My love of Dala horses started at an early age. Growing up with a Swedish mother, who loved all things Swedish, the Dala horse was always on display in our house. Now I have the collection, and they are on display year round.
A few years ago, I wrote a bit more about my Scandinavian roots, as well as shared a link to the history of Dala horses. If you are interested, you can read it here.
One night while surfing on Etsy, I came across a Dala horses pattern made with felted wool. I thought it would be fun to try. So I bought the pattern, and the wool felt, and made a few. I thought it wise to do a test first, to see whether it was easy to do. Here’s my first one.
The pattern is the Dala Horse Scandinavian Felt Ornament from the Pearl and Poppy Shop on Etsy. The Dala horses measure about 4 inches from chest to tail, 5 inches from head to foot. I bought the wool felt from Benzie Design on Etsy. Their wool felt is so nice to work with. While these horses could be made with craft felt, the wool felt takes them up a notch and gives a much cleaner line. I made four more, want to see them?
I happened to have that green rick rack in my stash, and in just the right color! That’s always a fun discovery!
The white rickrack is from my grandmother’s stash. See? There’s something good about hanging on to little bits and baubles now and then!
It was so much fun to decide what color of felt to use and which thread! Then I came to the last horse, and really wondered if I would like it. Pink? A pink Dala horse? But . . .
Cute, huh? I prefer the traditional Swedish colors (red, white, etc.) but this one surprised me.
The Dala horses are all hand sewn, which was very relaxing and fun to do. I found it easiest to tack the saddle and other small bits with glue before sewing them down so they didn’t shift or fall off.. I stuffed mine with wool batting, and quickly found it much easier to stuff the legs and the nose of the horse as I stitched that section down, rather than trying to get stuffing into those little places after it was all sewn.
I will definitely keep this pattern on hand, and might even make a few more Dala horses before the holiday season is past.
I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my Scandinavian roots!
Wendy
They are adorable! Love all the variations of colors. ❤️ Beautifull handwork.
What beautiful Dala Horses to display – and your felt ornaments are so cute. My mother-in-law was Swedish. She was born here in US after her parents and older sisters arrived from Sweden.
Wendy, your Dala horses are delightful! It would be hard to choose a favorite because the mix of fabric colors are all fun. Your Christmas tree looks cheery and these will likely be sentimental favorites for many years!
I have a black Dala horse and rooster. I’d love to add a pig or piggy bank to my collection but they’re rare and expensive. My mom has several Dala horses, and her great granddaughter loves to play with them at the table.
All the links seem to be broken, the pictures don’t come up. Is something wrong?
Oh, these are delightful, Wendy and I definitely enjoyed this peek into your Scandinavian roots. Hooray for hanging on to bits and bobs and finding the absolute perfect way to use them to honor your roots even more!
Oh gosh they make the best ornaments!! Soo cute! I have to send this link to my sis!
Your Darla horses are wonderful. I have Scandinavian heritage also, but we didn’t have Darla horses. My SIL would love them.
These are just darling! I have a dala like your red one in the top picture, brought to me from Sweden by a friend. I have some Swedish in me too, even though it was not celebrated at I was growing up. AND I’ve made a dala project or two over the years, probably my favorite being this pillow: https://aquilterstable.blogspot.com/2014/12/pillowy.html
So cute… now when are you opening YOUR Etsy shop? Hmmm???
I love them! They are really beautiful and add so much interest to a Christmas tree. Makes me think I need to make some ornaments for next year. Doing the rick-rack with stitches really makes it look so different, I didn’t even know it was rick-rack till I saw what you did. And to have some vintage rick-rack from your grandmothers makes it even more special.
An enchanting herd of Dala horses
Fun collection. I only learned about dala horses a few years ago when I made a dala horse quilt block. Love all that color in your collection.
I get a kick out of those horses and I should have picked some up on my two trips in the past to visit a friend in Denmark. (Even though they are Swedish). They look so festive on the tree!
the little horses are so cute I have not seen those before
Those are such darling Dala horses. I love the handwork, the collection of miscellaneous “findings” (as my husband would call them) with their history. The felt looks so soft and your tips about stuffing are really nice to have.
Lovely. Do you think about using the Dala Horse shape in a quilt block?
Those are so sweet, Wendy! It looks like the horse pattern is exactly the right shape. Looking at your horses made me realize that I have a Dala horse on my tree, and I never knew that’s what it was! I didn’t make it, and I don’t even remember where it came from, but they sure are pretty!
I like this Dala ‘herd’ as Mariss called your assortment of critters hanging on the tree! The detail and colors are enchanting!
Wendy what a cute addition to your tree! The Dala horses are so cute, I can see how you could get to making many more!
So lovely… and you go out of your pocketswith the pink! Super!
Such a lovely tree and this fits sogood as christmas decoration.
Now Santa can come!
Very cute and very fun Dala horses. Very colorful. What a fun way to slow down and breath during the busy holiday season.
They look just perfect on your tree!
I remember your prior post on these and love them. It is so fun to see and I can see how you just kept making more. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
These are beautiful and I was interested to learn about the history of Dala horses. I knitted a stocking with Dala horses last year and I recently finished another one. One more, unfortunately is still on my needles!