Felting with children for their birthday: DIY ideas with felt sheets and felt balls

A children’s birthday is imminent and you are looking for ideas on how to keep the children busy during the family celebration. A cool idea, especially for the cold and rainy autumn and winter days, is to organize a handicraft workshop. The little ones can let their creativity run free. This is especially true for felting with children for their birthday – we offer you some instructions that are guaranteed to cause a sensation. 2-3 projects can round off the festive program. Let yourself be inspired by the suggestions!

Felting with children – garland of felt balls

If you want to frisk together with their guests on your child’s birthday, then you should have certain prior knowledge. Felting is a process in which the wool is mechanically “sealed”. It’s about pressing the raw wool, not weaving. The basic technique is actually very easy and can be learned very quickly even by complete beginners. There are two possibilities: the wool can either be processed wet (then we speak of wet felting) or dry (dry felting). The two processes differ significantly from each other. In the article you will find instructions for the two variants so that you can choose the one that you like more.

With the garland made of wool, the material is processed with the help of special needles with barbed hooks and brought into the right shape. The craft technique is suitable for small three-dimensional objects such as pom-poms, balls, etc. Since a needle is used, caution is advised when pricking. Therefore this method is suitable for children from 9-10 years and the handicrafts must take place under the supervision of the parents. A little skill and experience are also crucial for the end result with dry felting. Anyone who is not familiar with handling wool can save time and nerves with several tricks. The first thing you should do is choose very simple shapes – the fastest way to make a ball is. This is important because, first of all, the children have to bring a finished product home with them. Second, it takes a long time for the thread structures to become entangled with one another. We therefore offer you an idea that arouses the creativity of the little ones and is at the same time quite simple.

The materials you need are wool, string, a brush, scissors, several felting needles, glue or a glue gun. Our tip: First create all the necessary balls for the garland yourself, so on the one hand you can determine the level of difficulty of the handicraft project yourself, on the other hand you are prepared in case some children do not manage the task. Don’t forget to get advice on wool in the craft shop – the fibers shrink by 40% after processing. For maximum effect, buy different colors, then you can combine them according to your personal wishes and create multi-colored decorative pieces.

And this is how the felt balls are made – first roughen the sheep wool with the brush, then fold it into a ball. Hold the ends of the ball with one hand and use the other hand to pierce the ball with the needle. Have each child create such a sphere.

When all the balls are ready, simply tie in the middle with twine (see photo above) so that their shape resembles a biscuit. Then attach the individual “biscuits” to a colorful string with the glue or the hot glue gun.

The finished garland looks so attractive – a loving gift for the birthday child, the children can even write on their felt balls with a felt pen. If each child creates two felt balls, they can take one home with them as a souvenir.

Felting with children – cut out a bow from a sheet of felt

If you have a girl, just to be safe, you can get the materials for another simple craft project. You need water-based fabric paint, felt sheets, scissors and string, a needle (it is easier with a hot glue gun). The project is ideal even for toddlers of kindergarten age, mainly because the children don’t have to cut out complicated shapes and can instead paint the bows.

You can divide the textile paint into several smaller bottles. Expect more dirt as the paint will splash onto the fabric. In any case, the paints are washable up to 40 degrees – so you can easily remove stains from the tablecloth afterwards. And this is how the loop is made – first ask the children to cut out a square 7 X 15cm and a square 1cm X 6cm. For this purpose you can either make a template (for the very little girls) or give the children a ruler (for children of school age). Then collect all the large squares, place them on the table, and let the children spray them with the paint. This creates unique patterns. Wait 30-40 minutes for the paint to dry (in the meantime you can serve the food, for example) and print the large square in the middle and glue the small one to it. complete!

Felting with children – making finger puppets

If your child has a favorite book or a favorite film series, you can make cool finger puppets together for their birthday and organize a puppet theater. This craft idea is ideal for children of kindergarten age. Our tip – create a template for the small details, draw the lines on the felt sheets in advance with a pencil.

For the craft project you will need felt sheets, scissors, glue, felt pen.

First cut out the “body” of the finger puppets – a square with a height of 6-7cm and a width of 5cm.

Then wrap the felt strip around your finger and glue the ends together with the glue. Let it dry aside.

Optional – cut out a detail above the finger from felt and glue it to the body.

Cut out the doll’s face – eyes, mouth, mustache, ears, eyebrows, nose etc. from felt.

Then attach the details to the body and let dry again for one to two minutes.

Draw the details with a felt pen and hand out the dolls to the children. The project is suitable for a small birthday party with up to 10 guests.

Reading and audition are of course included in the program – the idea is suitable for children of kindergarten age.

Felting with children: make cabochon rings with wet felting

In contrast to the complex dry felting, wet felting is actually quite simple – you only need a little soap, water and sheep’s wool to make the felt objects.

The necessary materials for the next handicraft project – bowl of water, soap, sheep’s wool, ruler, glue or hot glue gun, ring settings for cabochon stones.

First lay the wool crosswise, pluck it by hand and immerse it in lukewarm water. With soaped hands, massage the wool into a ball, and when the threads start to get caught, felt strongly. Continue until a solid ball forms.

Measure the ball – its diameter must correspond to the ring setting. Try several times with different amounts of wool until you create the right size.

You will need half a ball for each ring, so you will need to cut this in half with a sharp knife. You can make a garland out of the balls that are too big or too small.

Simply attach the felt details to the ring setting with the hot glue gun or glue.

Felting with children – imaginatively staging felt balls

Here’s an idea of ​​what you can do with the rest of the balls – simple felt flowers can be easily arranged in a modern vase on the coffee table.

Cut pentagonal shapes out of cardboard and glue the felt balls onto them – this is how you have made unique coasters yourself.

Make a minimalist garland for Christmas – all you need is a needle, gold thread and fabric paint.

Felting with children for a birthday: sew a handbag from felt sheets

Here come several craft ideas for sewing (or gluing).

Felting with children for their birthday – make a vegetable garden out of felt

A vegetable garden is the right addition to the children’s kitchen – we have already shown you how to make the accessories out of felt yourself, now you can also look at the instructions for the garden.

Felting with children for their birthday – make Quiet Book yourself