Handwork- Felt Cats

We handcrafted a few kittys from the book Making Fairy-tale Wool animals

Here are step-by-step pictures of their creation! I think they came out great. Oh, and the small gray one was made by my 6 1/2 yr old! I only helped a bit..Felting really isn't hard once you get the hang of it. Just need patience and a few days.. was very therapeutic during rainy days here in Coastal SC.

Step 1) Bend pipe cleaners for body form. Tie on legs with thread (tightly)

2)Wrap tips of head, tail and paws with wool

3) Start wrapping thin strips of wool on head, criss cross to shoulders and legs. Keep taught and smooth. The key is many light layers.

4) Keep wrapping to thicken body and wrap tail..make back legs wider at top, criss crossing onto trunk to keep smooth.

5)When body looks the right size, add decorative markings and needle felt where you need to make it stronger and smoother. It gives extra durability.

6) Needle felt on small wisps of wool for ears. Eyes can be sewn on with embroidery floss and/or a small bead (see top pictures we used beads only) Nose and mouth are sewn on with light pink floss going through the neck. Needle felt in any excess thread to cover. Your done!