December sewing project: vintage horse floor toy (Style 4351)

One of my best friends had an adorable wee boy last year and I wanted to sew him something special this Christmas, to solidify my self-appointed title of Favourite Aunt. When Kerry of @kestrelmakes posted a picture of her kids' most loved toy, this incredible blue horse that she had made 5yrs previously, I knew it would be perfect for the boybie in mind. Kerry very kindly lent me her copy of the pattern, Style 4351, to trace and return because it dates from 1973 and isn't the easiest to find online. The pattern includes a camel, elephant and horse and I must admit, I was lazy and only traced the horse. If I make this for future kidlets, I think it'll only ever be the horse I'll be fussed about making.

I used some deadstock wool from my shop for the body, mane and tail, with a second wool for the contrasting colours. The blanket was an additional extra I created, so when the saddle is removed (I added velcro to stop it sliding around when little toddler legs are trying to get on and off) to put the horse to bed, the blanket can go on. Or if the Bean wants to ride bareback I guess.

The bridle was my pride and joy, I loosely followed the instructions and used old key ring circles for the connecting loops. All in all, this project took about 3 evenings, so was surprisingly quick for something that looks (in my very honest opinion) pretty bloody awesome.

I stuffed it full of jersey scraps and offcuts from the shop, a very satisfying and practical way to use up all your remnants and lends a nice heft to the final pony. It weighed in at an impressive 12.7kg when I was finished, about 2/3rds the size of Badger, the smaller of my two dogs.

Sewing up the hole was a bit of a challenge, the loose weave of the wool was determined to shred under my needle and I'd purposefully overstuffed it, to prevent it sagging the moment a solid little person sat astride. There was a decent amount of sweat and swear words that went into sewing up that hole, more than I've ever used for sewing up a real animal. I’m so pleased with the final horse though, his new owner has named her Nutmeg and I hope she’s a companion for many years to come.