Blog Update!


Thursday, December 11, 2008

Repurposing wool into critters

Wool crittersDo you have some old wool sweaters or skirts you don't know what to do with? How about some pillows that you'd like to recycle but don't know how?

Well, here's a craft project that takes that wool and pillow stuffing and makes some super cute stuffed animals to give as gifts.

Now, I really can't stand Martha Stewart for a variety of reasons, but I have to admit, she does some cool stuff. Basically, for this project, all you need to do is felt the wool you are going to use (essentially washing it in hot water - 100% wool works best) and cut out the pieces based on the templates from the website. You then stitch the pieces together, stuff with your old pillow polyester filling or other batting and you are done!

Another fun idea is to make mini Christmas ornaments out of the templates by shrinking the templates down to a smaller size before you print them. You'll most likely have to handstitch the critters since they'll be so small, but think of the fun menagerie you'll have on the tree! Just don't forget to stitch in a ribbon for hanging. You can also attach the mini ornaments to gifts to help share the repurposing love.

If you don't feel like giving these barnyard friends away, they can easily double as pincushions (especially the pig). Just size them accordingly when you print out the patterns. Finally, if you have kitties, you can also make these critters mini sized and fill them with catnip to keep your furry felines happy for the holidays.


Melissa said...

Throw in a tennis ball with your woolen items - and use the lowest water setting on your machine. This helps the items to rub together more - therefore felting better. Check for felting after the cycle and run another cycle if they haven't felted enough.

Anonymous said...

That's pretty cool. Thanks.

I like the mini-Christmas ornaments idea.

Julie said...

These are perfect for my 17-year old daughter who has a thing for pigs, and my partner whose joined me in chicken keeping this year! thanks!

Green Bean said...

Cool idea . . . if only I could sew. Need to work on that.

Jennifer said...

Very cool! She has a pattern for wool slippers, too, that I've been making out of felted sweaters for christmas. Each pair costs about $1 in sweater, and about an hour in time!

Unknown said...

Those are super cute!

Sharlene said...

Thank you for reminding me to felt those old sweaters I have lying around. And I like the tips Melissa had. Will do! So exciting.

Jennie said...

OMG that's so cute! I've have pillows that have so outlived their pillow life. And I have a few sweaters that I just can't bear to part with, even though I don't wear them. This would be PERFECT!!