onsdag
apr152009
How to make felted balls
You will need carded wool, hot water and soap. Dip your fingertip in soap and rub just a little on a piece of wool. Wind it into a ball:
Dip it quickly in hot water and roll between your palms:
Ball? you think... Looks more like a woollen pacman:
Here´s how to fix it: Put more soap on the weird looking ball, and wind a thin layer of wool around it.
The soap works like glue.
Roll it between your palms again, really light handed first..
and then firmer. There´s your ball!
onsdag, april 15, 2009 at 8:31PM
Reader Comments (11)
Guess these save energy while you are making them (no electricity for the sewing machine) but they wouldn't save much energy (ie keeping my cabin warm in winter by lessening fuel use).
They do let the sun in and they are cheery and fun to make with grandchildren!
Very cool. Thanks for providing such a simple tutorial. I knew there had to be a simple way to make felted balls, and now I know.
Do you just leave the soap in the ball, or do you need to wash them afterwards? I've always heard that soaps leave residues that can discolor over time. Just wondering. What a cute idea. I'm always looking for fun crafts to do with my nieces.
We didn´t wash them, but rinsed them while we made them. They still have their colour ;)
Hello! Greetings from Germany! I have a question: what kind of soap you use?
Congratulation for such a beautifull work!
Great tutorial! May I link to this post?
so cute! you can also needle felt the balls, not sure which is quicker.
We think this maybe is quicker, but needle felting is probably less messy and easier on the hands Terri (if you keep your eyes on the ball that is ;), thanks for the idea!
curious about the amount of balls you needed to create to make each of your projects (one - the drapes and two - the wreath)? i have a feeling if you handmade all the balls for the wreath that you are a far more patient person than I!
You could cover a small polystyrene ball with the roving - with a felting needle. Not as "pure" as the original version with wool and straw. I guess it depends on how much spare time you have.