Model horse rug tutorial!

 I honestly thought I'd already posted this on here before as I'd had it on a few forums about five years ago, but I can't find it anywhere so I suppose it's better late than never!

As it's quite an old tutorial, I make my rugs slightly differently these days, but hopefully this should give you all a simple and relatively easy to follow guide to make your own.

First of all, you will need...

Felt. (I'm only going to be concentrating on felt for this one but you can of course use fabric as well)

Bias Binding. (You can get this from most haberdashery shops or buy online. Wide ribbon works just as well if you don't have any)

Glue. (I use 'Bostik All Purpose')

Ribbon/leather for straps. (I used fake leather ribbon in the end so it's not visible in this pic)

Needle and thread. I used a single strand of embroidery thread as I couldn't find my normal sewing stuff in the right colour. You can of course use a sewing machine but I unfortunately don't have one.

Wire. (for making buckles - disregard if you have premade Rio Rondo ones or alternative fastenings)

Pliers. (for making buckles/holding stuff together etc)

Scissors. (I don't think I need to tell you what those do lol)

A horse to wear it!

Headcollars for all!

Well, perhaps not all, but two's certainly a start!

Since getting them back from the Copperfox show, I knew I wanted to give my newbies some clothes. I'm keeping my glossy Cadno boxed for now as I literally have no more space for trads until I get my room redecorated with new furniture and things (hopefully this summer, fingers crossed!) but the matte version is happily out on display with his two Kickstarter CFs. 

 

I'd made Fantastic Mr Copperfox a headcollar and rug fairly recently but Kick Start 'Er hadn't had anything so I thought I'd rustle her up a halter at the same time.

More rugs than you can shake a stick at!

As seen a couple of posts ago, I've been in something of a rugmaking frenzy. Call it unbridled creativity or just what I do when I'm without decent internet access, regardless, I've been busy!

I didn't bother photographing all the old ones individually as I'd be there forever, but here's a closer look at the new ones you won't have seen.

Even more tack!

Apparently I'm in a tack mood at the moment! XD

After coming up with the little notebook of tack, I started making up a few of the missing sets.

Those without headcollars got them...

He suits this shade of blue SO MUCH - I'm definitely going to make him a matching rug...

Headcollars and some bonus organising!

Somewhat shockingly, I'm actually able to go to the official Julip Live this year!

I wanted to see if I could earn a bit of a money to put towards spares and other purchases at the show, so I thought I'd make up a batch of headcollars and leadropes to sell at lunchtime. I had a few old ones that I didn't need for my own Julips too, so I'll be selling those as well, though for a bit less as they aren't quite as good as my current efforts.



Whilst I was working on them, I finally cracked how to make multicoloured ropes, so I er...got a bit carried away. XD

Newmarket Stripe fabric anyone?

I've always wanted to make a decent Newmarket/Witney style blanket for my Julips, but found the fabric was impossible to find at a suitable scale. I had a go myself with some fleece and marker pens, which looked ok, but it wasn't really what I was after.



Then I remembered a little online shop called Spoonflower, where you can design your own fabric and have it printed out on a variety of different types of fabric, from plain old cotton, to minky or faux suede. Unfortunately they don't do microfleece, which would have been perfect, but they seem to be bringing out new fabrics on a regular basis so I can only hope they'll do it eventually.

I made up a design, ordered a sample and got to work. The basic 8" x 8" test swatch was more than big enough for a Julip rug, and even had a little left over which I might be able to make into some clothes for a rider at some point.

The fabric I chose wasn't quite right for it, as it was stretchy and too shiny for a traditionally woollen blanket, so I went with a rug instead, as it looks a bit more like that kind of material. The neck is a little high on it as well, but I might make a neck piece too which will hopefully disguise it.



Harper, who probably has the most tack of any of my Julips (seriously, this is his third rug at least!) always likes his wardrobe to work as an ensemble, so I made him a matching headcollar and leadrope. This is the first time I've ever managed a three colour leadrope and I'm really thrilled with it. I didn't have any suitable red, black and yellow ribbon, so I just painted on the red and black bits with a very fine brush. It also got fleece padding because Harper is incredibly spoilt I thought it looked nice. He also got the proper etched halter rings and buckle too, as opposed to my usual homemade ones, so he's one lucky pony, as I rarely splurge on these kind of luxuries!

If I had a real horse, you can be sure that I'd have it kitted out in matching everything.

I'd quite like to do some other designs - either this in different colourways, or maybe some tiny horses? Ideas would be most welcome!

The best part about Spoonflower is that you can resize the design and choose which way the pattern repeats, so I can potentially have designs for different scales. I'm useless at measurements though, so I pretty much did this one by eye. I took a crappy picture of another test swatch draped rather haphazardly over one of my trads so you can gauge for yourself whether it could do with being upscaled or not. It's in totally the wrong sort of fabric, but it was a free swatch of some new stuff (poly crepe de chine) so I couldn't not get it, though god knows what I'm going to use it for.

 

If it does need tweaking, let me know and I can upload a bigger version as well.


On that note, if anyone wants some for themselves, you can order it -HERE-!

 I don't actually get any money for it, but it gives me Spoonflower credits, so I can buy stuff on the site, which is no bad thing, as I love fabric. I've got more than I will ever probably use, but I always have room for more...well, sort of.

EDIT - I'm going to see about offering it for sale on another site as Spoonflower has this rule where you have to declare all your tax details to them, and while I'm not earning at the moment so I don't actually pay any tax, I'm still not comfortable with that being mandatory, so I'm going to try elsewhere.


(I need to photograph my stash - it's getting ridiculous how much I have now, but it's all so lovely I can't just get rid of it!)

New tack and a rider for Kirk

I know I'm not exactly a regular blogger, but I've been even less active recently as my computer is being incredibly slow and obstinate. (even more than usual) While there is absolutely nothing wrong with its connection to the internet (my tech savvy friend did a thing, and said so) it loads pages with all the speed of a particularly lethargic snail and so I've been favouring my phone for forum activity and so on. The other thing that's gone kaput recently is my graphics tablet - it still works, but there's no pen pressure so I can't do any decent digital art which makes me sad.

Anyway, all this time off the computer has galvinised me to do some more tackmaking!
Most of this was done a few months ago, but its testament to just how horrible the computer is to use that I've only just got pics up today.

Maris the cob got a nice squishy padded headcollar, with fleece noseband and pollguard. I didn't make her rug though, that came with another Julip a few years ago when I bought him from another collector. It's incredibly detailed and VERY well made.

 

 


Ezio has always been very jealous of all the fancy tack available at 'US Friesian Referral' so I thought I'd make him something inspired by it. The gold studs were from a nail art decoration set.





Tully models an autumnal themed headcollar, with plaited straps.
(and oh gods, how terrifying are his eyes here?! *makes mental note to repaint them*)



Echo's one isn't one of my best, but I wanted to try out a little plaited detail on the sides.



New cob Byron needed a bridle and as I hadn't made anything fancier than a snaffle for ages, I thought I'd give him a pelham. It's a bit big really, and the reins are hopefully only temporary until I get round to skiving some black leather, but it's not bad. The 'brass' on the browband is a selection of more nail art decorations.





I tried making a western saddle for my Julips yeeears ago, but the leather was too thick and looked terrible so I dismantled it in the hope that one day in the future I could do a better job! Well, the future is here, and while it's still not perfect by any means, it's a LOT better than it looked originally! I skived down the leather and did some really basic stamping for detail. The 'string' cinch was really tricky but looks pretty good in person.



Finally, I decided that my new Pit Pony, Kirkby, really needed some tack, so after scouring google in search of Shetland saddles to copy...I made something that looks completely different. XD
The stirrups are mass produced metal 'charms' and while they're far too small for Julip riders boots, they're perfect for homemade child riders. I didn't attach the girth particularly well so the saddle is a bit wobbly - I added the crupper partly because I've seen so many Shetlands with them and partly to hold the saddle on in reality! Getting his tail through it is...interesting as there's just so much of it!



Now that he was fully kitted out, all he needed was a rider to complete the Thelwell look, so I finished off a hybrid rider I'd been working on for months. She has a doll's house doll's head and forearms and her boots were nicked off a Primeval figure. The rest of her body is made entirely from wire and pipecleaners. I scraped off her original hair, which was glued on very roughly, and rehaired her with mohair. I didn't do the tidiest job (made harder as she has a hole in the middle where the original hair plug was stuck inside) but a hat hides all ills. :P I did a tiny bit of pastelling on her face to give her a little more colour and to add some faint freckles but otherwise I didn't need to do much else.



She's named herself Katie which goes rather well with her pony's name.









And now, just for the lols, here's the tiniest member of the herd with the tallest...

New pony tack and some cosmetic surgery gone right!

I got a new Julip the other day, a lovely little skewbald pony I named Danny. He was second-hand from another collector, and after rehairing him and doing a couple of little touchups in acrylic, I set about making him some tack.

First and foremost, he got a headcollar in forest green and burgundy, with a matching leadrope.



Then, a co-ordinating tack set. The saddle is a little big for him so I may make him another and give this one to somebody else at a later date.







I don't think I ever introduced one of my newer child riders, so here's Gavin, Danny's new owner.



His hands, feet and head are made from painted Super Sculpey and his body is primarily comprised of pipecleaners. He was going to have actual hair but I thought it actually suited him just painted on, like it was really closely cropped. His legs are a bit too skinny but never mind. XD





Speaking of child riders, does anyone remember this monstrosity?

That's Fiona, or 'Fi'. I made her years ago when my sculpting skill was, well, less than skilled. (I apparently didn't believe in the existence of eyelids either.)

