Crafternoon: A Felted Rose

A couple of years ago, my mom invited me to come with her to a short needle felting class. Needle felting? "Yes," she said, "we'll needle felt a doll".

I had no idea what she was talking about.

But, the idea of an evening out with my mom and, well, a break from my toddler was so appealing that it really didn't matter.

So, I joined her.

And, I am so glad I did.

From that night onward, needle felting became "my thing" from then on.

It is a relatively simple craft (all you need is barbed needles, a piece of foam to protect your lap and some wool roving) -- and, moreover, incredibly forgiving (the fact that I'm not good at details, or following directions for that matter, doesn't affect what I'm working on). I've been surprised at what I've been able to make -- from 3-dimensional figures to appliques.

Not a big fan of kits (remember what I said about not being good at following directions?) -- and considering myself a bit of a purist -- I was surprised to find myself considering a needle felting "mold". But, I just had to.

The kit/mold made by Clover (a company that makes all kinds of handy little crafty kits) promised to help me create a 3-dimensional rose--and the potential for use of roses in my life is huge thanks to the addition of my baby Rose.

I bought the kit. But, quickly I learned that I also need to purchase a felting pen and a felting mat.Suddenly, this project was intimidating me (the bigger investment I make in tools always intimidates me)...and I was wishing I'd just stuck to my simple piece of foam and barbed needle.

Finally, with all the tools in hand, I sat down to make my rose. It was SO easy (except that someone should have advised me that I'd need replacement needles for my needle pen....)--and in just 20 minutes I had cranked out a really cool looking 3-dimensional felted rose.

So, now with Bay Rose's 1st birthday just around the corner, I'm busily cranking out roses...brooches for the grandmothers, decorations for her crown...ah the possibilities!

 Here are the materials you'll need for this project.