Christmas is just around the corner, and that means one thing – it’s officially time for Christmas crafts. This week, I decided to try something new – needle felting. I found this DIY needle felting kit on sale in January, bought it, and saved it for the next festive season. I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy this craft, but I actually ended up loving it! And whilst I was working on this cute project, I decided to divert from the original instructions and turned my felt gingerbread men into gift tags for my family members instead of making a garland. I can’t wait to use them on this year’s Christmas gifts!
Contents of the kit
The box included felting wool in five different colours: white, blue, green, yellow, and gingerbread orange-brown. The kit also came with two cookiecutter-like moulds in the shapes of gingerbread boy and girl, jute string, felting pad and two felting needles. And, most importantly, there was also a leaflet with clear instructions.
Getting started
After reading the instructions, I was ready to start needle felting. I cut a piece of paper to place on the foam mat, then placed one of the moulds on top of it. I then put a small strand of wool into the mould and started stabbing it with the needle. It was extremely satisfying! I wasn’t sure how it was going to work, but it all made sense once I started working on my felt gingerbread men.
First one down
I continued adding small amounts of wool and tapping it with the needle. Once I filled the whole shape with wool and compacted it into a dense shape, I peeled the gingerbread man off the paper, flipped it over, added more wool and continued to stab it with the needle. I repeated that process a few times, flipping the gingerbread man over and adding more wool, until I reached a desired thickness.
I then used sharp scissors to trim excess fluff from the outer edges of the felt gingerbread man, to make the shape more refined. And just like that, the base of the first felt gingerbread man was done!
Felting away
I then continued to make further gingerbread boys and girls, using the two moulds provided. The instructions said that the wool included in the kit would make 6 shapes in total, so I made 3 of each. I still had lots of leftover wool, probably enough for another 3 or so gingerbread men. I’ll probably try to use it all up and make more of the gingerbread cuties, to avoid having leftover supplies collect dust at the bottom of a drawer for months or years.
Applying the details
Next, it was time to apply some details to imitate icing. That part was much more difficult than expected! It required a lot of precision to make the thin strands of white wool stay exactly where I wanted them to be, but eventually, I managed to find the right rhythm. I made the white wiggly lines first, then added the colourful buttons for the eyes and buttons of the cute felt gingerbread kids.
Gingerbread boys and girls… and cats?
I continued to decorate my shapes with woolen icing and soon had a family of felt gingerbread men and women. I then decided to conduct a little experiment and used the leftover wool to make a cat shape. I didn’t have a mould in that shape and had to work without it, which was a bit tricky. But after a while, I managed to create something that roughly resembled a cat. After trimming the edges with scissors and adding the icing details, it didn’t look too bad!
Making gift tags
Now, here’s where I decided to ignore the instructions and turn this project into something more useful. Not that there’s anything wrong with a felt gingerbread garland, but I’m not sure I’d have anywhere to hang it. So instead, I decided to turn these cute gingerbread kids into gift tags that I’ll use with Christmas gifts.
Using the same method as for the icing details, I added my family members’ initials at the back of the gingerbread people. I used the girls for my Mum, Sister and Grandma, and a boy for my Dad. I also used the cat shape to make a gift tag for our family cat, because yes – the cat receives lots of Christmas gifts too. I had to be creative with the shapes because my Mum, Dad and the cat have names starting with the same initial.
I also added a little hoop on each gift tag, using pieces of the string included in the kit, to be able to attach the tags to gifts.
Should you try felt needling yourself?
Personally, I loved trying needle felting and I’ll definitely do it again in the future! It was really satisfying to see loose wool being turned into defined shapes. I’d recommend this craft for everyone, regardless of artistic skills.
That being said, I think this craft is better suited for adults than children. The box of my kit said that it was designed for ages 10+, but I’m not sure if giving it to a 10-year-old would be a good idea! The needles included in the set were sharp. Incredibly sharp. And it’s really easy to accidentally stab your finger instead of the wool. Don’t ask me how I know it… but it hurt a lot.
I believe that a needle felting kit could make a great present for a crafty adult. With the festive season right around the corner, consider a needle felting set as a gift idea for your artistic friends. I’m sure they’ll enjoy it!
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