knew the mane would be covering it…
I tried braiding a few pieces of yarn for the bridle but decided I liked the simple elegance of four pieces of yarn next to each other. I believe I started with 15″ pieces and then trimmed down. I hot glued them right to the sock (underneath the chin to keep it more hidden).
Make sure your lines are nice and straight and not crossed over each other and then glue the second end on top of the first and cut your ends, so they’re nice and straight.
Our beaded necklace was 30″ long once I cut it. And I just whip stitched it right to the face. Don’t be scared if she whinnies a little. Just assure her that lots of women go under the knife for vanity’s sake. ((cough cough))
I opted for the yarn to attach mine since I knew my kids would probably be using the reigns to drag it around everywhere. I stitched between beads 1&2, 2&3, and 3&4.
For the mane, I took one 60″ feather boa and cut it in half. I laid the two pieces next to each other and folded the one on the right down to the right until the top side was almost lined up with the bottom.
Then I took the piece on the left and also folded it down to the right like a rainbow on top of the first piece. I made them cascade down, so the top piece was the shortest, and it got longer from there.
Then I pinched it at the top where the two pieces met and then whip stitched that one spot right behind the ears. That way she can change her hairstyle as she pleases. She’s going for the “bangs in the eyes” look today. 😉
And OF COURSE she needed a flower in her mane and a ribbon around her neck!
I made this for my 2-year-old, but I’m debating whether or not to make them for my older daughters as well…I think they might have just as much fun as the little one! Plus now that I’ve got it down, they’ll only take me about 20 minutes ANNND I’ve got that one lonely sock laying around now…
I think the fact that her mane is a feather boa might also qualify her as part pegasus. So magical powers are sure to be part of this horsey’s future…
Aloha,
Charlie
I wish I could have been this creative when my children were younger. This is so darn cute!
Oh my, this is stinkin' adorable! My daughter would absolutely FLIP OUT! I'd be thrilled if you came to link this up to the Head to Head Showdown, going on right now at http://www.icantstopcrafting.blogspot.com ~Jen
This is adorable! My daughter would LOVE this! I am SO pinning this and one of these days, I'm making this! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Love this! I love the boa for the mane, it's perfect!
This is so cute! I kind of want to make a boy version for my nephews.
So stinking cute!!! Totally wish I needed to make one of these 🙂 The little girls I know are all the wrong ages. I'll have to keep this one in mind when some of the younger ones get a little older. Thanks for the tutorial!!
This turned out so cute. What little girl wouldn't love this. Thanks for sharing. I would love it if you could link this up to our linky party going on right now.
http://junkintheirtrunk.blogspot.com/2011/11/link-it-up-wednesday-5.html
This is awesome. I have been wanting to make my niece a hobby horse, but have been a little dry in ideas!!! I love the boa hair!!
Terri
http://www.beyond-relevance.com
This is great!
http://www.mychristian-life.blogspot.com
That is the cutest horse I have ever seen! Your daughter will love it! Thanks so much for your nice comments!
I might make this and add a foam horn and tun her into a unicorn! Super fun!
Oh my GOODNESS! She is so cute! And beautiful! I love her long lashes…how adorable.
Oh my goodness! I love it! Ha, I think even I would want to play with it!
Aloha! In the blogger maze, I found your site! Actually, found it on TheHive! I am an Oahuan born and raised, but now live in Volcano. Run a vintage shop on etsy and "attempt" art which I have on my handmade shop, also on etsy. Also head the Team Hilo Etsy! So glad to have found you, will keep peeking in! I will be on Oahu for Christmas, looking forward to Honolulu City Lights! Aloha, Connie
That is too cute! I know a couple of girls who would die happy if they each had a stick horse like this!
I love this! My daughter would too! Thanks for sharing! I'm your newest follower!!
This is absolutely awesome, love your girly approach ;-)!
The feather boa mane, the eye lashes, the glitter ears, Oh!! I think this is the most darling handmade thing I've seen so far this season! Thanks so much for sharing her with us 🙂
this is seriously the cutest thing I've seen in a while! LOVE IT!!! My daughter would be all over this!!!
evie @ brown paper packages
This is just too darn cute, I'd love one for myself! lol
Oh CRAP!! You know I'm soooo going to have to make this now – like I need another project to add to my Christmas list! ; )
But this is so stinkin cute & it will go perfectly with the dress up set I'm making for my 4 year old goddaughter…..I just have to bite the bullet & give it a go. Thank you for the easy step-by-step instructions. Can't wait to see how it turns out!!
This is so cute! Thanks for the great tutorial with all the pictures!
I would love for you to link up on Blog Stalking Thursday! http://thecraftyblogstalker.blogspot.com/2011/12/blog-stalking-thursday-19.html
I love this! I'm making one for my lil one. Question how do you keep the dowel on? Do you sew it up with the sock? Does it stay?
This is absolutely adorable!!!!
Just stopping by to let you know that I've featured your craft on Family Fun Crafts! You can see it here:
http://funfamilycrafts.com/glamorous-hobby-horse/
If you have other kid friendly crafts, I'd love it if you would submit them. 🙂 If you would like to display a
featured button on your site, you can grab one from the right side bar of your post above.
YOU JUST SAVED MY 4 YEAR OLD BIRTHDAY PARTY!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! and yes i am doing the HAPPY jumping up and down dance.
good work
Absolutely beautiful. I am going to attempt to make to give as favors at my daughters birthday party. The three will be Princesses and Knights. Thanks!
I'm working on mine right now and I was wondering how you got the dowel rod to stay in the sock with out coming out the end?
I was wondering the same- how did you attach the sock to the dowel?
Sorry if that was unclear. At the beginning of the post, I referenced the other two more masculine hobby horses from Dandee Designs and Family Fun Magazine and said to use their tutorials on getting the horse started. I actually ended up using high-heat hot glue on the inside of mine and just squished the sock really tight to the dowel. Then I tied the yard around the outside for decoration/accessory. 😉 It's taken a year's worth of beatings from many 2-8 year olds, and it's still as strong as the day I made it!
Hope that helps,
Charlie
I finished mine last night and my daughter will be getting it for Christmas 😀 To attach the dowel i used my dremel trio and routed a groove big enough for a ziptie where I wanted the sock to be attached. It holds nicely and I just tied the bow over it. Thanks for the great idea! Click my name for the link to my horse.
That's darling, Stacey! I love that you were even able to find the same fluffy white sock! Can I post your pic on my "Your Aloha" page?
This is so, so cute!! I'm doing a roundup of crafts that you can make for Christmas gifts and would love to include this if it's okay with you!
Does anyone have any advisebas to how I secure the stick?
This is absolutely adorable. Nice work, my daughter would LOVE this!