A Valentine's Felt Ball Garland

   

I've wanted to attempt to make felt balls for decoration ever since I saw them on Pinterest (pinterest, that dirty dog, making us want to do things).  So I finally broke down and bought some wool roving off Amazon (Hobby Lobby also sells it) in pinks and purples.  There are many stores on Etsy that sell the felt balls already made, but, like a crazy person, I thought, I can do that myself.   So here's how:

What you need:

-wool roving

-scissors

-hot water

-dish soap

-string ( I used embroidery thread)

-a needle (on the larger side)

-patience

-a good show on Netflix (I started Scandal and am. hooked.)

Cut your wool roving into small even pieces (obviously mine were not very even), about 2-3 inches.  Pull a tiny bit off each section and set aside.  I added a squirt of soap to a small container of hot water to use.  Dip your wool into the water solution and get it soapy.

 Start rolling your hands around to make it into a ball (think snowballs).  Once it's a ball, rinse it, roll some more, and rinse again.  If the ball is a little messy, take that extra piece you set aside and wrap it around your ball, dip in the water and roll again.  These took a while, you end up with VERY water logged hands, but they sure are pretty.

Will I make these again? Probably because like I said above, I'm a crazy person.  Do I recommend it? Not really.  Spend the extra five dollars and just buy them pre made.  It would save you some hassle, although my hands were super clean.

I let mine dry over night and then some because life got in the way.  When your felt balls are dry, line them up in the color order you want.  String your needle and start threading.  The best thing about these? They stay in place on the thread so all you have to do is string them on!

Putting the garland together was a cinch and took about five minutes (but I still sat and watched an entire episode of Scandal).  I'm using my pink and purple garland as a Valentine's Day decoration, but it will most likely end up in Little Misses room after the holiday.

Whats a craft project you thought you could make at home easier and it turned out buying premade would of saved you your sanity?

xo Stacie