Trying on topknot wig before show

Poodle Costume Inspiration and Credits

I decided I wanted my horse, Kadence, to be a poodle for Halloween.  I got the inspiration from a picture I saw on this horse costume page and later my mom found her video on Youtube.  This lady was nice enough to offer enough instructions to get me started, but she was obviously a much craftier person than I am (I do not own a sewing maching and my visits to Michael's and Jo-Ann's during this project were probably the first time I had ever done so alone!)  I had to modify stuff, figure things out, rig them, and in the end, I decided I could have done it so much better and/or easier if I had been this educated to begin with.  That's where this series of posts comes in.  I hope you read them all before you get started making your own poodle costume for your horse, and figure out better ways than I did!

I began looking at poodles in show clips, including ones like Gracie found here at ShowPoodles.com.  I decided I was going to take artistic license with my costume, and only do the topknot, the tail pom, and leg pom poms.  I was not going to do the clips for my horse's body.

Thank you to my mother Nancy and my sister Jessica for helping me.  Thank you to my girlfriend Jodie for listening to me talk about it.  Thank you to my boyfriend Jody for putting up with the mess on the kitchen table for two weeks while I made it!

Poodle Costume Materials

I used the following for Kadence's costume:

1. 2 yards of silky furry fabric from Joann Fabric (I could have got by with 1 yard if I'd known what I was doing)
2. 1 bottle of fabric glue
3. Needle and thread (I used strong, cotton covered polyester thread as it doesn't show anyway and I didn't want anything to bust open!)
4. 4 old tall socks
5. Foxy Brown Costume Wig
6. 5 feet pink ribbon with wire edges (had extra)
7. 1 pair old panty hose
8. Stuffing from an old pillow I hated
7. Strips of latigo 
8. 19 inches of velcro
9. Seamstress measuring tape
10. Scissors 
11. Left over felt
12. Girl's silver belt
13. Glue on pink bling

This is going to get lengthy while I try to put pictures in and explain what I did, so I am splitting the posts up.  Here is the whole series:

Poodle Costume for a Horse - Prologue

Poodle Costume for a Horse - Leg Pom Poms

Poodle Costume for a Horse - TopKnot Ears

Poodle Costume for a Horse - Tail and Collar

My Horse in her Poodle Costume for Halloween

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