sustainable christmas crafts - Ultimate Guide To Needle Felting In The Felt Hub

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.

WATCH THE VIDEO TUTORIAL OR SHOP THE CHRISTMAS NEEDLE FELTING KITS

You will need:

Carded wool or wool top (AKA roving) for the hat, body and nose; I am using carded wool for both.
Felting needle – size 38 (or medium) is a good all rounder.
Wooden BBQ skewer or chop stick; metal is too slippery for the wool to hold onto.
Felting mat: Foam, hessian or wool
For the beard use wool tops, curly wool or knitting yarn
Embellishments or embroidery thread for decoration

Image shows festive needle felted gnome ideas

Shop needle felting tools and accessories if you are just starting out.

TOP TIPS BEFORE YOU START!

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.

Image shows pretty pink DIY Christmas gnome decorations.

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

Image shows how to start making your own DIY Christmas gnome decoration.

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.

Image shows how to make a needle felted gnome hat.

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.

Needle felted gnome tutorial - adding a curly beard.

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…😉

DO YOU WANT MORE SEASONAL CRAFT IDEAS?

Then look no further as there are so many other CHRISTMAS NEEDLE FELTING PROJECTS for you to try.

THERE’S A PROJECT TO SUIT EVERY STYLE, ABILITY, AND TASTE

From winter pumpkins to penguins, cute to traditional, Nordic gnomes to forest fairies. Fill your seasonal home with creativity and handmade love.

Grab a cuppa and mince pie and get creative with me, You can felt along with me or just watch and save for later. All you need is a handful of wool, any colours or type, and a felting needle. A cocktail stick will come in useful but it’s not essential.

OK, so maybe her attention is more on the mince pie than the needle felted gnome but, she does love wool and loves watching me needle felt. That counts, right?

VIDEO TUTORIAL Scroll down for written tutorial and materials list.

Or watch the live version on my INSTAGRAM IGTV channel or FACEBOOK PAGE

Skill level: Complete beginners – no crafting experience necessary

Time to make: Approximately 30 minutes

You will need:

15g any colour wool top/roving for the body

5g Wool top/roving or carded wool for the hat, in your choice of colour

Pinch of light colour for the nose

2g Wool top/roving, or curly wool for the beard, in your choice of colour

Enthusiasm

If you don’t have any supplies then the Gnome needle felting kit is available on the website.

Nordic and Scandinavian style decor is so popular and I just love it. What I especially love are the charming Nordic gnomes. You may also see them referred to as Nisse, Tomte and Tonttu. Our house is full of them and they are super easy so here’s a tutorial for you.

If you have never needle felted before or are an experienced felter this is a wonderful way to start and get you in the festive mood. It’s simple and relaxing and so much fun to make.

This is just one style to get you started but there are so many variations that soon, like me, you will be tripping over them. So grab a cuppa, mince pie and some festive cheer and get creating.

1 – Hat: Make this first so the body fits the hat; much easier than trying to fit the hat to the body! You can go as small or tall as you like but this hat, when completed, is approx 20cm. The triangle template measurements are approx; base 10cm (slightly curved) and sides 12cm .

Layer your hat wool on your felting mat and pop your hat template on top of your wool, leaving a few extra centimetres of wool around each side. Top tip: Your wool shouldn’t be too thick but make sure you can’t see the felting mat through it

Make sure you can’t see through the wool

2 – ‘Draw’ a line around the triangle with your needle to create a very rough outline

3 – Remove template and draw around the line a couple more times. This will be your fold line.

4 – Fold in the sides one at a time and start to felt to create a triangle; it will be a very rough shape to start with but you will tidy this up as the wool becomes more felted so stop fiddling with it!

5 – Gently fold and felt each side until you have this rough shape; keep the excess at the top of your triangle because this is going to create your lovely pointy hat shape.

6 – Gently pull away from the base you are using, turn and repeat. Tip; any felting base will do (foam, rice bag etc), whatever your preference.

Keep turning regularly so it doesn’t stick to the base

7 – Keep repeating the process until it starts to firm up.

Continue felting until it holds its shape

8 – Time to tidy up the shape; use your finger to fold in the sides that need straightening (doesn’t have to be perfect). Be slow and careful so as not to stab your finger; you can use a finger guard but I find they just annoy me. However, I have lots of customers who get on with them just fine.

9 – Your approx finished triangle which should be soft but firm and holds its shape.

Your finished hat shape; it doesn’t have to be perfect

10 – Fold in half and felt along the side to mesh the fibres together. Keep turning and repeating until the hat is now firmly felted along the side so it doesn’t pull apart when you gently pull it.

11 – Open up the base of the hat and tidy up the line by folding in any rough edges and felting. Keep turning and felting until you are happy with the shape at the base of your Tomte hat.

12 – Roll just the top 2/3 cm of your hat between the palm of your hands to firm up the top and point. This improves the look as well as allowing you to tip the point over to the side at a jaunty angle.

Roll the tip in the palm of your hands to create a pointy hat

Basic Body Shape

Body shapes don’t get much easier than this. Don’t be too precious about needle marks and dimples because most of this will be covered by its big beard.

1 – Roll your wool (I have used natural white Shetland) into a basic barrel shape. It will do this automatically as you start to roll. Start with less than you need and build it up.

Most important! Do not start to felt with your needle until you have rolled at least half of it really tightly; trust me, this will save you a lot of felting time and applies to all body shapes made this way!

2 – Start stabbing all over with your needle (mind your fingers) as you continue to roll and remember to keep it tight. Tip: Check to see if your hat sits on top and if the body is too small add some more wool and felt again. If it’s too big then continue to felt where the hat will sit to reduce the size.

3 – Continue to turn and felt until you have a more even and neater shape. You may end up with a narrower end which is fine because you will pop the hat onto this. Pay particular attention to the base which needs to be flat for stability. Tip; you can also press on the base once felted as the wool is pretty malleable.

4 – Flatten the base until it sits without wobbling.

5 – Pop on your hat and felt, gently, all around the edge until it is felted securely onto the body making sure the hat seam is at the back.

6 – Make the nose by rolling a pinch of white or flesh coloured wool in your hands just to rough it up. Place on your mat and continue to felt with your needle, turning all the time. Now place back into the palm of your hands and roll vigorously until really firm and smooth. Tip; you may have to do this a couple of times to get it right as it is very easy to add too much wool and have a huge nose if you have never needle felted before. Less is always more when it comes to needle felting.

7 – Place the nose on its side, just under the front of the hat and felt the end into the body.

9 – As you do this the nose will naturally rise into its correct position. Continue to felt around the base until it is firmly attached. The base of the hat should be sat just above the nose.

10 – Decide what type of beard you are going to have. I have used grey Jacob but use whatever colour you wish. Curly locks also look really great.

11 – If using a straight wool pull off a small section and fold in half and start by felting it onto the body just under the nose. Don’t worry about it being longer than the body because you will trim it to size (or not) once it is attached.

12 – Continue to felt along the fold and attach it up the side of the nose and along the hat line. Tip; you can push the wool under the hat line with your needle (don’t bend it or you may break the needle) for a neater finish.

13 – Now trim your beard to your desired shape and style. I like mine quite ‘raggy’ so once I have got the length I then snip into the sides.

There you have it. One fabulous Tomte Christmas gnome! You can crease the hat or keep it straight. I like both. Told you it was easy!

Try different wool and add some fabulous locks for a different look. For the gnomes below I have used a lush teal batting with green silk fibres for the hat, and plant dyed, hand spun locks for the beard. The gnome on the right has a beard of grey Masham shot through with white silk.