Saturday, October 1, 2011

Rocking Horse Makeover

A friend of mine called a few weeks ago with this offer: she had an old rocking horse her dad had made which her boys had outgrown, and it was on its way to Goodwill, but she knew Baby Girl was crazy about horses... would I like it for her?  Would I?  Just the kind of challenge I love, and I had carte blanche to redecorate it however I wanted.

It was sturdy and had good bones, but was in need of a makeover...
Started out by removing the old mane, tail, and bridle
But after some plastic surgery...
The jigsaw gave it a new profile
Fresh make-up...
Quite a few coats of white paint

A soft new 'do...
 
And some tasteful accessories...
Hot-glued braid bridle, modge-podged gingham fabric accents
She is ready and waiting for an almost-3-year-old's birthday.
And the best part?  With most of the supplies already on hand, this one put me back just $3.50 in fabric and trim.

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2 comments:

  1. Do you have a pattern for the mane and tail. My daughter is redoing her sons rocking horse and came across your site and wants me to make the for her.

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    1. It's been a while, but I think I crocheted a base (the white part) for the mane using a basic double crochet stitch making the strip about 2 inches wide and as long as the portion of the neck you need the mane to cover. Then I made loops of pink hair by anchoring it on the "posts" of the double crochet stitches with a single crochet, looping up about 4-5 inches of pink yarn, then doing another single crochet on the same post, and repeating this until you have enough loops to make the mane nice and thick.

      The tail I just wrapped the yarn around a piece of cardboard the right width, then tied the loops tightly together with yarn and cut the loops at the opposite end. Hope that helps!

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