English Saddle Pad Tutorial - Part Two

This tutorial will cover my method for making breed style English saddle pads.  Here is one pictured under a beautiful older BCS saddle:

To begin, you will need the following:

• Pattern
• White Felt (will be easier to sew symmetrically than two layers of fleece)
• White Fleece
• Sharp Detail Scissors (I use my fine leather scissors, available in my Etsy store)
• Rotary Cutter (optional)
• White Thread & Needle or Sewing Machine
• Air Erasable Fabric Pen

First off, trace your pattern onto your piece of FELT:

Then place your felt on top of the fleece, with the good side of the fleece against the felt:

Sew the two pieces together completely:

Cut along the outside edge of the stitching, leaving 1/8" 

Then cut a small slit down the center, about 1/2" shy of each edge with the rotary cutter (or carefully use scissors):

Then turn the pad inside out, from that slit, and push the seams out and fold flat with felt side out:

Then sew a slight curve into the pad, and trim away the excess:

 Pull at the underside of the seam a bit to shape the pad, and you can add ribbon for optional billet straps:

There you have it! :) Happy tack making! 

Just listed, the last "square" batch of embroidered saddle pads, they will be cutback from here on out. CLICK HERE

SADDLE STANDS will hopefully be up on my Etsy store by Wednesday or Thursday, so stay tuned!

English Fitted Pad Tutorial

I often get asked if I will have fitted English saddle pads available in my Etsy store, and since I don't make them very often (it's impossible to make them fit everyone's saddle correctly), here is a tutorial on my method.  I've made them several different ways, but I find this to provide the closest contact with the saddle, while still providing the smooth rounded pad edges of fleece that still looks to scale.

First, make a pattern on light card stock.  Cut it out making sure it's symmetrical.   Trace it onto the back of a piece of white fleece.  Then, trace the line with a small amount of Tacky Glue.

Lay  a piece of flexible cording (I have used a yarn cording) onto the glue:

 After it's dried, cut out the pad, leaving 1/4" of fabric on the outside of the cord. Then clip half way to the cord, every 1/4".  Sew each "tab" down to the underside of the pad, grabbing a small amount of the fabric on the pad underside.

 You can snip small wedges out of the tabs, especially at sharper curves to reduce bulk.

 Then fold the pad in half, the underside out, and sew a small curve to match the horse's back. You can use a machine for this:

 Unfold, and place under your favorite saddle!

 The single layer of fleece will compress under the saddle for a close fit, with the thicker and round edges of the pad giving the appearance of a nice thick pad you'd put on your horse.  Happy tack making!

I have just listed a batch of new embroidered saddle pads, available in my Etsy store: