Hive 1 - October Tutorial - Dala Horses for Nicole

Hi everybody! It's been a busy summer over here. My husband and I completed the Camino de Santiago (a 500 mile walk along the north of Spain) and then we picked up everything and moved to beautiful Colorado! I'm very excited to get back to sewing and crafting. For this month's block, I am continuing the animal theme and asking everyone to complete a Dala Horse. I've referenced a tutorial done by Nicola Dodd for Moda Fabrics. I think she did an excellent job but if you have any questions please reach out. Although I have provided reference photos for each step, I've relied on Nicola's tutorial to do the heavy lifting of explaining each step in detail.

Fabric

I would like these horses and their backgrounds to be fun and colorful! Therefore I am requesting NO solid white, and NO solid black. I would also prefer that you stay away from Novelty fabrics. 

Cutting

Background Color

(1) 4.5" x 9.5"
(1) 4.5" x 5.5"
(1) 3.5" x 8.5"
(1) 3.5" x 3.5"
(1) 2.5" x 2.5"
(1) 1.5" x 5.5"
(1) 1.5" x 2.5"
(1) 1.5" x 1.5"

Dala Horse 

(1) 4.5" x 9.5"
(1) 3.5" x 7.5"
(2) 3" x 5"
(1) 1.5" x 1.5"

Tutorial: 12" Dala Horse Block

https://my.modafabrics.com/2018/12/dec-14-dala-horse.html

This tutorial is provided by Nicola Dodd for Moda Fabrics and originally published in 2018. This block can be made as a 6" or 12" block. I am requesting the 12" version. Seam allowance should be 1/4". Press seams as directed in Nicola's tutorial.

*Side note: When previewing this post, some of the original tutorial's pictures look distorted. If you double-click on the distorted picture, it opens into a new tab with the correct dimensions.

Below I've added step-by-step pictures that correspond to the steps in Nicola's tutorial. 

Background fabric: Purple
Dala Horse fabric: Green

1. Horse's Body: 

Align the background fabric to the top right corner. Sew along the diagonal. Trim 1/4" away from the seam. Press open.

2a. Create the Horse's Legs: 

Place legs right sides together and measure 1.5" from the right along the bottom/short side of the rectangle. Trim diagonally to the top right corner.

   Legs (right sides facing up) should look like this after they have been cut.

2b. Prepare Background and 2c. Attach Horse's Legs to Background

On the top of the 4.5" x 9.5" background piece, make a mark 2" from the top corners. On the bottom of the same background piece, make a mark 1" from the bottom corners. Draw a diagonal from those two points. Align the legs (right sides of fabric facing) along the diagonal. Sew 1/4" away from the edge. 

Open and press the piece flat. Turn the piece so that the wrong side is facing you.

Using the background piece as a guide, trim the excess so that it becomes 4.5" x 9.5". 

3. Horse's Head

To create the horse's head, align the pieces as shown. Sew down the diagonals.

Trim 1/4" away from the seam. Press open.

Horse's head part of block should look like this

4. Horse's Ear

Align the ear piece, sew along diagonal, and trim 1/4" away from seam. Press open.

Horse's Ear part of block should look like this

5a. Assemble Body and Legs

Attach the legs and the body pieces.

Attach the background piece to the left of the legs.

5b. Assemble Head, Ear, and finally entire block

Final Block Completed! 

My hope is that this block is easy and fun for you! I can't wait to see your colorful Dala Horses :) 

Happy Sewing, 

Nicole B.