You don’t have a sewing machine? Or are you new to machine sewing, or just feel safer sewing by hand? Or do you just enjoy slow sewing with needle and thread more? No problem, because you can sew any pattern and thus also a Hobby Horse by hand! It can even be really fun. And if you pay attention to a few things, the result will be just as beautiful as with the machine!

Sew a Hobby Horse by hand: adjust the seam allowance

For sewing plush toys with a sewing machine, we generally recommend a seam allowance of 3/8″ (1 cm). If you sew by hand with the backstitch or running stitch, you can also cut your parts with a seam allowance of 3/8″ (1 cm). But if you use the whip or blanket stitch, that’s too much: 1/8″ (3 mm) is enough here. This may sound like very little at first, but it leads to a cleaner result.

Suitable stitches for hand sewing your Hobby Horse

You can use a variety of hand stitches to sew a Hobby Horse. If you are doing it for the first time, it is better to try it out on a scrap of fabric first! This is the best way to practice the stitches and also to check whether you are satisfied with the result. You do this by pulling the sewn together pieces of fabric apart and looking at the seam from the right side of the fabric. If you can pull firmly without the thread showing, you’re fine!

Running Stitch

The running stitch is the simplest of the hand sewing stitches. With the running stitch, the thread is simply pulled back and forth through the layers of fabric from right to left at regular intervals. However, the running stitch is not particularly durable and the seams can become very visible, especially when stuffing the Hobby Horse firmly.

Back Stitch

The back stitch is considered the most durable hand sewing stitch. It is easy to implement and results in a simple, continuous seam line that resembles the backstitching of a sewing machine.

• The back stitch is sewn from right to left.
• You always stitch out after double the stitch length and then back to the last stitch.
• Then again stitch out after double the stitch length, then back to the last stitch, and so on, until the seam is finished.

Whip Stitch

The whip stitch is actually used for overcasting (and therefore also called overcasting stitch). But since it is so easy and intuitive to use, many people also use it to sew Hobby Horses by hand. And this is how it works:

• Sew from left to right.
• Always push the needle through the fabric layers from back to front at equal intervals so that the thread runs diagonally across the seam allowance.

Blanket Stitch

The blanket or loop stitch is also used for overcasting, but it is more durable than the actual overcasting stitch.

• The blanket stitch is sewn from left to right.
• Stitch through the fabric layers from front to back.
• Hold the thread above the edge as a loop and guide the needle over the thread.
• Pull the thread tight so that it lies on the edge of the fabric.
• Repeat.