Wet Felting
Wet felting is a common handwork project for preschoolers, easy to manage and with great results. I've
been asked again and again for directions and what type of projects to do; here is a list of favorite links to get you started:
First felting project
Tips for beginning felters
Find old washboards for felting (glass ones are best) on eBay -- category Home & Garden, subcategory Kitchen
Felt Balls -- we make felt balls with large jingle bells inside them every Christmas as cat toys
How to make felt beads
So You'd Like To... felt a bar of soap
Amazon list by Hamilton Armstrong (includes directions and links to great felting books)
So You'd Like To... felt an Easter egg
another list by Hamilton Armstrong, also with great book suggestions
Making cute wet felted
doll slippers
Felted Merino Scarf
Another project for flat pieces of felt is these adorable Felt Baby Shoes
Or try making Jingle-Bell Slippers this Christmas!
How to felt a hat You can buy
a GREAT Felted Hat Kit from A Toy Garden
and this blog has a ton of other links and resources
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Subcategories of wet felting include knitting then felting OR crocheting then felting; see,
"The Sophie Bag" and The French Market Bag (both links include
FREE patterns for bags which are knitted then felted). This is usually done using a washing machine.
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Wet felting is the handwork focus for our third preschool unit: Insects.
For that unit we recommend a great book for beginners:
by
Anne Einset Vickrey
Felting fabric in the washing machine is explored in the preschool unit: Sun, Moon & Shadow.
The book we recommend there is
Exploring Textile Arts: the ultimate guide to manipulating, coloring, and embellishing fabrics.
This is a great use for old sweaters!
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Last but not least, for large lots of the same color we would like to recommend the roving selection from Weir Dolls, offered in individual colors as well
as color assortments.
HAVE FUN!
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