Wool Felt Hearts Tutorial

Living Crafts is featuring my tutorial on sewing wool felt hearts on their blog.

"These wool felt hearts have been a Valentines mainstay in our family for years. The hearts made their first appearance when my sons were quite young, starting a tradition of them coming downstairs in the morning to find a Valentines neck pocket each, hanging in the doorway and filled with little treasures. After discovering what was hidden inside, the boys would wear their hearts as necklaces all day and look more sweet than any Valentines candies have ever been.

We have made variations over the years; quilted cottons; knitted yarns; wet felted wool; folded paper….but always come back to these felt lovelies!"

The tutorial includes the pattern plus instructions on sewing them up to create neck pockets, pin cushions, bean bags and wall hangings. 

Enjoy!

Fiona

Wool Felt Fairy

  When I was about 10, we went to Denmark just before the holidays, on our way to visit my family in Scotland. It was such an exciting trip.  Denmark was so different from anywhere else I had been- very modern and stylish,and old at the same time.
We had gone out to dinner with some friends of my parents, and on our way out of the restaurant (after a meal of pigeon- a regional specialty! Somethings you never forget!) , a gold angel on the Christmas tree captured my eye. For some reason, I absolutely loved it. The kind family friend talked to the restaurant manager, and then presented me with this gold angel ornament. I felt like such a princess. Now, this was just a gold metallic paper cone,about 3 inches tall, with the same materials for the wings, a gold glass bauble for the head, and a gold pipe cleaner for a halo- not so fancy. But she caught the lights around her, and reflected them all around, and somehow encapsulated the whole magical experience of being in Denmark just before Christmas. 
  And of the simple gestures we can make that can mean so much to others. A key message for Christmas Day.
   I still have my angel- she goes on my tree every year, and every year it is a heartwarming memory- just as I feel now writing about it!

   But she is in the box of ornaments back in Ottawa, so I thought I would make an angel in the same style, out of wool felt. Perfect!

Wool Felt Fairy
materials:
small square yellow/gold wool felt, we used our Rainbow Dyed Wool Felt
small square white wool felt
yellow embroidery floss
wool felt bead-white or skintone
small amount wool locks or yarn for hair
sewing needle
fine wire or twist tie
gold beads
gold embroidery floss (optional)

 Using the Wool Felt Fairy Pattern pieces, cut out one wing and one body.

Wool Felt Fairy Pattern

(To open the pattern, click on the small text "Wool Felt Fairy pattern"above. Still investigating the best ways to make scale patterns available! Thanks for your patience!)

 Sew up the back of the body using blanket stitch.

 Using running stitch, sew around the top of the body and pull tight to gather to make the neck. Knot off.

 Sew the head to the neck. Tuck in the gathered edge as you go to make a neat finish. Try to pick up a good amount of fibers on both the neck and the head to get a good attachment.

 To make the hair with wool yarn, make a mini wig by making loops of yarn around your fingers and then tying together in the middle. Clip of the looped ends.

 

 Sew on the wool yarn wig in the middle to make a stitched part. If you are using wool locks, use this method also.Spread the hair out to cover the whole back of head, and sew in place around the bottom of the head, at the hairline.

 To make the halo, use a 4" length of fine wire, or a twist tie, stripped of paper. Make a little loop at the end and twist to secure.  Fill the wire with gold beads, then twist a loop at the other end to hold the beads in place.

 Sew onto the fairy's head, stitching on either side through the loop in the wire. Adjust the halo so that it is nicely placed and rounded.
Sew the wings onto the back of the fairy.

 Add a little embroidery, so she can catch and reflect the light. Try spirals or star rays, both made with simple straight stitches. These fairies look beautiful tucked onto a branch on a tree. They can also stand in a seasonal display, or be used as finger puppets. I have to write a story for mine! As I was making her I was thinking about what her story might be! 

Enjoy,

Fiona