Rocking Horse

This well used rocking horse was to be recovered with a dog patterned fabric. The tail was missing as was one ear. The rockers had lost their polish and were spotted with paint and the paintwork on the muzzle and hooves was chipped and faded.

The three remaining large 4”, old style #18 screws were removed to free the legs from the rockers and the cross piece screws were removed as well. All pieces were sanded down and refinished with Danish oil. When the oil had dried, the frame was waxed before the frame was reassembled with new screws.

The one ear was kept as a pattern piece and the two eyes removed and set aside. The positions of these was noted.

The fabric was removed from the rocking horse before the woodwork was tackled.

The crack by the mouth was filled, sanded and painted matt black. Flaking paint was removed from the hoofs and they too were repainted.

The original tail had simply been stitched on but the new, real hair tail needed a support constructed. A support for the tail was made by boring a 25mm hole in a block with a 15mm dowel at the back which was fixed into a hole bored into the frame.

The original pieces of material were used to make templates for the new fabric – making sure that all dogs on the material would be horizontal. Mirror images of fabric were cut out to keep the end result symmetrical. The pieces were machine sewn together and pinned in place.

Fabric was added to one side of the head, then the real hair mane and then the second side was attached. The eyes were added, then the ears, before the sewing was completed.

The fabric was sewn on under the body and neck. The two sides at the back were slip stitched together and the legs finished off.

The saddle cloth was secured by stitches into the back of the horse. The saddle was secured over the cloth.

The martingale was put on and pulled under the horse around the girth which was fixed into place.

The tail was temporarily put in place and the crupper passed around and the loop fixed in place. Then the tail was fixed permanently.

Some hair was pulled forward to form the forelock and secured behind the brow band with three brass nails. A further three nails secured the nose band.

The position of the ears determined the junction of the brow band and head band.
The stirrup leathers were buckled into place and a red rosette tied to the bridle.

Finally, the mane and forelock were trimmed to finish.

The completed horse was reattached to the rockers with one new screw to replace the missing one.

Job done!

JBerryUpholstery has many examples of furniture Recovering and Restoration and also Soft Furnishings to add to or complement the finished items. You can see pictures of these in the Galleries– Recovering Gallery, Restoration Gallery, Soft Furnishings Gallery and Transformations.

If you have some upholstery that is in need of a bit of TLC or you are interested in Soft Furnishings then please contact us.