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This Christmas why not try making your own festive wreath and garland?
It never ceases to amaze me what you can create with felting wool and a felting needle??? My latest tutorial is this stunning needle felted Christmas wreath and garland; my take on the traditional dried fruit and chilli garlands we see each year. It’s like magic – a pinch of this, a wisp of that, and a tiny sup song of whatever takes your fancy, throw in a cookie cutter, and a wooden BBQ skewer and et voila!
MAKE YOUR OWN SUSTAINABLE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!
I love this idea for a festive door decoration. The bright colours of the needle felted fruit and chillies are so cheerful, and would definitely bring a smile to your guests as they come through your front door. This is such an easy project to do and, although it does take time and patience, the results are beyond worth it! It’s actually really satisfying seeing the needle felted fruits take shape before your eyes as you needle felt them layer by layer. You can use different types of wool depending on what effect you’d like to achieve. What’s more, they can be displayed proudly, year after year, are natural, sustainable, and completely biodegradable.
This is a step-by-step tutorial and, if you’re new to needle felting, don’t worry because I’m going to walk you through it all as we go. After this post you’ll be ready for any holiday crafting projects!
If you don’t have the wool or needles you can find them here, on the Lincolnshire Fenn Craft website. I have carefully curated my favourite wools to give you the best possible result.
HAVE ALL THE FELTING GEAR? THEN HERE’S YOUR MATERIALS LIST.
YOU WILL NEED:
Seasonal wool tops and carded wool for your oranges, lemons and chillies.
Forest green and Christmas red wool top/roving.
BBQ skewer for shaping your chillies.
Polystyrene hoop for wreath
Length of wool yarn for threading your garland
Round cookie cutter or similar; ideal for perfectly round slices. However, I will also show you how to make them free hand.
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STYLE IDEA
Imagine this combination as the centre piece to your fireplace, and how realistic does that fruit look?
VIDEO TUTORIAL
I have split the video tutorial into three easy to follow parts. Hope you love it as much as I did. Subscribe to my YOUTUBE channel for instant notification of new tutorials!
Using a BBQ skewer, or chop stick, as a needle felting tool makes many needle felting projects a whole lot easier, and faster to complete. It is also a great aid for creating symmetry, especially when it comes to legs and feet. It is the tool that no self respecting needle felter should be without, whether it’s your first needle felting project or your twentieth. Even better, you will probably find one, or both, at the bottom of your kitchen drawer, along with the sandwich toaster and vegetable juicer…
IT’S SUCH AN EASY PROJECT!
This gnome on a stick is easy to make and the solid hat means you can really go to town on the embellishments without spoiling the shape. Simple embroidery adds another creative and effective element. Time to make: 60-90 minutes. Beginners and perfectionists add on another 30 minutes.
Needles are sharp so keep your fingers out of the way. If in doubt, use finger protectors. Not suitable for young children and older children should be supervised at all times.
When working around your stick avoid hitting the wood with your needle as it could break. Working at a diagonal angle will help avoid this.
Keep the wool firm as you wrap, using thin lengths of wool, and take your time to build it into a cone shape. If your wool is too bulky you will struggle to get a nice smooth shape.
If you start to loose the shape, simply unwind a little wool and do it again.
Enjoy yourself and, if it’s your first project, go easy on yourself; you are only on chapter 1 so don’t compare yourself to others who are on chapter 5.
There is no end to the style of gnomes you can create and how gorgeous are these visions in pink and raspberry! I love the impact created by these simple embroidered snowflakes against the bold raspberry colour.
EMBROIDERED SNOWFLAKES
Embroidered snowflakes are super simple! Just thread a large needle with yarn and criss cross four straight lines until you have a seven pointed star. They can also be needle felted on.
TOP TIP: Keep the yarn loose so as not to sistort the shape of the snowflake.
HAT AND BODY
1 Wrap your wool around the stick and felt into place
2-4 Continue to wrap and felt until you have covered half of your stick, longer if you want a bigger hat.
5-6 Continue to wrap and felt to secure
7 Continue to build the shape but don’t take the wool to the tip bas you want to create a cone shape.
8-9 Create your shape along the stick by using your needle at a diagonal angle.
10 Widen the base as you felt; mine is approx. 6cm diameter
11-12 Create the body the same way but aim for a barrel shape approx. 6cm in height, slightly narrower at the top and wider at the base for stability.
13-14 Remove from the stick and continue to shape and firm
15 Create a cavity at the base of the hat for the body to sit in.
16 Narrow the top, if necessary, by felting at a diagonal angle from the top towards the base.
17-18 Pop some fresh wool on the top of the body and felt into the hat.
19-20 Now felt through the hat and into the top of the body, until it is held firmly.
NOSE
21 Wrap the end of a small piece of wool firmly around your wooden skewer, aiming for a short oval shape.
22 Continue to wrap the wool around the stick (no need to use your needle yet) and use your thumb and finger to stop it from moving down the stick and becoming too long. Felt a little to secure but leave the ends slightly loose. TOP TIP: Don’t forget to keep it tight as this will create a great shape. Make it any size you want.
23 Check you are happy with the size and shape.
24 Remove from the stick and felt each side (where you left the wool loose) just under the brim of the hat.
25 It needs to be a good size as it will soon disappear under the beard, so if it’s too small it will look lost.
BEARD
26-28 Felt the beard wool or locks just under the brim of the hat. This will keep it looking neat.
29 Add in more colour if you want to.
30-31 You can create a beard at the front or, as I have done, create a full skirt all the way around the hat.
Et voila! Leave it simple or add embellishments. I have wrapped wool yarn around this one and created a loose pom pom at the top. Now go forth and make more gnomes; it would be rude not to and they always look better in twos, threes, fours…😉
This fairy tree topper is sure to be a hit. No more need for those complicated, expensive store-bought ones that never quite look as good as you want them too. This one takes no time at all, is completely sustainable, and even better, is handmade by you! Lincolnshire Fenn Crafts brings you the ultimate in christmas crafts this season. A super easy to follow needle felting workshop.
Join me for 90 minutes of fully festive creative respite. It’s a completely free workshop so if you have your own wool stash then come and join me. It will be a fabulous evening and a great way to get in the festive mood. Why not make a night of it and get the whole family involved. Or, grab a glass of something special and have a Skype craft party. However you do it, I will be there answering your questions and showing you all my favourite felting moves.
You will need:
Pipe cleaners
Wool tops; white and whatever you have in your wool stash
Christmas wouldn’t be fully festive without a needle felted snowman. Perfect for craft enthusiasts, nervous beginners and everyone in-between. A super easy to follow needle felting workshop. Needle felting kits are available on the Lincolnshire Fenn Crafts website Bring wool, felting needles, your favourite tipple and create a cute, super easy needle felted snowman to add to your Christmas décor.
