Dressing up a horse is a special kind of fun! This easy to make flower collar adds some classic style to any horse and is great paired with a unicorn horn too! It works great for photo shoots, birthday parties, Halloween costume classes and more. I will show you how I make these pretty and versatile collars and sewing is totally optional. I use a method that gives structure to the collar so it holds better on the horse than a simple string of flowers.
You Will Need:
- – Multiple flower stems of various sizes, colors and styles. How many stems of flowers will depend on the sizes of the flowers, the number on each stem and the size of the collar.
- – 2 feet Ultra Firm Stabilizer (such as Pellon 70 Peltex or other firm but flexible non-freying material) {if you are making your collar one piece instead of two pieces joined by a ring, you will need about 4 feet of stabilizer}
- – 2 yards 5/8 to 3/4 inch wide grosgrain ribbon (or sisal rope, etc)
- – 3″ metal ring (optional)
- – Hot Glue Sticks & Glue Gun
- – Scissors
- – Thread and Sewing Machine (optoinal)
Step 1: Start by preparing your flowers and leaves. Pull each flower head and leaf off of the stem and trim the stem that remains on the flower.
Step 2: Organize your flowers and stems so you can easily see the variety you have to work with as you create your flower collar.
Step 3: Cut the ultra firm stabilizer to your desired length and shape. I will be showing you two options. One option has a ring in the center which allows for flexibility in the collar so it can easily fit a range of chest sizes on various horses. The other option is to make one solid piece. With this option, I recommend you get an idea of how narrow or wide you’d prefer the collar to sit on the horse you’re making it for before beginning this project.
Sizes: Below I list the sizes I use to make flower collars for a pony, average horse and a large horse/draft. This will give you a starting point for how you want to draft your base collar. You can get a little fancy with the shape like I have done or simply make it less curved. You may want to draft it on paper before tracing it on the interfacing.
Pony: Each side is 14.5 inches long. The center width is 2.5 inches. The tapered narrow end is 1/2 inch wide.
Horse: Each side is 16.5 inches long. The center width is 3 inches. The tapered narrow end is 1/2 inch wide. (this is the size pictured in this tutorial)
Large Horse/Draft: Each side is 21.5 inches long. The center width is 3.5 inches. The tapered narrow end is 1/2 inch wide.
Ring Option: If you’re making your collar with the ring in the center, also cut two pieces at 2 inches wide and 4 inches long. Cut another piece at 2 inches wide and 7+ inches long.
Step 4 (for flexible collar option): You can sew or hot glue on this step, whatever you prefer. Take the two shorter strips of interfacing and wrap each strip around the ring and attach to one side of the collar by sewing or using hot glue. Repeat with the other side.
Then wrap the longer strip around the ring and hot glue or sew the ends together. Trim if needed as this piece needs to fit snugly on the ring.
Step 5: Attach the ribbon to each narrow end of the collar base (sew or hot glue). It won’t matter if this is the ‘font’ or the ‘back’ as it will be covered.
Ribbon Lengths: These are the general ribbon lengths I use which allow length to tie the ribbon at the wither of the horse. You may want to make your own measurements to suit your needs. You can always make it much longer than you need and trim any excess.
Pony: 2 – 16 to 20 inch ribbon pieces.
Horse: 2 – 18 to 22 inch ribbon pieces
Large Horse/Draft: 2 – 25 to 30 inch ribbon ends
Step 6: Glue the largest leaves on at the narrow end and in the center.
Step 7: Start with the flowers you’d like in the center and at the ends and glue them in place. Nestle them into each other so they fill in nicely. If you’re using a ring center, glue them to the center strip. As you fill in your collar, you won’t be able to see the ring or gap in the center. If you’re using flowers of various sizes, start with the largest flowers first and then nestle the smaller flowers into the spaces around the larger flowers.
Step 8: Continue spacing/plotting flowers throughout the collar base. You can base your plotting on size, color or type of flower…however you’re making it and wanting to disperse the flowers.
Step 9: Tuck in any last little leaves, flowers, etc to fill it all in. I have also used raffia as an accent embellishment.
Finished! This is generally how your flower collar will look.
Here is a look at the back of the flower collars. You can see how the ring style will allow for movement from narrow to wide fitting, but the ring and gaps aren’t visible from the front. You can also see how the petals of the flowers extend over the edge of the collar base all the way around.
I like to make the middle bigger and more full than the ends so it tapers out, however, there is no right or wrong way to make it. You are the creative force behind it, so whatever fits your fancy!
Make some matching hair clips (just like you would for people) and doll up your horse. Dress her up in a unicorn horn for added fun! …or him…there are totally boy unicorns!
Thank you Shutterfairy Images for these beautiful photos of the flower collar in use!
This is a great image to pin! Pin now and save this project for later.
