Stick Horse

by Light Blue Grey                  

Tutorial - Here is the timeless, trusty stick horse. It’s 100 percent customizable to your preferences, and can be made out of as many recycled materials as you can gather up!

Get started making this DIY stick horse tutorial from blogger/crafter lightbluegrey.

lightbluegrey stick horse tutorial (in her own words):
This is what you need to make one of them

1. (old) sock, big mensize
2. 2 buttons in a bright color
3. 2 small (black) buttons
4. quite a lot polyether stuffing
5. strong white thread
6. strong dark thread
7. extra long needle
8. normal needle
9. thick woolen yarn for the manes
10. leftover wool to embroider
11. cotton rope to secure the sock to the stick
12. piece of (imitation) leather or about 1 meter of leather strip 2,5 cm wide
13. about 1 meter of thick natural or polyester rope for the rein
14. felt for the ears
15. punch to make holes in the leather strip
16. 2 key rings diameter 3,5 cm
17. 2 bells
18. (old) broomstick (not pictured).
19.  

Get started
Cut the broomstick, not on the rounded side, to the desired length.
Make a ridge on a distance of 30 cm from the cutted top.
Fill the sock with stuffing.
Attach the manes, starting from the heel of the sock, down to the opening for about 15 cm.
Tie up with double knots.
Be sure to attach the manes in a row close to each other.
Attach the eyes, take care to attach them symmetrically.
Take a long and strong white thread, make a knot and start on the spot of eye 1.
Go with the long needle to the other side, attach with a normal needle a colored button and a small button on top (eye 2) and go backwards to the knot.
Attach eye 1 the same way and go back. Attach eye 2 for a second time and go back.
Attach eye 1 for a second time, finishing with a knot under the button.
Cut.

Make the mouth.
Take a long and strong dark thread.
Go with your long needle right through the sock, go again in the same direction through the sock on the same spot , then again for a third time.
Pull for shaping a mouth and make a secure knot.
When finished just rotate the thread in order to vanish the knot from sight.
The knot is now into the sock.
Pull the mouth a bit down to get a better result.
Cut quarter circles of felt, taking two colors and two different diameters, in my case 18 and 14 cm.
Fold and stitch across to shape an ear.
Attach the ears to the sock, be sure to do this symmetrically.
Cut with a metal ruler a leather strip of 2,5 cm wide, 1 meter long.
Hold the key rings on both sides of the head and measure the length needed for the top strip, which is about as long as the under strip.
Cut top and under strip 5 cm longer than measured.
If you like to, you can punch holes in the top strip to embroider a name afterwards.
Attach bells to the key rings.
Attach top and under strip to the key rings, by sewing a cross with the strong dark thread.
Put it on.
Measure from one key ring, down to the lower side of the manes, back to the other key ring.
Cut a third strip 5 cm longer than measured (in my case 50 cm).
Attach this strip the same way to the key rings and under the lower side of the manes.
The manes will hang over this attachment.
Attach rein to the bridle.


Put the stick into the sock, right up to the sock’s heel.
If needed add more stuffing.
Go with a needle and the strong dark thread about 2 cm from the opening of the sock.
Turn around the stick a few times, securing the thread through the ridge.
Go back to the outside of the sock again, turn around the sock a few times and tie securely.
Tie now (on top of the dark thread) with the cotton rope like in the picture, starting by turning around over the beginning of the rope as tight as possible and ending by pulling the rope with the long needle under all strings.
Cut.

Lightbluegrey is a mother of two from The Netherlands, who loves to create handmade treasures for her children and home in her spare time.  To see more of her handmade creations and musings, visit her blog.