Felting Activity

Students will have the ability to create from carded wool. They will gain hands-on experience fiber processing

How does wool turn into felt?

Directions:

Fill bucket with very hot water and add enough soap to give the water a very slippery feel.
Have the students each select a clean rock. A small (size of the child’s fist), round rock will work the best.
Spread the carded wool around the table and allow the children to choose a few small pieces of various colors.
Pull the pieces of wool apart into strips and then into ‘spider webs’.
Wrap the webs of wool around the rock until you cannot see the rock anymore.
Be sure to check that the wool is even all the way around the rock.
Hold the ball with two hands and dip it quickly in and out of the water. Hold the ball over the bucket and gently squeeze.
Now gently squeeze, rub, pat, and roll the ball in your hands. It will take several minutes (as many as 20). If the ball starts to dry out, dip it again. During the felting process two or three dips are usually sufficient.
The ball is completely felted when you can rub the surface and the fibers won’t separate.
Once complete, rinse the ball under cold running water and squeeze. Allow it to dry for a few hours.
To get the rock out, create a small slice in the felt and pop the rock out. You now can create a pouch or a small bowl, depending on how you cut the top

Create a kitty play ball by using a few jingle bells wrapped in plastic wrap as a base instead of a rock. You will not be cutting to bells out.
You can also use a tennis ball as a base to make a festive ball for you to play with.