Homemade Stick Horses

Stuff the sock with the craft stuffing, packing it in tightly up to the heel of the sock. Insert the end of the broom stick into the sock, making sure there is padding between the end of the stick and the sock. Fill the rest of the sock with stuffing, leaving around 2 inches of the neck of the sock unstuffed.

Tie the sock to the stick with the dark brown yarn, wrapping it tightly around the 2 inches of free sock at the end of the stuffing. Make the wrapped section around 1.5 inches thick, with around half an inch of sock at the end. Sand the whole of the exposed broomstick.

Thread your needle, then bend the stuffed sock at the heel, to make the distinction between the neck and head of the horse. Place a couple of stitches in the bend to secure it in place.

Tie a piece of yarn around the end of the sock to give definition to the nose of the horse. Stitch a piece of yarn around a quarter of the way up the nose horizontally for the mouth and pull the stitch tight, so that the sock indents slightly. Stitch in place.

Find a dark and a light-brown colored felt, then cut out two triangular ear shapes from each color. Lay the dark felt on top of the lighter felt, then stitch around the seams so you have your ears. Put a running stitch along the bottom of the ears, then pull it slightly to pleat the base of the ears. Knot it securely.

Place the ears on either side of the horse's head, near the heel of the sock. Stitch in place. Position the two buttons for eyes on either side of the horse's head, a couple of inches down from the ears. Stitch in place.

Make around seven bunches of 8-inch loops of the dark brown yarn. Position these bunches starting in between the ears, and working their way down the back of the horse's neck for the forelock and mane. Stitch the bunches securely to the back of the neck, then cut the loops so that the mane and forelock are ready—trim to a tidy finish.

Cut a piece of felt around 1 inch wide, long enough to go around the horse’s nose. Sew it in place around the horse’s nose for the nose-bit of a bridle. Cut another length of felt that runs from one side of the nose-bit, around the neck, and down to the other side of the nose-bit. Stitch in place. Cut a third piece of felt, long enough to go from nose-bit to nose-bit with around 5 inches of space between it and the back of the horse's neck for the reins. Stitch this piece to the sides of the nose-bit, and your stick horse is complete.