make: felted ball garland

Today I asked Dani from Be Good Natured, to share a felting project with us.  I've seen the felt ball garlands around and since she is an amazing felter I thought it would be fun to start from beginning to end so you can learn how to felt as opposed to just purchasing the pre-made pieces.

Dani is the sweetest so make sure you check out her blog where she writes about her felting adventures, DIY projects and about how she works at a zoo! How fun right?

SUPPLIES USED: 
Wool roving or batts / Felting Needle / Foam
Large sewing needle / Embroidery Floss / Scissors
For some of these supplies check your local craft store, etsy or even livingfelt.com

I'm a sucker for rainbows, and I'm longing for some Springy colors, so I chose lots of bright wool for my garland.  You can easily customize the color based on your own design needs!

Decide how big you want to make the balls.  Keep in mind that you they can't be any wider than your sewing needle, otherwise you'll lose your needle in the ball as you thread them up. :)  Compact the wool in your hand to determine how much of the roving you'll need for the size balls you want.

You can go ahead and divide all of your wool into this amount if you want.  It certainly does not have to be exact.

Time to felt! Grab your felting needle and foam. Livingfelt.com has most of the supplies you will need and tutorials that are easy to follow if you feel lost at all make sure to check them out or do a quick google/youtube search for more resources!

Keep your ball compacted, and carefully begin to shape it with your felting needle.  (If you've never needle felted before, here are some tips:  Always felt on top of some kind of foam. The needle will go through your wool, poking into the foam as you felt. Never look away and always be mindful of where your fingers are. These needles are sharp and barbed, folks. It hurts when you miss...)

 As you poke, the barbs are compacting the wool fibers.  So, turn the ball as you poke, making sure to cover the entire surface.  The more you felt, the smoother and less lumpy your balls will be. 

Voilà! Just a *few* more to go.

After you've felted to your heart's content, now decide what order you want to string up your balls.  To go with my rainbow wool, I thought it only fitting to use some rainbow embroidery floss.

The wool provides enough friction on the embroidery floss, so you shouldn't have to secure each ball in place. 

To finish off your garland, you can tie small loops at each end or leave the floss a little longer to wrap it around a nail, depending on where you will it. 

Hang it up and enjoy your wooly decor!