felting fun

We've been involved in a few too many homeschool classes and clubs this year, and haven't had enough time for 'projects'. I decided to squeeze a few crafts in and to do more baking with them before Finch's arrival this May (he's due the 26th, but if he follows his siblings' example, he'll be here by the 5th). Today, we made some felted wool beads using dyed wool roving from Leighton Farms (very highly recommended!!)



I adapted our method from a felted ball kit I received several years ago, and my method is pretty much the same as many others I easily found on the web. Basics:

1. Pull off a small amount of wool and form it into a loose ball. (We used enough to form a 3/4" ball that felted into a 1/2" bead -- larger beads were trickier to form and didn't turn out as well for us.)
2. Plunge your ball into hot sudsy water, squeeze gently, then roll it around in your hands, shaping it into a round or oblong bead for a minute or so. Use a fair amount of pressure as you're shaping to help the fibers compact.
3. Plunge your ball into cold water, squeeze, and continue squeezing and shaping for another minute.
4. Continue plunging the bead into hot and then cold water, shaping and squeezing after each plunge, until it's done -- it should hold it's shape and feel fairly tight. Give it a final rinse and squeeze and set it aside.
5. When you've made as many as you want, put them in a laundry bag or old stocking or sock, and tumble dry. As with any felted project, check periodically and take it out when it looks and feels 'done' to you.

Beads can be used for lots of crafts and games -- we're planning to string them for bracelets and to sew some onto a knitted hat 'for decoration'.