TRADITIONAL SIZE GENERAL-PURPOSE ENGLISH SADDLE PATTERN 1/9 scale
(without knee rolls)
MATERIALS NEEDED: Fine Cowhide or cabretta flaps, skirt, panel facing & girth Skiver stuffed panels, seat, panel center panel Leather lace 1 yd Stirrups Wire to make buckles for girth and stirrup "bars" "D" or "O" rings for breastplate and sandwich carriers needle & strong thread (buttonhole or carpet thread suggested) Leather glue (Bond's 527) Scrap Felt Tree make your own from soda can, etc. Steel sewing pins Sharp object for stitch-marking (optional) " foam for panels (can use foam cosmetic rounds or sheet foam from hobby shops)
Pattern and instructions by Linda Desmarais [Link]
Page 1 of 4
TRADITIONAL SIZE GENERAL-PURPOSE ENGLISH SADDLE PATTERN 1/9 scale
(without knee rolls)
A.
TREE
1. Cut out tree and form to shape using photo as a guide . 2. Cut out felt and glue over tree. There should be no overlap. 3. Cut out seat and starting from the good side, gather the edge along the guide. Keep stitching about 1/8 from edge. Stitches should be about 1/8 3/16 apart from each other. 4. Glue seat over felt on tree. The leather will leave a hump where the felt it smaller this is OK. Wrap the front edge under the tree and glue. When dry, wrap the left & right edges to the underside & glue (see Fig. A). Let dry.
Figure A
5. Pull up gathering stitches somewhat. Apply glue to the bottom outer seat edge of the tree. Pull up gathering stitches as tight as possible & tie off. 6. Make (2) squares from wire that will accommodate the thickness of stirrup leather you want to use. Skive about 2" of lace (any color) and fold over 3/8" and glue onto end of square. Measure other end (and add 3/8" for overlap) so that squares will start at the edge of the tree (see Fig. B) - distance between squares should be about 1/2). Glue other end to another square. Then glue the assembly to the underside of the tree right under the "hump". This will create "stirrup Figure B bars". (see Fig. B)
B. FLAPS 1) If desired, stitch mark edges. Cut slits for breastplate and stirrup leather keepers using a sharp knife. Skive two 1" pieces of lace and glue each around an "O" ring. Slip the leather through the slot and glue to the underside. For stirrup keepers, cut 2 pieces of lace about 1-1/2" long. Skive about 1" ONLY, leaving about " thick. (it's easier to insert non-skived leather into the slits) Insert the thick side into the slit from the bottom and down through the top. Place a piece of lace (to simulate stirrup leather and make sure the keeper is not too tight) and glue down skived ends under the flap. Cut off non-skived end. Glue the flaps to the underside of the seat.
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Pattern and instructions by Linda Desmarais [Link]
TRADITIONAL SIZE GENERAL-PURPOSE ENGLISH SADDLE PATTERN 1/9 scale
(without knee rolls)
C. SKIRT 1. Skive the top curved edge. 2. Glue the front & top skirt edge ONLY (make sure the stirrup bars are accessible and not glued over) to the tree/seat top & front, leaving the skinny ends free and unglued. The edge of the skirt should meet up to the hump where the felt starts. D. PANEL FACING 1. Cut two 5 lengths of lace for girth straps. Center them over the good side of the panel facing (marked with an X) and glue. 2. Glue top (good) side of panel facing to the underside of flap, centering the panel facing so it doesnt show from the top. Place glue in the center only. 3. Insert sewing pin through all layers as indicated on pattern and bend excess pin to the underside and trim leaving about " exposed on the underside. E. PANEL LINING 1. Apply glue to the front section of panel lining (bad side). Glue to the bottom of the skirt/panel facing assembly, covering the ends of the bent pins going through the skirt. Do not glue back end down so adjustments can be made when stuffed panels are attached. (the ends of the pins going through the flaps will be covered by the stuffed panels) F. STUFFED PANELS Cut 2 shaped from " sheet foam. Taper the front curve so it is less thick than the rear of the piece. Hand- stitch around edge of each panel shape as indicated on the pattern, about 1/8" apart (like seat). Leave enough thread edges to gather later. Glue each foam piece to the bad side of the skiver stuffed panel shapes as indicated and let dry. Pull up the threads around the curved (back end) of each panel and tie off (see picture. Do not cut the thread and continue sewing each panel another or so and tie off. Do not cut threads yet!
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Pattern and instructions by Linda Desmarais [Link]
TRADITIONAL SIZE GENERAL-PURPOSE ENGLISH SADDLE PATTERN 1/9 scale
(without knee rolls)
F. STUFFED PANELS cont Now the tricky part take one of the ends of thread and gather the remainder of the longer curved end of the panel facing, ending at the pointed tip. This will help the facing wrap around the curved section of foam. Pull up the gathering thread so the facing starts to wrap around the foam, and starting at the pointed tip, start stitching the rest of the panel together until you reach the center of the panel, then tie off threads & cut. Then glue the tied (bad) side of the stuffed panel to the bad side of the cowhide panel as indicated on the pattern and let dry. (you should cover the end of the pins inserted previously). Repeat for other panel. Your stuffed panels should look like this when completed and glued to the bottom of the saddle:
The top of the saddle should look something like this:
GIRTH Cut a girth from cowhide about 3/8 wide. Make 4 buckles that will fit the lace you glued to the panel. Skive about 1" of lace for each buckle and attach buckles to end of girth. STIRRUP LEATHERS Skive about " of lace and attach buckle. If desired, make holes about 1-1/2" on unbuckled end. Run unbuckled end of lace up through each stirrup "bar", through the buckle, and down through the stirrup leather keeper.
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Pattern and instructions by Linda Desmarais [Link]
