Creating a Saddle Pad

The long awaited for Saddle Pad has finally been completed! During the creation process, I have taken pictures as a reference for myself later on, and also to convey the process to you.

A Saddle Pad can be made either in a 'Western' or 'English' style. This Saddle Pad measures 36" x 33", per the request of its new owner, and is typically known as a 'Western' Saddle Pad, since it is squared shaped.

Saddle Pad-Three Layers.
Top: Corduroy fabric; Middle: batting,
Underside: felted wool
White lines on navy blue fabric is used for the quilting guidelines.

To begin, there are several layers. Personal preference can be given to the outside fabric used; however, one must keep in mind the outside fabrics need to be durable and able to withstand wear and repeated washings. For this pad, I used a medium-wale navy blue corduroy fabric, that is a polyester/cotton blend (not heard of too often for a corduroy fabric), the middle is a polyester batting, medium thickness, and the underside is a felted wool fabric.

Additionally, attention needs to be given to the fabric content of the binding. A flimsy cotton fabric is not recommended, as it would wear easily and would not stand up well to the ruggedness required. I chose for this Navy Blue Pad a tan plaid fabric with small navy blue lines, made in a very durable polyester/cotton fabric. All I had in stock were polyester/cotton fabrics with small flowers and I knew the male owner of this pad would want a 'masculine' look. To create visual appeal, I cut the four 3" strips diagonally across the fabric, as shown in the picture below.

The binding strips were made 3" wide because they are folded before being sewn onto the finished edge, thus having two layers of binding and providing extra durability.



After the binding strips are cut out and sewn together lengthwise, I then quilted all three layers, following the white guidelines.Then, the raw edges were trimmed evenly.

36" x 33" Saddle Pad, all three layers quilted together
and raw edges trimmed. Ready for the binding.

Then, the binding was sewn on by machine starting from the top of the pad. Since I folded the 3" binding in half, then stitched 1/4", the binding now measures 1 1/4 inches. It is then ironed (slightly) from the front and pinned to the underside, where I then hand-stitch the binding to the back of the pad, which is felted-wool in this instance.

The hand-stitching does take some time, but well worth it, in my opinion! By hand-stitching. more control is given to each stitch and how the binding lays on the back-side.

For this pad, I added billet straps near the front on both sides, which are 7" long each. The now owner did not need girth (top) straps, so I did not add these on.

Completed Saddle Pad - August 2011

It is always rewarding to complete a project that was so many months in planning! Hoping soon to open a Etsy Shop to sell my Saddle Pads and perhaps a few Quarter Sheets for our horse friends, (shop name yet to be decided as of this writing), who also need protection from the saddle and weather elements.

Blessings,
Lisa
of Rachels'