I've been meaning to redo her and when I discovered that one of her arms had snapped off the other day it seemed like the perfect opportunity. Her legs were still ok so I kept them and her head, although some creative sanding and repainting seems to have done her a world of good. Gone are the terrifying and grossly protruding eyes! She got new arms and a much nicer top, this time made from fleece rather than felt. She's still not brilliant, but I can at least look at her now without cringing.



Something else that got a bit of a makeover was Tegan's tack. She's never had a decent saddle of her own and was always having to borrow everyone else's so I thought it was about time she had one.

 

I used elastic for the stirrup leathers for a change, and to save on having to shorten/lengthen the leathers when only a little adjustment is required. It's still obviously elastic but I think it gets away with it if you try to imagine them as being made of webbing or something in full scale.



As her bridle was good I left it as it was, but I added in a new browband as her old one was just a section of ribbon which looked a bit naff.



I really should have taken a photo of the saddle pad by itself as it's made from felt and a rather nice green and gold patterned fabric.

Rope halters and a Newmarket quarter sheet!

Rope halters are something that I have always found absolutely impossible to get my head around, and yet, I have somehow managed to make twelve of them in a matter of days!(one is currently being modelled by a really wobbly HOTY who always falls over, hence the lack of evidence, lol)

I used -this- tutorial for real horses and after an hour or so of faffing about with knots, something just clicked and everything made perfect sense. I still struggle with the final knot/loop under the chin, especially for horses with tucked heads but I'm getting there!

Oh and a tip for anyone wanting to make their own - the 'rope' material is commonly sold as 'Shambala Cord'. ;)
I used the 0.8mm and 1mm grades on my Julips but you would probably be best with 1mm or 1.5mm for Traditionals. I saw some of it sold simply as 'craft string' in a shop in Glasgow which is what got me in the mood for making them so it's worth keeping an eye out!

I started off making one for Kenway (you can see my horribly crude repair job on his paint rub at the bottom right :( ) which turned out ok, but my next wasn't quite right; the underside was too long! XD



Next up was a plain black one for Harper and a deep red number for Simba.



Kestral wanted a pink one but it ended up too small so now Arkas is being forced into wearing it until I can make him one of his own. XD You'll see that I managed to overdo the chin loop on both Kestral and Kerry's. >.<



The purple cord on Fanta was bought from a wholesale bead shop I recently discovered in Glasgow whereas the other stuff on Agrimony was the 'craft string' which handles a little differently.They're both essentially the same stuff but the Shambala cord on the right is a lot neater I think.



Finally, I found this 0.8mm stuff at my local craft shop and instantly bought three metres of the stuff because I knew I just had to make halters for Jazz and Archie. XD It's so wonderfully over the top but I love it!



I gave Archie's a thicker noseband as an experiment but I really liked how it turned out so I doubt it'll be the last time I do it.



Another item of tack that's been on my to do list for ever is a Newmarket fleece.
It's such an iconic pattern that you'd have thought there'd be loads of it about but there's simply nothing small enough to use for models. Like that was going to stop me however. :P
Ever on the lookout for bargains, I was browsing the local Poundland/£1 shop the other day when I spotted a pair of fleecy socks and leapt at the opportunity. They were just plain white and not really *that* fleecy but they had potential I thought.
I got them home, cut one apart and then set about 'dying' them with copic markers. It went a little stiff but still retained much of its fleecy character and well, Giovanni doesn't seem to mind. :P





I'm definitely going to make a couple of actual rugs and perhaps a shorter quarter sheet as this one absolutely swamps 'vanni and he's one of my tallest Julips! XD

Next on the agenda...christmassy tack!

A few new tacky things...

Inspired by Nichelle's brilliant tutorial on her blog -link- I decided to make a couple of my Julips some fly protection. We may not get mosquitoes up here but the fearsome midge can be bad enough!

I had to make my own pattern to fit the shape of my chosen model as the original one wouldn't work because of the Cob Stallion's tucked head. Ironically poor Archie the cob no longer owns his fly mask as it was stolen by Lyra the donkey who it fits far better!

I had some absolutely perfect material I'd made a fly mask out of before but in typical EG fashion I couldn't find it. I found several types of fine meshy stuff which worked rather well instead. The one Lyra's modelling was made from some scrap net curtain fabric.



Kerry's is my favourite by far and I really think he likes it...
I used a slightly different material for his and Mitchell's which offers better visibility.

I also made two new saddlecloths. (out of £1 shop dish-towels of all things!) The label showed that they came in four colours - black, red, purple and white but as yet I haven't been able to find the white ones which is very inconvenient as its the colour I want the most! I backed them with felt and used bias binding around the edges to finish them off.





The purple one has been adopted by my new spotty-cob who has finally found herself a name - Maris.



Oh and you may have noticed it in the background of some of my previous post's pictures but I made a mounting block aaaaaages ago out of styrene. I made the steps a little too narrow but it's ok for the child riders who don't have such big feet. I can't decide whether or not to paint the sides, leave them white or clad them with wood effect panels...Hmmm....