Archive for the ‘Tips’ Category

Tack Tip: Leather Conchos

Posted in saddle, Tack, Tips, Tutorials, Western, tagged , , , , on July 17, 2019| 2 Comments »

I wanted to show you guys how I made these scalloped leather conchos/rosettes for my saddle:

I tried to make these before with my last saddle, but they didn’t turn out quite like I’d hoped.

This time I tried a different approach, and am much happier with the results!

I started by sticking my concho onto a piece of skived tooling leather. I used a couple drops of tacky glue to hold it in place. I didn’t want it to be permanent in case I needed to start over:

I cut out several triangles, giving it a star burst type of shape:

Then gradually cut each one down, creating a gear shape:

When those were at the length I wanted them, I cut off more tiny triangles, giving the appearance of rounded or scalloped edges:

Once I was happy with how it looked, I stuck a straight pin through the center, pushed it in an eraser and gave it a coat of gum tragacanth. Later I added a coat of sealer, then the tinest amount of Edge Kote along the edges.

This was much, much easier than my attempt at trying to cut the shape out freehand, or from a drawing. I hope someone out there may find this helpful!

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Basic Pony Pouches

Posted in Breyerwest, sewing, Showing, Tips, Tutorials, tagged , , , , , on March 14, 2019| 1 Comment »

BreyerWest is next week! Slowly, but surely, I’ve been working on getting things done and making sure I have everything.
I’m nervous (about everything like usual) but also really excited. It’s been around 5 years since I’ve been to a live show, and I’ve only been to 3 total. I’m really looking forward to it. 🙂

I’ve decided that I need to make new pony pouches for the small group of horses I’m bringing. I made a bunch before my last show but they’re kind of falling apart so NEW ONES IT IS! It’s a long term goal of mine to make pouches for ALL the horses anyway, (mostly to make moving them easier) but like many of my projects it hasn’t gotten anywhere. At least now I’m getting a start on it, and putting fabric I’ve had for years to use!

As I was working on them I figured I might as well document my process here, as a kind-of-but-not-really tutorial for the stubborn DIYers like me. 😉

I’m not using a pattern or measurements, but cutting everything by eye. I’m also keeping these very basic. They just need to protect my models, not be perfect!

I start by cutting a piece of quilting cotton and a matching piece of white fleece.

This one is being made to fit my Bristol, so I’m using him to get an idea of size.

I want the bottom edge to completely cover him when folded up, with extra at the top for a flap. I’m also adding a little extra material for a seam allowance. It’s always better to have too much than not enough!

Later I discovered that a standard pillow case is the perfect size for a Traditional pouch. With some models it would have to be wider/narrower/etc, but it’s a good place to start if you need a pattern.

With the good sides of the fabric facing together, I sew along the entire rectangle, leaving an opening at one end. A good habit to get into is to backstitch a couple times every time you start and stop your stitching. This will lock your threads in place and prevent them from getting pulled out when you turn the pouch right side out.

Once that’s sewn, I trim off the excess, clip the corners…

… then turn it right side out.

I closed the opening with topstitching, but if you want something neater, you could give an invisible ladder stitch a try.

Using Bristol again, I fold the pouch over him and use pins to mark how high I want it to go:

My sewing machine has a really hard time sewing through all four of the layers, so I use a walking foot to help it. This one I purchased off of Sewing Parts Online for around $20, and it’s helped SO much.

The grooved metal bits under the foot are called feed dogs. They pull the fabric through as you’re sewing. The walking foot has an extra set of feed dogs, so the fabric is being pulled from both the top and bottom. It makes sewing through thick fabric easier, as well as thin or slippery fabrics that shift and pucker or get sucked into the machine and jammed. (I hate that)

Once the sides are both sewn up…

… I turn it right side out again, and it’s finished!

I’ve also been sewing velcro pieces to the top, to help keep it closed. (and get this velcro used up, haha)

I’ve been making a few every day, and have a nice stack already. They’re not perfect, they’re not fancy, but they’re loads better than my old ones.

Is it next week yet?!?

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Recycled Breyer Miniatures

Posted in Breyer, Miniatures, Tips, tagged , , on November 19, 2018| 10 Comments »

Breyer’s holiday catalog showed up over the weekend.

Aside from a beach towel and a new shirt, there isn’t much in there I haven’t seen online already. I did see potential for a lot of instant miniatures so I chopped it into pieces instead.

Here’s everything I got from it:

There were several images that could be used as wall art for a miniature tack room/barn office/etc, as well as a perfect miniature calendar.

The other pieces required a bit more effort to put together. The magazines were made by cutting around the front cover, leaving enough for the back as well. Once that was cut out, I used it as a template to cut spreads from other pictures, then assembled them with a glue stick.

I covered the backs with more images cut from the magazine.

I loved the print on the beach towel and decided to make a miniature folder from it. This was made from a long rectangle, with one edge folded up.

I covered the inside with a strip of blue that was on one of the pages, glued it in place, then cut off the excess:

I used a pin to punch a few holes in the side. I wish I had this in full size now. 😭

The tote bag was made by tracing the image onto a piece of cardstock. I added 1.5 cm to each end, traced the image a second time and added tabs on the bottom. I normally do this on a PC so it’s a bit sloppy.

Edges scored, folded and glued in place:

I gently folded the sides in, added a ribbon handle and the image:

The mini notebook was created by cutting out two rectangles, then gluing those to cardstock:

Once that was dry, I used one to cut several rectangles from scrap paper. These got stacked together so a top and side edge was flush, (if that makes sense…) and held together with clothespins.

To punch the holes I pushed a safety pin through the stack into an eraser:

I used a very thin beading wire to loop through all the holes. The green piece is an unfolded paperclip, which is helping keep the loops even.

Here’s the notebook finished, after being trimmed:

I’m sure more could be made from other pictures too, and not just with this catalog, but any you might get in the mail. (especially this time of year!) It’s all about training yourself to look at things differently. 🙂

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