Monday Makery - Felt Ball Garlands

I know the Christmas festivities are six weeks away but we're so excited and have so many things planned to make, bake and create we've started early to make sure we get them all done. These vibrant garlands add so much wonderful colour to the home and are simple to make with only a few ingredients. Though we made these garlands as gifts for family and friends as well as to hang up in our own home for Christmas we're already quite taken with them hanging up where they are.  So there they'll stay. I know they'll still be hanging long after Christmas too.

Here's what you'll need:

• felting wool - we used carded lambswool
• a bowl of hot soapy water
• a towel - folded on the table ready to catch all the excess water
• embroidery thread
• wool needle

Here's how:

1. Take a small wad of wool and then wrap around and around it with further strands of wool until you have a ball shape twice the size of how you want it to be.
2. Dip the ball into the hot soapy water.
3. Gently roll the ball between your hands, go gently you won't need to crush or squeeze the water out just keep rolling. At first it will fell like a soggy mess but after a minute or two it will soon firm up and take shape. When the water starts to cool, warm it up again. It's the hot water that does the trick.
4. Leave to dry. We dried ours overnight and they were ready the next day.
5. Now to create your garland: Thread a large needle with embroidery thread and tie a loop knot at the end so it can be ready to hang.
6. Thread on one ball at a time leaving a 1 inch space in-between each ball.
7. Finish by tying another loop knot at the end.

Now your garland is ready to embellish your home. Hang your garland above a child's bed, along the mantlepiece, or put your garland into a pretty jar and tie a ribbon around it for a pretty gift.  We know once you've made them you'll won't be able to save it for the Christmas tree! We're using it as an excuse to make more using cookie cutters for shapes for stars ad hearts...... nothing too Christmasy because we'll never want to take them down.

There's so much more you can make with your felt balls; thread them onto pieces of elastic thread for beautiful friendship bracelets or longer versions for necklaces, sew them together to form a disc to create colourful coasters and trivets, stitch one or two to a hairband elastic for a colourful transformation, make small strands to cover a plain wreath ready to hang for the festivities, or if you can make enough why not try making a felt ball rug! 

Happy Making!

x

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This is part of our weekly Monday Makery where we bring you a recipe to bake or a craft to create. Visit our Monday Makery when you're in need of inspiration for something to do on a rainy day or to use as interception of the words 'I'm bored', or just because being creative with your children is something you all love to do. Our other popular blogposts include 'The story behind our collections', 'Tell us its Tuesday' , An A-Z of Sisters Guild, The Art of Living posts bring you all the things we are passionate about and the things we discover in our lives as mamas, and our 'Once upon a week' gives you a glimpse into life behind the scenes at Sisters Guild. 

www.sistersguild.co.uk

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