Are y’all ready to learn how to make a DIY stick horse? This is the perfect tutorial for a gift for that special kid in your life. I think girls and boys alike would love these stick horses. I actually made a whole herd of them for a cowboy birthday party. Let’s get started on our sock stick horses.
This one was first posted April 2, 2013, however, I am republishing with more information.
Remember that stick horse you would play with as a kid? Well, thanks to some handy crafting, they are making a comeback for your boy or girl. These are so much fun for kids to play with indoors or out!
You could turn this craft into a farm or cowboy themed adventure! The new stick horse could even make his debut at the Wide West Puppet Theater or as a party favor for a farm-themed birthday.
Kids of all ages will love using their imagination to ride a cute horse and they are actually pretty easy to make yourself.
How to Make a Stick Horse
Even though this tutorial has several steps, these are easy and fun to make. Let the kid in your life choose his or her own sock color and yarn for their own style.
Supplies to Make a DIY Stick Horse
- Brown socks (I found mine in the men’s department at Walmart.)
- Faux leather fabric in black (I purchased one-yard cut of fabric. A 1/4 of a yard would have been plenty.)
- Suede lace (1/8 inch)
- Lion Brand Yarn, Barley
- Brass Plated Key Rings (2 per horse) (30 mm rings work best)
- 1″ Jingle Bells(2 per horse)
- 2 white and 2 black buttons per horse
- Brown felt
- Brown embroidery thread
- 2 1/2 inch Styrofoam ball
- Red plaid material or bandanna
- Hemp twine
- E6000 glue
- Fiberfill stuffing
- 5/8 inch dowel rod 36 inches long
You could even recycle an old sock into this fun craft. Just be sure to follow the instructions below. I think you could substitute a lot of the supplies actually. And if you don’t have things like the jingle bells, just leave them off!
Instructions for a DIY Stick Horse
Let’s start with the halter for our horse. Grab your brass plated key rings and jingle bells. Put the jingle bells on the key rings just like you would a key.
Cut your faux leather fabric into 1 inch strips. You will need two 5-inch long pieces and one 16-inch long piece.
With your sewing machine, use the zig zag stitch to attach the faux leather ends to the keyring as shown below.
After all the pieces have been sewn to both key rings, your halter should look like this:
To make the mane, cut several pieces of yarn into 9-inch pieces.
Then, mark your sock approximately 2 1/2 inches in front of the heel. This will be where the mane is attached.
Add fiberfill stuffing into the toe of the sock. Then, place the halter around what will be the horse’s head.
Continue adding more fiberfill to the sock, pushing the filling toward the end of the toe, until you reach that 2-1/2 inch mark.
Attach the mane and halter.
Using that same zig zag stitch, begin at your 2 1/2 inch mark. Fold each piece of yarn in half and sew the fold to the sock. Pull the sock tight as you go, slowly adding in yard mane pieces. Be sure to stretch and pull the sock as you sew.
At this point, the halter should fall right on the back of the heel of the sock. Then, sew the halter into the mane and continue sewing until you reach the ribs of the sock (or where the top of the ankle would be).
Add fiberfill until you reach the heel area of the sock. Then, add in your styrofoam ball.
Add more fiberfill UNDER the ball to make that area of your horse wider.
Continue adding fiberfill and work and shape your horse until he looks right. You can move the ball once inside the sock if you are not happy with the placement. It is looking a little like a horse now don’t ya think?
Now that you have a horse head, we can give him a haircut. You can keep your mane long, cut it short, whatever you think looks best.
Then, to add a lead rope, tie the suede cording to the keyring.
Leave a little room on the cording at the back of the head for a little hand to hold it. Then tie the opposite end to the other key ring.
It is time for the details! Use brown embroidery floss to go over the toe seam of your sock to make the mouth.
Sew one back button on top of a larger white button to make the perfect eye.
Cut ear shapes from brown felt then fold them in half and sew them to the head by hand.
To add the stick to the horse: Fold up the length of the sock as shown.
Then, insert your stick into the horse head and push it INTO the Styrofoam ball inside the sock. Make sure you press firmly and that the stick goes into the ball a few inches. Determine where you will tie your horse head into place. Use a pen to mark that approximate location.
Remove the stick and add E6000 glue to the marked area and the very tip of the dowel that will be in the head.
Insert the dowel back into the head and use hemp twine to tie the head firmly into place. Be sure to let the glue dry the recommended time on the packaging!
Tear your red checkered fabric into an 8-inch square then tie around your horse’s neck to hide your twine. You can also use a bandanna for this step if you would like.
Now, your horse is ready for a cowboy or cowgirl!
I kept on making and making until I had an entire herd of horses ready for a party.
