How To Sew A Cute And Cuddly Stuffed Horse

If you love horses and want a custom plush horse to cuddle, sew your own stuffed horse! With some basic sewing skills, simple patterns and supplies, plus a dash of creativity, you’ll have an adorable handmade stuffed horse.

If you want a quick answer: choose your fabric and pattern, cut out the pieces, sew them together inside-out, stuff firmly, and stitch up the opening.

In this step-by-step tutorial, you’ll learn how to sew a gorgeous stuffed horse from start to finish. We’ll cover tips for choosing fabrics and patterns, prepping and cutting out pieces, proper stuffing techniques, adding cute details like a mane and tail, and finishing touches to bring your stuffed horse to life.

Pick Out a Fun Fabric and Find a Stuffed Horse Pattern

Choose Fabrics for the Body and Mane/Tail

When sewing a cuddly stuffed horse, start by picking fun, soft fabrics for the main body and mane/tail. Great fabric choices include plush fabrics like minky or fleece, which have a super soft texture. Stick to cotton or cotton blends if you want something lightweight.

For the mane and tail, faux fur and longer pile fleece or minky create a realistic fluffy look.

Consider the horse’s coat color too. Popular options include:

• Brown
• Black
• White
• Gray
• Paint (spots)
• Palomino (golden coat with white mane/tail)

You’ll need 1/2-1 yard of fabric for a small stuffed horse. To determine exact yardage:

• Body fabric: Measure the pattern pieces and calculate yardage needed
• Mane/tail: Get 1⁄4-1⁄2 yard or opt for small scraps

Find a Stuffed Animal Horse Pattern

Finding the right stuffed horse pattern ensures your handmade horse turns out perfectly cuddly. Great places to find patterns include:

Key things to look for in a stuffed horse pattern:

• All pattern pieces included
• Step-by-step sewing instructions
• Beginner-friendly level
• Cute, realistic design

Once you’ve gathered your fabric and pattern, you’re ready to start sewing! With some stuffing, thread, and creativity, you’ll have an adorable handmade stuffed horse in no time. 👍

Prep Fabrics and Cut Out Pieces

The first step to sewing your cuddly stuffed horse is selecting and preparing the right fabrics. The best fabric choices are soft materials like fleece, minky, corduroy, or flannel. These fabrics will ensure your stuffed horse is super huggable and smooth to the touch.

Stay away from fabrics like burlap or heavy canvas that could be rough or scratchy.

For the main body of your stuffed horse, opt for a thicker, durable fabric that will hold up well to stuffing and love from little hands. Corduroy in tan, brown, black, or white often works perfectly. Cut your main body fabric according to the pattern dimensions, usually around 14-20 inches long and 8-12 inches wide depending on if you want a small, medium or large horse.

The mane and tail are key details, so use an especially fuzzy minky or long-pile fleece fabric to mimic real horse hair. These fabrics come in great shades like black, brown, grey and white. Cut the mane piece 8-12 inches long and 4 inches wide, and the tail 8-10 inches long and 2 inches wide.

Pre-wash Fabrics

Before cutting out all the stuffed animal pieces, pre-wash the fabrics to preshrink them and remove any chemical residues. Use a gentle machine wash cycle with mild detergent and either line or machine dry on low. Pre-washing leads to a better finished product and reduces later uneven shrinking.

Mark and Cut Out Pattern Pieces

Once your fabrics are prepped, lay out your stuffed animal pattern and trace the pattern pieces onto fabric, being sure to mark the name and number of each piece to keep organized. Use fabric markers or chalk that can easily wipe or wash away later.

After marking pattern outlines onto fabrics, carefully cut out each piece. Use sharp fabric scissors for clean cuts and smooth edges. Optional details like eyes, nostrils or muzzles can also be traced onto black or brown fleece now.

Setting aside 2-3 hours to properly prep fabrics ahead of time pays off when it’s time for the fun part…bringing all the pieces together to create your cuddly stuffed critter friend!

Sew the Body Pieces Together Inside-Out

Now that you have cut out all the fabric pieces for the stuffed horse’s body, it’s time to sew them together. The key here is to sew the pieces together inside-out. This means the eventually visible “right” side of the fabric will face inwards as you sew the pieces together.

Sewing the pieces together inside-out serves two important purposes:

1. It hides the raw seams and stitches on the inside of the stuffed animal once it is turned “right side out” after sewing.
2. It makes stuffing the body easier since the opening you leave for turning and stuffing will be hidden discreetly on the body once sewing is complete.

Follow these steps to sew the body pieces together inside-out:

1. Take your body front and back pieces and lay them good sides together (the sides you want visible on the finished horse). Make sure the curved seam edges line up evenly.
2. Sew the pieces together along this curved edge using a 1⁄2 inch seam allowance, leaving about a 3-4 inch opening along the bottom straight edge for turning and stuffing later. Backstitch over this opening to reinforce it.
3. Take the four leg pieces and match them up into two sets of good sides together, sewing up the long back edges of each set. Leave the top curved edges open.
4. Match up one leg set to one side of the body, curving side seams aligned. The legs should stick out bottom-side down. Sew the leg seam into the body seam.
5. Repeat to attach the other leg set to the other side of the body.
6. Finally, take the head/neck piece and pin it to the top curved edge of the body piece, right sides together. Make sure to line up the seams neatly, then sew all around this edge.

