Felted toy

Felted seals and cubs, original felt beads and earrings - all this and much more can be created with your own hands if you master the easy technology of felting.

Felting from wool does not require either complex tools or a large work surface. All that is needed is spun wool, special needles for felting, synthetic winterizer and a thick foam sponge.

In specialized stores, wool of any color is sold. If we want to make a red squirrel, as in the picture, we need terracotta, red and black.

Felting wool products is quite expensive, therefore, most often they are made of synthetic winterizer, and only the surface is covered with wool. The volume of the source material should be about a third more than the future toy, since when felting it shrinks.

So, we make a squirrel. Take a lump of synthetic winterizer and slightly cross-flick it with a large needle (No. 70 - 90). Felting needles are very sharp, so you should never pierce the material on weight! It is for this that you need a thick sponge, like for washing cars. We put a synthetic winterizer on it and pierce it with a needle, holding it perpendicularly so as not to break. Gradually, the fibers fall off under this influence.

In order for the squirrel to be colored, we cover the body with small thin-layer pieces of wool, laying them perpendicular to each other. When the synthetic winterizer ceases to be visible through the wool, we again begin to flicker with a large needle. After the fibers no longer separate from each other, you should align the surface with a needle No. 45 - 50.

Next, we draw a transverse recess in the place where we want to separate the head and body. With a large needle we make punctures in one line. In this case, you can slightly bend the neck, setting the desired angle of inclination of the muzzle.

For the ears you need to take two identical strands of wool. Separately, bend in half and, holding the tip, toss the circle. Then, grill in the middle so that the sink takes on a curved shape. The paws and tail are made about the same, but not round, but in the form of a roller. A connecting strand remains at the end of each part. Fluff it and filter it to the body.

We make deepenings in those places where it is necessary to designate the shape of the muzzle and the body. The tummy and cheeks need to be additionally treated with a red one, as well as the eyes and nose of black wool are piled off and attached to the face.

That's all, our toy is ready! Such a squirrel can turn out in 3-4 hours of work. And if you gain experience, you can try to create larger and more complex things, like this huge hedgehog with soft needles. Felt will take any form, which only tells you fantasy!