Free Craft Projects

Free!
Online Craft Projects

Woven Felt Heart Basket

You will need: 2 – 3" x 8" pieces of felt in contrasting colors (Holland Felt shown - try pinks, purples or red and white), 1 – 1" x 8" strip of felt in one of your colors, scissors, needle and thread, or craft glue. Not just for Valentine's Day, these baskets in lively flower colors are perfect for May Day, too.

	1. Fold each 3 x 8 piece of felt in half and round the ends off.
	2. Cut two straight lines in each folded piece of felt, 1” apart, starting at the fold and cutting up to where the curved ends begin; making sure the cuts are the same length in both pieces.
	3. Weave the two halves together. A. Put the top folded strip of the right half through the center of the top folded strip of the left half. Put the middle left fold through the top right fold. Put the top right fold through the bottom left fold. Slide the right top strip up to the top of the slits in the left half.
	B. Put the top left fold through the center of the middle right fold. Put the middle right fold through the center of the middle left fold. Put the bottom left fold through the middle right fold. Slide the middle right folded strip up the left half.
	C. Put the bottom right fold through the center of the top left fold. Put the middle left fold through the bottom right fold. Put the bottom right fold through the bottom left fold. Adjust the strips so the weaving is smooth
	4. Sew or glue the ends of the 1x8 strip of felt to the top of each heart.

Kool Aid Dyed Wool

Kool-Aid Dyed Wool

Kool-Aid dyeing is a fun way for children and parents to experiment with coloring wool. Keep in mind that the final colors will vary for each batch; if you need a consistent color, increase the amount of wool, water, Kool-Aid, and container size proportionately so that all the fiber can be dyed in one batch. Wool has a natural tendency to felt when exposed to agitation or extreme temperature changes, so work gently and with consistent water temperature. Kool-Aid dyeing only works on animal hair. It won't work on cotton or synthetic fiber.

Use caution to avoid inhaling the Kool-Aid powder. Your work surface can be cleaned with baking soda or bleach if staining occurs or, better yet, cover it in advance with a plastic bag.

Materials
1 oz. undyed wool roving or wool yarn for vibrant colors, more wool for softer colors
1 package of unsweetened Kool-Aid
1-quart jar
3-4 cups hot tap water
Rubber gloves - if you want to avoid staining your hands

Mix together the Kool-Aid and water in the jar.

Gently submerge the wool (soaking it in warm water first makes this easier.

Put the lid on the jar.

Leave the wool in the jar. Stir gently every couple hours until the wool has absorbed all the dye and the remaining water is clear. This can take anywhere from 2-8 hours. Using very hot water and keeping it hot by setting the jar in the sun or by a stove will shorten the dyeing time.

Pour the wool and water from the jar.

Place the wool in a bowl full of water that is about the same temperature as the dye water you poured out. Very gently squeeze the wool to remove any remaining dye. Repeat with fresh water until the water stays clear.

Lay the colored fiber on a towel or hang on a rod to dry.

May Day Flowers

You will need scissors, a ruler, colored tissue paper for petals, pipe cleaners for stems and a bit of green wool to wrap the stem. The instructions call for the Art Tissue we sell but you can use any colored tissue paper. Children can make several flowers and gather in bouquets for the nature table or give as gifts in May baskets left on the door of a teacher, neighbor, or grandparent!

Choose 3 sheets in the same color or assorted colors that look nice together.

If using our Art Tissue, cut sheets in half so you have 6 pieces that measure about 4.5" x 9" each. Trim off a few inches so the rectangles measure about 4.5" x 7". You can save the leftover little rectangles for tiny flowers.

Place the 6 pieces one on top of the other in a neat stack.

Working with the stack all at one time, fold and pleat like an accordion. An adult or older child may need to help a younger child with this. Make the pleats around 1/2" - 3/4" tall.

Take an end of a pipe cleaner and wrap it around the middle of the folded paper. The rest of the pipe cleaner is the stem.

Starting with the uppermost layer ever so carefully separate one layer of paper at a time and gently pull it up and toward the middle of what is becoming the flower. Be very careful to avoid tearing.

Wind wisps of green wool around the pipe cleaner making a stem.

Flannel Bunnies

Flannel Bunny

Cut a 12" square piece of flannel.

Roll up two opposite corners of the square towards each other until they meet in the middle.

Fold the long roll of fabric in half. The curved fold is the body. The two pointed ends are the ears.

About halfway down the folded roll, fold the bunny ears back towards the body. The new fold you've created is the head.

Secure the head temporarily with a rubber band. Tie a scrap of ribbon or felt around the head and remove the rubber band.

Fluff the ears up. You can use a cotton ball or roll a small bit of white wool and glue to the back end for bunny's tail and a bit of pink wool on the face for bunny's nose.

Nest an egg or other spring treasure on bunny's back.

Cookie Cutter Needle Felting

Find a cookie cutter shape that you like – simple shapes like flowers, hearts, and stars work well. Place the cutter, sharp side down on top of your felting pad.

Decide on your primary wool color then pull off a wisp of the wool about the same width as your cookie cutter (Tip: Placing your hands further apart on the wool makes it easier to detach pieces).

Lay the wisp of wool on top of the cutter and poke it down with your fingers. Starting in the center of the cutter, begin needling the wool onto the pad (Tip: try to poke no more than an inch of the needle into the pad and poke in a straight up and down motion to keep from breaking the needle). Needle out to the edges of the cookie cutter.

Before the wool becomes too attached to your pad, lift off the cutter, flip over the wool shape, and re-insert into the cookie cutter. Needle this side.

In order to create a more painterly effect, you can begin adding additional colors of wool in small wisps to your basic shape. Add as much wool to your shape as you like in wispy layers, needling after each layer, and flipping the shape over to needle the backside as necessary until your shape is as thick and felted as you like.