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How to Make a Model Horse Circus Costume

Model horses are a popular hobby for collectors of all ages. Tack, such as saddles or bridles, and costumes for model horses can be very basic and made for child's play, or they can be detailed and made of genuine leather with miniature working buckles and expensive embellishments. As a general rule, the more realistic the costume or tack appears, the more difficult it is to make.

Circus costumes are a great place to start if you want to learn how to make model horse accessories. They tend to be very basic in design and allow room for creativity.

Things You'll Need

Model horse
Hot glue gun
Hot glue sticks
1/8-inch wide elastic ribbon spool
Scissors
Needle
Thread
Marker
Rhinestones or sequins
Feathers
Felt
1/3-inch wide elastic ribbon spool

Instructions

Make the Headpiece
- 1
  Insert a glue stick into the hot glue gun and turn it on.
- 2
  Measure a piece of 1/8-inch elastic cord or ribbon around the nose of the model horse, allowing for some overlap, and cut the measured piece off of the spool. Do not pull the elastic tight, as you will want room for it to stretch.
- 3
  Sew the two ends of the elastic ribbon together to form a circle. This piece is your noseband. Place this piece back on the model horse's nose, so that it rests just behind nostrils and corner of the mouth.
- 4
  Measure a piece of 1/8-inch elastic ribbon from the right side of the noseband, along the cheek, behind the ears and back to the left side of the noseband. Allow for some of the ribbon to overlap the noseband. Cut this piece off of the spool and remove the noseband from the model horse.
- 5
  Flatten the noseband and mark each end where it folds. You should have one dot evenly spaced on each side of the noseband. Sew the elastic piece you measured from the head so that each end is sewn on top of the dots you just marked.
- 6
  Trim the loose threads. Once these pieces are together, the finished product is called a headstall. Turn the completed headstall inside out, so that all of the stitching is on the inside.
- 7
  Use hot glue to decorate the headstall with sequins and rhinestones. Do not forget to put the feathers on the top so they stand up between the horse's ears. Be careful not to glue anything to your model horse by mistake.
Bareback Pad
- 8
  Cut a piece of felt in a rectangle. This will sit on your model horse's back as the bareback pad. The size needed will depend on the size of your model. For 1:8 scale horses, usually 3-inch by 4-inch works best.
- 9
  Measure a piece of 1/3-inch elastic ribbon to fit around the horse's body and act as a girth. It should sit just behind the front legs of the horse. Leave some extra to overlap, and cut it to fit. Be careful not to pull the elastic tight.
- 10
  Sew the two ends together to form a loop. Trim excess string and turn it inside out to hide the knots.
- 11
  Place the bareback pad on the horse and stretch the girth over it to hold it in place.
- 12
  Decorate your bareback pad with rhinestones, sequins and feathers.

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