I’m trying a new craft: needle felting! Have you ever done it? I was inspired by the book Feltlicious: Needle-felted Treats to Make & Give. I decided to try my hand at what looked like the easiest one: a gingerbread man. Made by using a cookie cutter, a felting mat, and a needle felting tool, it took just a few hours and was so much fun! You basically just fill the cookie cutter with wool roving (I picked up Furry Friends Roving Pack) and pound away with the tool until the felt adheres to itself and forms an object. You can refine your work with individual needles to make the edges and details more precise, as required. Totally malleable and really creative, this craft requires no skill and gives you a really lovely result.
I think the projects in this book would make great Christmas ornaments. I might put a pin-back on some and have my kids wear them to school. They’d make great toys, too. Why not make a whole cookie tray of gingerbread men for playtime, or so many of the foods in this book, for a dinner set? Instead of icing my gingerbread man, I tacked some yarn on top of my felting with a sewing needle and white thread.
I know he’s not perfect. I’m certainly still practicing. Let me tell you, this is a craft perfect for that DVD set of TV shows you’ve been meaning to get through. It’s somewhat mindless with great results, and if you’re feeling a bit aggressive, the pounding of the needle could be just what you need to feel better (not that I ever feel aggressive, ahem).
Knit Picks stocks a bunch of other great books for needle felting. Here’s some links if you’d like to check them out. If you have kids, a book and some felting supplies would make a great “back to school” gift, too!
My Felted Friends by Mia Underwood
