How to Felt Bracelets at a Kids' Birthday Party or Sleepover

 

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Felting is a process of interlocking wool fibers. If you’ve ever shrunk a wool sweater or socks by accident, you know that wool felt is strong and it shrinks dramatically from the original size. Even if you’ve never felted before, you can quickly learn the process and then share it with a group of kids.Bracelets are a small and simple craft project to do with children. The size also helps to keep your costs down.

Felting Craft Supplies

• You want to look for wool roving either at your local craft store or online. Wool roving is wool that has been cleaned and carded, or combed, so the fibers are headed in the same direction. Wool roving is not spun yarn. It will look a bit like the wad of cotton. Each bracelet needs a piece as thick as your thumb and approximately 8-12” long. When in doubt, get extra wool roving. If possible, get a variety of colors.
• Bucket or deep bowl of warm water
• Ivory dish soap
• Sponge for each child
• Towels for mopping up water
• Vinyl tablecloth to protect work area

How to Make Felt Bracelets

1. Mix in enough soap into the bowl of water so that your fingers are slippery. Dry your hands.
2. Set the sponge on a flat surface that has been protected with a tablecloth.
3. Pull bits from the wool and drop them in a line across the sponge. You can use different colors, if desired.
4. Make a line of fleece that’s approximately as thick as the bracelet creator’s thumb. Small, fluffy pieces of fleece will work more easily that large clumps.
5. Dip your fingers in the soapy water and drizzle it over the wool. Leave the ends dry.
6. Gently roll the wool back and forth on the sponge. Avoid flattening the wool, you want a rounded strip of felt. You should also avoid felting the ends.
7. Continue rolling the wool until you have a cord that’s firm enough to pick up.
8. Wrap the cord around your arm, overlapping the dry ends. If the bracelet is too big, try overlapping a bit more. However, you want to avoid creating a tight fit because the bracelet will continue to shrink.
9. Add a little more soapy water and roll the joined wool so this will felt.
10. As you wear the bracelet, it will continue to felt, getting stronger and smaller.

Not only could adults lead this craft at a birthday party or sleepover party for kids, but this is a simple enough project to introduce to a camp group, an afterschool program, or a school fair.