Blog Archives

my favorite felted sweater diy's, part 2

10/25/2013

0 Comments

pillows

If you missed the last post with some wool sweater ideas, check it out here. Pillows are an easy thing to start with.

blankets & quilts

Another great idea for using large chunks of sweaters are lap blankets or quilts.

You can make any kind of patchwork pattern out of sweater pieces, then sew to a coordinating flannelette with right sides together. Leave a small section unsewn for turning it right side out. Finish with a stitch 1/4 inch from the edge of the blanket. Lap blankets for car seats are a great baby gift for the wintertime.

But what about those pesky arms of sweaters or those little pieces that are left over? Shouldn't I just throw them away? Absolutely not! There's still much to make from scraps. Unless you're planning on making coffee cozies or candle cozies out of the sweater arms, you can feel free to cut them apart at the seam, giving you yet another nice size of felted wool to create with. When cut open, the arms make great pot holders.

pot holders

One item that was popular at my craft show the other weekend were wool sweater pot holders. Wool is naturally heat-resistant, and with your wool having gone through the felting process, the fibers are nice and tight. No yucky chemicals like in the store-bought pot holders. Wool is also stain-resistant. And these are pretty enough to use on the table as a trivet. Just cut your wool whatever size you want (mine are about 7 inches square).

Now, here's the beauty of felted wool. Since it will not fray when cut, you can sew these 2 layers of wool with right sides facing out, and it will look great! No need to hide your stitches. I added some extra stitching across the pot holder for more durability, but it's not essential. Oh, and before you sew it all the way shut, add a little strip of wool for hanging.

garland & bunting

Since it's almost time for that holiday decorating, why not make some fun bunting or garland? Or, if you'd rather not do-it-yourself, my etsy shop is always open :)

For the bunting, I just made a template for the size triangles I wanted. Cut your stash of felted wool. Then, tuck the tops of the triangles into double sided bias tape and finish with a simple straight stitch. So easy, but this would be beautiful tucked into the Christmas tree, across windows, or as winter party decor.

Get the kids involved with this last project. As long as it's about 1 inch, no scrap is too tiny to create with! Make colorful felted wool garland out of square scraps. Two of my boys (ages 7 & 9) spent some time working together to make this garland. Just thread some yarn into a thick, large-eyed needle, and sew through the middle of your square scraps. Knot your yarn every 3 squares or so, to keep the garland from bunching up when it's hung. Would look so festive on the tree or draped in a window for the winter.

I will have a few final ideas coming soon to use up your felted wool stash. In the meantime, check out my pinterest board for additional inspiration.

Have you ever created with felted wool? What was your favorite project? Are you planning on trying one of these ideas -- which one?

0 Comments

my favorite felted sweater diy's, part 1

10/24/2013

2 Comments

One of my favorite crafting materials to work with is up-cycled felted wool sweaters. They're like a colorful blank canvas, just waiting for some re-creation work. Not to mention, they are fuzzy and soft.

Start out with a treasure hunt at your local thrift store. Our local Salvation Army has 1/2 price clothing days once a week, so that is my best time to shop. Buy the biggest 100% wool sweaters you can find. The men's section is usually not as crowded as the ladies, so head there first. They don't have to be in perfect shape, or even name-brand, because you're going to cut these babies up eventually.

The key here is 100% wool for the felting process to work. Throw your sweaters into the washing machine on a hot cycle with detergent and as much agitation in the cycle as possible. These are your components to a successful felting process. Once washed, throw them into the dryer, again with the hottest temperature possible. Check and empty your lint several times. I don't like to throw anything away, so I'm sure there is a DIY craft for clean wool lint. (Fire starters, probably?)

Once your sweaters have been felted, they will be noticeably smaller. This is because the fibers have become denser and tighter. They will not fray when cut, making felted wool a nice material to work with. Now for some DIY project ideas just in time for the holidays.

The easiest project is a felted sweater pillow. All you need are basic sewing skills for this. Turn your sweater inside out and pin your layers together. Decide on the size and shape of your finished design. I usually lay my sweaters on a cutting board to use the lines to help me cut straight. Then, straight stitch all around, leaving a small opening for stuffing. Fill with polyester fiberfill and hand stitch shut.

For added interest, consider making some beautiful felted wool flowers. They are easy to make following this tutorial. Beautiful leaves can be made by cutting a leaf shape around a sweater seam, using the seam as your leaf veins. If you are adding flowers or buttons to your pillow, it is easier to sew them on before the pillow is sewn together. Just a hint. Not that I did or did not forget that hint while sewing my pillows. :)

I love how interesting buttons can look on a pillow. I just cut 2 circles of felted wool and sewed vintage wood buttons on the top of the pile. Now they kind of resemble little flowers on the pillow.

Another pillow idea is to find a nice button up sweater. This one is turned inside out, sewn all around, then undo the buttons to slip in a pillow form. So easy! All the hard work is already done for you.

And here it is finished and all buttoned up.

Now that the largest part of the sweater has transformed into a pillow, what do you do with the arms and other smaller pieces? Whatever you do, DO NOT throw anything away. Check back in my next post for several more projects to use up all that gorgeous wool.

Did you miss last year's felted wool DIY post? Check it out for more great ideas.