Here you’ll find felt crafts tutorial. This time, we made a necklace with the help of the so called wet felting technique. The jewel is made of natural sheep fleece. It is a jewel that rather fits the colder days with its material.
Material:
- sheep’s fleece
- soap (preferably with deer)
- water
- cotton
- beads
- scissors
- a piece of curtain or old ladies stockings
- washboard or mat
Wet felt crafts tutorial:
Children could also participate in making a felt necklace. They would certainly enjoy working with felting wool. They could help to fold pieces of small strands of sheep’s fleece.
We unfold the curtain and gradually fold the sheep’s fleece in layers. The strands are easily pulled out of the fleece and placed next to each other. We put them in colour layers as we want to create a colourful pattern. We fold the wool side by side, stack the first layer. The second layer is folded perpendicular to the first one (rotate 90 °). Proceed in the same way.
To make the necklace, a 30 x 40 cm rectangle is enough, about 1,5 – 2 cm thick. The strands of the fleece are stacked and then packed tightly into a roller.
Wrap the roller tightly into the curtain to avoid later deformation. Soak, soap and rub to make the fleece join. Soak alternately in warm (as warm as we can) and cold water so that the fleece connects. Don’t use hot water so you do not scald. Use water as warm as are able to handle. Changing the water temperature and the pressure on the wool cause wool felting. The wool will “shrink” and become a solid felt. This technique is called wet felting.
Take it out of the curtain and continue felting, preferably on a washboard or mat. The roller must be made stiff enough (without the cavity inside).
Rinse the finished roller thoroughly and allow to dry. Cut it into individual wheels. We see a beautiful pattern on them that was created by alternating the colors of the sheep’s fleece during felting. We have a pattern similar to tiny roses.
String the wheel, bead, wheel … to the desired length.
We can end it firmly (metal fastening) or simply tie it with a chain. In this case, at the beginning of the stringing process, we need to call into count the additional space for the chain on both ends.
Do you enjoy making your own felt crafts jewelry? You can get inspired by our other creative tutorials.
TIP!
You need to call into account that wet felting is in the felting phase (on a washboard) a bit of a physical challenge. But the result is worth.