So far so good on these horses. We have had the party and did not have any horse heads come off. I believe the E6000 is working but if you find it fails for you an alternate method for attaching the head may be in order.
Grab a pack of socks next time you are at Walmart and make your little buckaroo their own sock stick horse. This will provide hours of entertainment for your little one!
Supplies
- Brown socks I found mine in the men’s department at Walmart.
- Faux leather fabric in black I purchased one yard cut of fabric. A 1/4 of a yard would have been plenty.
- Suede lace 1/8 inch
- Lion Brand Yarn in Barley
- Brass Plated Keyrings 2 per horse (30 mm rings work best)
- 1 inch Jingle Bells 2 per horse
- 2 white and 2 black buttons per horse
- Brown felt
- Brown embroidery thread
- 2 1/2 inch Styrofoam ball
- Red plaid material or bandanna
- Hemp twine
- E6000 glue
- Fiberfill stuffing
- 5/8 inch dowel rod 36 inches long
Instructions
- Let's start with the halter for our horse. Grab your brass plated key rings and jingle bells. Put the jingle bells on the key rings just like you would a key.
- Cut your faux leather into 1 inch strips. You will need 2 pieces 5 inches long and one piece 16 inches long. Use the zig zag stitch on your sewing machine to assemble your halter. Sew them to the key ring as shown below.
- After all the pieces have been sewn to both key rings you will have a halter for your stick horse as shown below.
- Next is the mane. Cut your yarn into 9 inch pieces. You will need several cut pieces for the mane. Mark your sock approximately 2 1/2 inches in front of the heel.
- Add a little fiberfill stuffing into the toe of the sock.
- Add your halter then add some more fiberfill to the sock. Stop when you get close to your mark for 2 1/2 inches.
- Using that same zig zag stitch, begin at your 2 1/2 inch mark. Fold each piece of yarn in half and sew the fold to the sock. Pull the sock tight as you go slowly adding in yard mane pieces. Be sure to stretch and pull the sock as you sew. The halter should fall right on the back of the heel of the sock. Sew it into the mane. Stop sewing when you reach the ribs of the sock.
- Add fiberfill until you get to the heel area of the sock. Then add in your Styrofoam ball.
- Add more fiberfill UNDER the ball to make that area of your horse wider.
- Continue adding fiberfill and work and shape your horse until he looks right. You can move the ball once inside the sock if you are not happy with the placement. It is looking a little like a horse now don’t ya think?
- Now that you have a horse head, we can give him a haircut. You can keep your mane long, cut it short, whatever you think looks best.
- Then add a lead rope. Tie the suede cording to the keyring.
- Leave a little room on the cording at the back of the head for a little hand to hold it. Then tie the opposite end to the other key ring.
- It is time for the details! Use brown embroidery floss to go over the toe seam of your sock. This makes a mouth.
- One white button and one black button make a perfect eye. Just sew them into place.
- Cut ear shapes from brown felt then fold them in half and sew them to the head by hand.
- Now let's add the stick to our DIY stick horse. Fold up the length of the sock as shown.
- Insert your stick into the horse head and push it INTO the Styrofoam ball that is in your head. Make sure you press firmly and that the stick goes into the ball a few inches. Determine where you will tie your horse head into place. Use a pen to mark that approximate location.
- Remove the stick and add E6000 glue to the marked area and also the very tip of the dowel that will be in the head.
- Insert the dowel back into the head and use hemp twine to tie the head firmly into place. Be sure to let the glue dry the recommended time on the packaging!
- Tear your red checkered fabric into an 8-inch square then tie around your horse’s neck to hide your twine. You can also use a bandanna for this step if you would like.
These hobby horses are so cute! You did a great job on these, Angie. Shared all around! Thank you.
Those turned out so cute! Excited to see the rest of the party!
Um…these are the cutest things ever! I love them!!! Totally LOVE them!!!!!!! Soooo cute!!!!
These are adorable! what a great idea.
REALLY beautiful!!! good idea and thank you for the tutorial! 🙂
Cecilia
Such a cute idea and great tutorial… I am pinning!
hey i am thinking about making some of these for someone’s wedding reception. do you know approximately how much this project cost to make that many? it would be awesome if you let me know. thanks!
They’re adorable!! Great tutorial, you made it look so easy 🙂
my daughter made 6 of these sock horses and used dowel rods, she told me the wooden rods are expensive without using a discount but I was wondering if PVC pipe could be used. It’s much cheaper.
Just be careful as the ends can be sharp for little hands!
Hello,
Very cute. How much would you estimate the amount of stuffing used? We’re making horses in our class at school and I want to know how much stuffing to buy for 30 students.
Thanks,
GIna
I would get 2 bags for 30 horses. Good luck!