Wednesday, October 1, 2014

DIY Project: Custom Quarter Sheet

Last winter, I started riding Tristan in a quarter sheet on especially cold days. I borrowed one from the barn's stash, and really liked it: it kept me warm, and he seemed a bit more comfortable. I started shopping for my own, looking at a bunch of different websites. I didn't like any of the ones I found: whether the style, color, or price.

Wouldn't it be just as easy to make my own, I thought? So I bought fabric, ribbon for edging, and when my mother came to visit, she brought her sewing machine. We based the pattern off the one at the barn I liked most - I don't know what brand or even what size it was.




It was a bit of a rough first attempt, but the cat thought it was the best day ever.


Finished cutting:


We sewed a 1.5" ribbon doubled over around the edge, which I would probably not do again. I think I'm going to want a blaze orange one for hunting season (coming up soon), and I'm already thinking about new edging material.

Here's the finished product. I LOVE IT, and have gotten a ton of compliments every time I ride in it. I think it looks so much better than any of the ones you can buy. It ended up being less expensive in terms of materials (which I picked carefully to be on sale), though perhaps not when you factor in the labor cost of figuring out how to do it and then the sewing itself.


I think the only thing I'd change is the bump you can see just above the point of his hip there - we didn't figure the cut quite right to lay flat. Purely aesthetic.

Have you ever made something from scratch for your horse?

32 comments:

  1. This looks great! I have a Dover quartersheet and it's just kinda meh. This one is fabulous :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I looked at the Dover one and was similarly meh. Picking out my own fabric allowed me so much more fun!

      Delete
  2. nice job - and clearly the kitteh agrees lol

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kitteh clearly approves! I love it too! Never thought to try to make my own!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have always wanted to try to make a quarter sheet, but I never actually follow through! Maybe this winter! Yours looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That looks great! And the cat is very cute!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I made my own quarter sheet before too, except I used wool and also had piping. I hate sewing, especially after that.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ooooh!! Never thought of making a quarter sheet! Where did you find instructions or guidelines?
    My single solitary English saddle pad is homemade. Other than a few stitches on the edge, it looks great. And not hard at all :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. About how much fabric did you buy?(:

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Two yards of fabric, for a horse that takes a 72 in blankets. For a larger horse I might go up to three yards.

      Delete
  9. Used the same blanket from Dover as my guide! What would you use instead of the ribbon for the edging? I've been looking for a material similar to the Dover blanket but can't find anything in stores! Thank you and great job :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting! It's great to hear from you.