Here’s a present that’s timeless — and remarkably easy to do.
Several years ago, I decided to replicate the sock pony I had as a little girl — only I don’t have the pony any more, so I had to go on memory. My sock pony was a labor of love by my godmother who was an expert with a needle and thread. So when I decided to launch my labor of love (I was heading into making four of them), I had to come to grips with one thing: I, in fact, am NOT an expert with a needle and thread. My point in telling you this is simple — if I can do it, you can too.
So let’s go!
Here’s what you’ll need.
– 1 pair of cotton/wool blend socks (cotton is easier to work with than 100% wool)
– brown felt (for the eyes and nostrils)
– thin “furry” (almost like moleskin) fabric for the ears. This needs to have a little substance to it because they need to “stand up” like horse ears
– brown ribbon (preferably with white stitching) for the bridle
– 10 inches of frilly black ribbon for his mane
– 2 black shiny buttons (for the eyes)
– about 6 inches of narrow red ribbon (for his mouth)
– about 2 feet of woven cord (for the reins)
– spun polyester fill (to stuff the sock)
– about 5 inches of thick vinyl tape (I used a cheap old belt from Goodwill. This is to close the bottom of the sock and to attach it to the broomstick)
– about 12 upholstery tacks
– one old broomstick
So here’s what you do. I stuffed the sock so I knew where to glue the nostrils and background for his eyes. Then glue the nostrils and eyes in place.
While the glue dries (it won’t take but a few minutes with the glue gun), sew his mouth on, then his button eyes.
Sew his mane down his neck (make sure you start where it’ll be between his ears and not behind them! You don’t need a horse with a receding hairline.)
Here’s the hard part: sew his ears on. What I did was fold the material over on itself, then formed a cone shape out of it and sewed it on, tucking the edges under to keep the ears up.
Now sew his bridle on. I just did a tight x stitch at the key points on the bridle, the rest I left alone. So drape the ribbon over his head and stitch at each temple (just under the ears) and then at his bit Then do another loop around his nose and stitch where the ribbon passes under the sides already in place. Now tie a little knot in the end of each end of your cord for the reins, then sew the knot onto the bridle at the top of his mouth. (Those knots are his bit!)
It’s time for his broomstick! Using the vinyl tape, close the end of the sock onto the broomstick (be sure the end of the broomstick goes all the way up to between his ears) and tack the tape in place all the way around the broomstick.
Now he needs reins. Just make sure you measure carefully. To do this, drape the cord over the back of his head resting on the broomstick where you’d like it to hang normally. Cut and knot the ends, and stitch them to ends of his mouth.
You go, cowpoke! You’ve just made a sock pony!
