Wool Felting & Crafts Ideas Gallery - Handmade Presents

The Wonderwool Wales Exhibition took place end of April this year in Builth
Wells for the fourth time.
It is a grand opportunity for the wool enthusiast to visit over 120 stalls
with many different products on display, most of those being in some way
connected to the wool theme.

There are even live woolly animals on show, like Wensleydale and Teeswater
sheep, Alpacas in various colours and fluffy Angora rabbits. Some stalls
sell animal skins, others bags of raw fleeces, and there is of course dyed
wool to be found in plenty of gorgeous colours.

Some stall holders were demonstrating their crafts: peg loom weaving,
spinning, weaving on big looms or felting, needle felting and knitting and
encouraged visitors to have a go.
The atmosphere was warm and peaceful, there was plenty of opportunity to
chat and learn.

Compared to last year there seemed to be an increased interest in naturally
dyed wool products, I was pleasantly surprised how well the organic, plant
dyed wool felt sold at Handmade Present’s stall.

My favourite fleece was the organic, black Wensleydale fleece which is far
less common than the white Wensleydale. I already have plans to use it for
my wool pictures, the horses manes and tails and peoples hair….

Overall, even though the event was said to be quieter than last year, it was
a high quality, wool- related weekend out, hopefully enjoyed by everyone who
took part or came to visit.

You can find all the items we exhibited at wonder wool ranging from small items such as felting needles to huge hand woven peg loom carpet made from 100 % natural wool.

What you need to make the balls:
· Core; wool fleece for stuffing
· Woollen thread
· Fleeces in desired colours (suitable for felting, for example merino)
· Felting needle, or felting needle holder with several needles (makes it quicker)

Method
Form a ball with the stuffing wool and wrap the woollen thread tightly around it, adding fleece where required to make the ball nice and round.
When you have reached the desired size, prick it with the needle(s) until you are happy with the shape.
Wrap one layer of coloured fleece around the ball, and prick it on tightly. Then let your imagination run wild by adding different colours to create a truly original felted ball.

You can order all the materials you need to make dry felted balls and other wool craft from our online shop which can be found by clicking here

Fleecy heart measurements:
width:380mm
height:370mm

Finished fleecy heart, step-by-step instruction on how you too can make the fleecy heart below:
You will need the following:
secateurs
garden wire
wire cutters
willow
150gm white wool tops (dutch)
10 silk roses
50gm green dyed wool (carded sliver)
10gm yellow and orange dyed wool (carded sliver)
felting needle
sharp scissors

Cut 2 pieces of willow (about pencil thickness)
Bend them carefully into the required shape and fasten together with wire.

Wind the wool tops firmly round the frame.
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Tie the roses with the wire round the heart shape.
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Use the green wool to cover the white wool and prick it on with a felting needle.
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At this point the roses will become a bit ruffled, don’t worry about it too much, they will be straightened out towards the end.
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When you have finished pricking on the green wool, you can add a little bit of yellow and orange or any colour of your choice to make the arrangement look a bit more interesting. When you are satisfied with the result, straighten out the rose petals and snip off any frayed silk threads.
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Welcome to Handmade Presents, we hope to show you how to make some nice and colourful craft items :)