These cute needle felted gingerbread decorations look just like the real thing but last forever! And, because it's quick and easy, it's also is a brilliant festive activity for all the family. A wonderful way to spend a wintry afternoon.
YOU WILL NEED:
Cookie cutters
Cardboard
Pencil
Scissors
Felting mat / sponge
Felting needle (we used 40g triangular)
Ribbon
Wool fibres:
Ginger (we used vixen Corriedale wool)
White (we used lightning merino wool)
STEP ONE
Tear off some ginger wool fibres, tuft them up and push them into the cookie cutter. Begin to poke them so that the fibres start to felt. Peel the wool off the mat, turn it over, place it back into the cutter and felt the other side in the same way. Make sure to have an even thickness, adding more fibres if you need to. Keep turning the shape regularly as you work. The more it felts, reduce the pressure of your stabs so that your needle doesn't go all the way through but just neatly felts the surface.
STEP TWO
Trace around your cookie cutter onto some card and cut out two matching heart shapes. Take your wool heart out of the cutter and place it between the card hearts so that you can hold it safely while you tidy up the edges.
STEP THREE
Scrunch up a little bit of white wool and rub it between your fingers to start to felt it into a small circle. Place it on the centre of the gingerbread heart and, starting at the bottom point, 'draw' a heart shape with your needle, carefully poking and dragging the fibres into place. Start with the edges first and when you have a rough shape, tidy up the outside edge and then very gently felt the centre until you are happy. If you want to start again, simply pull the heart off and take another scrunch of white wool.
STEP FOUR
Roll little wisps of wool into balls (licking your fingers helps) and felt them in place as dots around the edge of the heart.
STEP FIVE
Roll a thin length of wool fibre to make a strand, poke one end in at the bottom point of the heart to anchor it in place. Twist and felt it to draw a line.
Keep twisting and felting the line to create a heart outline on the edge of your shape.
STEP SIX
Add more white dots to the outside of your heart outline. Take a loop of ribbon, place it on the top of your gingerbread heart design and use a small patch of ginger wool across the ribbon to felt it in place securely.
TOP TIP: Anyone under the age of 14 should be supervised by an adult but this craft is fun for kids too! Wrap a little duct tape around their holding thumb and finger for extra safety and make sure they take lots of care with their felting needle - it is very sharp!
Try using star-shaped cutters, or gingerbread men too!
If you enjoyed this article and fancy having a go at one of our felting kits, we have plenty for beginners in our shop . They all contain the wool, accessories and needles plus detailed photographic instruction cards. All you need to grab is a sponge or a small cushion to work on.
Happy crafting,
Rachel x
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