How to Make a Horse Head Out of Felt

Cut felt into shapes without it fraying.

Felt is a practical choice for animal craft projects as it doesn't fray, making it easy to work with small quantities. Building up pictures in this thick fabric will give an attractive 3-D effect, especially for a felt horse. Sew the finished horse head to a purse, glue it to cardboard for a homemade greeting card or use it to decorate a cushion. This project is simple enough for young children, but supervise them when using scissors.

Things You'll Need

• Picture of horse head
• Paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Pins
• Brown felt
• Fabric glue
• Toothpick
• Black felt
• White felt
• Black wool

Instructions

1. Study a picture of a horse's head, then draw a stylized outline onto paper, keeping the shape as simple as you can. Draw the head in profile, including the whole head, ears and neck up to the point where it joins the shoulders. There's no need to include the mane, as this will be added later. Cut the template out.

2. Pin the template to a piece of brown felt, and cut around it. Cut out a tiny circle for the eye from black felt, and apply a little fabric glue on the end of a toothpick. Stick the eye in an appropriate position on the felt head.

3. Cut a small diamond shape from the white felt, and glue it to the middle of the horse's forehead to represent a white star.

4. Cut black wool into short lengths. Run a line of glue down the horse's neck, starting just behind the ears. Press the strands of wool onto the glue so they fall over the neck like hair. Add a couple of strands of wool at the front of the ears to make a forelock.

Tips & Warnings

• Customize your horse's head by making a halter or bridle from ribbon or changing the colors of the felt.

• Protect the work surface with newspaper before using glue.

Resources

• Artists Helping Children: Horse Craft Ideas