I just love felt right now. There is something inherently warm and fuzzy about it which suits this time of year. It is a perfect medium for the transition into winter.
Not that I’m used to working in it. In fact I think I have only worked in felt once before in my adult life; earlier this year when I made a rather poor attempt at a St Patrick’s Day banner. I’ve kept dreaming of all the wonderful felt creations I was going to make though and today I took one step closer to fulfilling those dreams when I, on a whim, decided to make some pencil and crayon cases for Aoife.
As you may have guessed I’m not used to working with blanket stitch either, mostly because I have a slight fear of sewing (yes, I know I do cross-stitch and embroidery!) but I wasn’t going to let that stop me.
The cases themselves were very easy to make. I just folded a couple of sheets of wool felt in three (making sure two sides were higher than the third), rounded the shorter side to make a more attractive edge, then blanket stitched the bag together. Finally I made a slit in the centre of the flap and attached a button from my stash. Aoife wanted to play with them straight away, so left it at that but will probably secure the buttonhole a bit at a later time and maybe add some embellishments.
These are really cute. I’m beginning to see the beauty in felt. Until recently, I thought felt was just for kid’s crafts, but I’m finding out you can make some darn cute stuff with it!
Once I started using 100% wool felt (which is thicker and stiffer than the felt most of us are used to from our youth) I realised the possibilities are endless. I’m still learning to work it, but love it.