Our daughter has long been a bunny lover and upon receiving a felting kit, we knew exactly what she would make! You can use this process to make any animal you like! Materials Large felting mat Felting needle tool (we liked this one as it had a protective case around the needles) Wool felt squares Roving wool Beads Ribbon Dowel Embroidery floss Needle (with a large eye) Scissors Dowel Finger protector (Thimble/Although it offers less protection, but more flexibility, a rubber finger is an alternative) Glue gun (Sorry- it seemed to have migrated out of the photo for another project!) Directions Lay your felt square on your felting mat (which is kind of like an upside down thick brush). The mat helps provide some structure while allowing you to push the roving wool into the felt square with the needle tool. Chose your colour for your bunny (or other animal- it is just that bunnies are our daughter’s favourite!). Pull off a bit of your wool gently and then create a shape that you would like for the face and then the additional features (such as the ears). Lay your shape onto your felt square and then hold your felting tool upright and compress it down onto your roving wool. Continue to do so, until the wool is entangled in your square. Go at a slow and steady pace and be sure to keep your other hand or someone else’s away from your mat while you do this. Add additional colours to create the facial details (so for example, the interiors of the ears and/or around the nose and mouth areas.), repeating the same process. Once the roving wool is attached, remove your felt square from your mat and then sew on your beads to create details like the nose and/or mouth. To practise our basic sewing skills and provide a finish around the edge we then sewed a basic stitch around the border. My daughter had a clever technique for trying to create an equal distance with one’s stitching. In writing, she places her finger down on the page to achieve spacing between words. She did this with her non-dominant hand, between her stitches so as to help her to start to recognize equal spacing. As a beginning sewer, she practised going “up an down”, “up and down” and came to realize that an error is easily corrected by going backwards or pulling out the stitch. Once finished, tie off your ends on the back of your square. We then applied a bit of glue to the top border on the back of the felt square and attached our dowel. Cut and attach the ends a length of ribbon (we glued them to the dowel at the back) for the hanging portion. Give your hanging to a friend or loved one or hang it in your own room! Purpose Using a variety of tools and materials. Learning basic sewing skills. Safety Notes Use scissors, the felting needle tool and glue gun with care and direct, adult supervision. Ribbon etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose. Beads can be a choking hazard therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths. Please like & share: One Response Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published. Name* Email* Website Comment Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.