Once all the body pieces are sewn together inside-out, you can trim any loose threads, clip curved seam allowances if needed to reduce bulk, and turn the whole thing right side out through that opening you left along the body bottom edge.

You now have an inside-out stuffed horse ready for the final stuffing and stitching up! Be sure to check out my step-by-step stuffed horse sewing tutorial video for more tips and to see the process.

Sewing the body of a stuffed animal inside-out takes a bit more precision but leads to a much cleaner, hidden seam finish. With a few projects under your belt, this method will have you sewing up professional-looking plushies in no time!

Let me know in the comments if you have any other stuffed animal sewing questions.

Stuff the Body Firmly and Hand Sew It Closed

Now that you have finished sewing and turning the stuffed horse body inside out, it’s time to firmly stuff it to give it that cuddly shape. As you stuff, make sure to work the stuffing into the narrow legs, neck, ears and muzzle so these areas get evenly filled out.

Choosing the Right Stuffing

The best stuffing material for a stuffed animal is polyester fiberfill stuffing. This type of stuffing is soft and squishy but also springy enough to fill out the shape nicely. Stay away from materials like cotton balls or acrylic blanket stuffing as these can become lumpy or compressed over time.

Some great polyfiber stuffing brands are:

• Fairfield Poly-Fil Premium Polyester Stuffing
• Pellon Poly-Fil Premium Poly Stuffing
• Mill End Textiles Polyester Fiber Fill

Aim for a bag of stuffing that says it’s for stuffed toys or crafts. The package weight can give you an idea of how much is needed. A 12 oz bag is a good starting point for a medium-sized stuffed horse.

Stuff Evenly and Firmly

Add small handfuls of fiberfill at a time, distributing it throughout the body cavity. Use a stick or the eraser end of a pencil to push the stuffing into narrow spaces. Keep adding stuffing a bit at a time until the horse feels all filled out.

As you near the top, really pack the stuffing in tightly so that the horse holds its shape when standing. Give a final squeeze-knead all over to make sure there aren’t any thin or under-stuffed spots. The densely packed stuffing will support the weight if a child hugs or plays with the stuffed horse.

Closing Up the Seam

Make sure the raw edges of the fabric get tucked inside as you hand sew up the opening. Take very small 1/8″ deep stitches around the perimeter of the opening to ladder stitch or slip stitch it completely closed.

Reinforce this seam by repeating the stitching a second time. Try to keep these finishing stitches as invisible and tiny as possible for a high quality, professional look.

That’s it – you now have an adorable and cuddly handmade stuffed horse for a special child to love and enjoy! 😊 Don’t forget to sign or tag your creation!

Add the Finishing Touches

Sew and Stuff the Tail

The tail is an important finishing touch that brings your stuffed horse to life. Choose a fabric that coordinates nicely with the body fabric. Cut out a long, narrow rectangle that is about 1-2 inches wide and 10-12 inches long.

Fold the fabric in half lengthwise with right sides together and stitch the long edge, leaving the short end open. Turn the tube right side out through the opening and stuff lightly with fiberfill. Hand-stitch the opening closed.

Now pin the tail to one side of the back end of your horse, angling it down slightly. Use needle and thread to securely sew the tail in place. Make sure to stitch especially tightly where the tail meets the body so it stays on.

You should now have an adorable horse tail that gives your stuffed animal more personality! 🐎

Create and Attach the Mane

You can make your horse’s mane from fleece, felt or faux fur. Cut long, thin strips that are 1⁄2 to 1 inch wide. You’ll need 8-12 strips, depending on how full you want the mane to be.

Start sewing the individual strips to the neck of the horse, using close stitches and allowing them to fall on either side. Place them close together or slightly overlapped. As you sew down the neck, the mane strips will stand up slightly to create a wonderfully shaggy effect.

For extra fullness, you can also braid or lightly back-comb the strips before attaching them.

Once all strips are secured along the neckline, trim them to the desired length if needed. Then, sew across all strip ends to bind them together for a tidy finish. Your horse will look so handsome with his lush new mane! 👍

Add Facial Features Like Eyes and Nostrils

Carefully hand-sew facial features onto the front of the horse’s head to give it personality and charm. Use black or brown thread that blends nicely with the fur. Refer to photos of real horses for help with placement and proportions.

For the eyes, sew on large, oval shaped stitches positioned on either side of the head. Use a contrasting light blue or brown thread color for an expressive, lifelike eye effect. You can also glue tiny black pom poms onto the eyes for an extra cute touch!

Sew a straight line to make the smiling mouth. Then make two small sideways V shapes positioned over the muzzle area to create the horse’s nostrils. These tiny details bring delightful expression and realism to your stuffed horse’s face!

Conclusion

With cute fabric choices, basic sewing skills, and stuffing know-how, you can create your very own custom stuffed horse. The right pattern and careful stitching will lead to a cuddly plush horse that’s one-of-a-kind.

Just be creative with manes, tails, patterns and embellishments to make exactly the stuffed animal horse you want. Enjoy crafting a new fluffy friend!