Skill meter: Bomb proof
If your anything like me
you love prettying and pampering your pony. Whether it’s the nice smelling
grooming spray or the braided mane and tail, there is no greater feeling than
seeing your horse look its best. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and
you’re horse is looking a million bucks, but something is missing.
This my friend is the browband.
Typically used in the show ring, this tiny piece of ribbon wrapped leather/plastic banding attaches to your
bridle and just gives your pony a little extra something - usually that something is bright, colourful and blinding with bling.
Maybe that's just me...
You’ve seen them and you
want one. Ribbon wrapped browbands can range anywhere from $20 to $300 (AUD)
and I don’t know about you, but when I started riding spending that much on
some ribbons and buttons just wasn’t an option.
Enter the DIY.
The first thing to note
is that like most things in the horse world, you can spend as much or as little
money on this project as you want. If you already have a bridle then you
probably have a browband, all you need is a few metres
of ribbon and some glue. All of this can be purchased at the dollar store if
you don’t already have it lying around.
Now I’m not gonna lie,
ribbon browbands are tricky, fiddly little things and more than once your gonna
wanna throw it on the ground and stomp on it.
But you’ll pick it back up, brush it off and continue, determined
to beat this piece of ribbony hell.
Your first try is not
going to be perfect - neither will your second - but you’ll be so proud
that you finished it, you’ll immediately run out to your pony to try it on.
The pony will be suitably unimpressed but you won’t care
because you made it and it vaguely resembles what you were going for.
Don’t stress. This is
completely normal. It’s also why I recommend reading the instructions and not just following the photos.
Feel free to try, but when you're sobbing into your
tangled mess of ribbon and glue don’t come crying to me. - I’m just kidding I can’t tell
you how many hours I’ve spent crying over an impossible mess. Hands up if you tried with just the photos and have now come back to read the instructions?
- Scissors - If you need an explanation about scissors you probably shouldn't be using them
- Browband - You can use either a leather band or PVC. Personally I prefer the PVC – I find they last better and they are what I have the easiest access to. You can use either a flat or a rounded browband but I think you get a better effect from a flat one. If you can’t get access to a plain browband and just want to practice and get your skills down pat, a good substitute is a standard school ruler.
- Glue – I will be using a low temp hot glue gun. I find it the easiest to work with as it dries fast and holds well. Alternatively you can use craft glue. This works pretty well, however your browband will not be as durable and the dry time is longer. There is the added bonus of not burning off your fingers.
- Ribbon - For this first basic weave we will be using two pieces of ribbon. Each of my pieces is about 2m long and 15mm wide. You can choose whatever colour and ribbon type you like, but the most important thing is that these ribbons be the exact same width. This design is based on symmetry and if they are different widths it’s going to look terrible. Just keeping it real. The wider your ribbon is, the less time it’s going to take and the easier it’s going to be. I would not recommend using ribbon over 20mm wide or you may have trouble getting it to sit right. But it’s a free country and I’m not going to tell you what to do.
Getting started
Start by gathering your ribbon. This particular design is called a 'sharks tooth' patten and requires two pieces of ribbon to complete (minimum) but once you get the hang of it, you could use as many as you like
More on that later.
Cut the tip off your ribbons to ensure a nice straight edge, then glue the two ribbons together. If you are using ribbon that has a 'good side' and a 'bad side', (such as velvet ribbon or one with a patten) make sure the 'good sides' are facing each other.
Or just do what I do and use satin ribbon, it's cheap, it's sturdy, it looks good and it's hard to screw up - well screw up irreparably.
Once the glue has dried you're ready to begin.
Open the ribbons so that the browband sits between them with one ribbon going straight up and the other, straight down. Ensure that the ribbon join is at the back and the small 'tail' is facing inwards, towards the browband.
This last step is not essential but it will give you a neater finish and be less irritating for the horse. It's also why we put the 'good sides' facing together.
Take the bottom ribbon, in this case the teal one, and cross it over the front of the browband. Be sure that the ribbon join stays at the back and doesn't twist to the front as you go. If you have trouble with the ribbon sliding around, a small dab of glue on the back of the band will help keep things stable.
Anyone catch the horse pun there? Oh how I crack myself up...
Repeat the same step as before, only this time use the top ribbon. Keep a nice steady tension to keep the ribbon where you want it. You should now have two ribbons crossed over the band heading in different directions.
Take the teal ribbon and wrap it under the band, then bring it back over the top, making sure your teal ribbon goes over the white. You should start to see a triangle patten emerge.
Tip: if you need to put your browband down for a little while and don't want to loose all your work, use a laundry peg or bobby pin to secure your ribbons and keep the tension.
Repeat this step with the white ribbon. Wrap the white under the band and bring it back across the front, over the top of the teal ribbon.
Keep following this patten, wrap the ribbon under and then over until you reach a good place to stop. Snip off your extra bits of ribbon, ensuring there is enough left for you to secure the ends.
You can finish your browband in a number of ways:
- Use a needle and thread to sew the ribbons together - handy if you know how to sew as it will give you a stronger hold but it is time consuming and it's easy to losen the tension while your sewing, potentialy ruining your weave
- Tie the two ribbons together in a knot - a good quick fix, unlikely to come undone, however it doesn't look great and the small knot could potentially irritate a sensitive horse.
- Glue - the method I will be using. Not as durable as sewing but It gets the job done. If you wanted a bit more security, you can glue a strip of felt (the same diamiter as your browband) over the top to protect the join and give you a nice neat finish.
You should now have two black (or whatever colour your browband is), un-wrapped loops at either end, and a lovely zigzag patten inbetween. The loops will be covered by two 'rosettes' which I will show you how to make in my next tutorial.
And there you have it! Your very own ribbon browband. You can begin using it immediately, or wait and add the rosettes.
After the glue has dried, don't be an idiot.
Once you've mastered the 'sharks tooth' patten, why not step it up a notch? Wrap some thin ribbon over the top to achieve this look.
Or if you're feeling confident, why not try adding an extra colour to your weave.
Well, that's all there is too it! Good luck Im sure you'll do awesome.
You had an excellent teacher after all.
This is the first of many DIY projects and there are many more browband designs for you to learn so stay tuned!
Thanks, Jess
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