Festive Felting: Crafting Handmade Christmas Gifts

Do you enjoy working with your hands? Do you love to make handmade gifts for family and friends? Join Gill for a very felty Christmas.

We’re going to immerse ourselves in a day of feltmaking fun. Using colourful merino and silk fibres, and yarns we’re going to learn the basics of a few different felt-making techniques and turn those fibres into gorgeous Christmas tree baubles, balls, small gifts and a miniature felt tree.

Gill will introduce you to the ‘resist’ method of felt making and you will guided to make and decorate your own miniature Christmas tree. Lovely as a table or shelf ornament. Felt making is an ancient craft with many modern-day applications. It’s incredibly forgiving and quite surprisingly versatile in what you can make, with just the basic techniques and minimal materials. It does require a bit of repetitive arm and hand action over time which may not suit some people.

By days end you will have learnt how to make and decorate felt balls, felt covered soaps, pin cushions and a Christmas tree. You will have a selection of these to take home, notes, and a list of suppliers to continue your Christmas gift and decoration making at home.

Materials

• An old beach or bath towel
• A plastic shopping bag (for taking the wet felt hat home)
• A waterproof apron (if concerned about getting wet)
• A pair of sharp scissors (optional but useful)