The Best Felting Projects

Some of your favorite crafting projects are likely based on material. Whether you enjoy creating a bouquet of paper flowers to put on display or knitting a cozy wool scarf to wear during the cold-weather seasons, there are plenty of ways to exercise your creativity through crafts. Here, felt is the material of choice and it is just as capable of producing some of the best home essentials and accessories.

Fun fact: Felt is actually made from wool. This fabric can be transformed into felt using the techniques of needle-felting and wet-felting. In turn, you can transform an old sweater into unique keepsakes, gifts, and toys. Speaking of worn-out garments, you can revive some of your go-to pieces with needle-felting: Easily disguise any holes or thin areas, like the elbows, with colorful patches made from sturdy felt to make even more of a fashion statement. Simple upgrades to your home can also result from felt. Thanks to this textile, you can use the needle-felting technique to make a variety of different designs to best suit your décor scheme. One of our favorites? Pillow covers. This way, you can use sweaters—including the sleeves and waistband—from your wardrobe to make into custom home décor.

Let the kids join in on the fun with an array of felt-infused projects, too. The little ones will love creating animals, like penguins, pigs, chicks, lambs, and more to have their own personal farm. And we explore even more projects that the whole family will enjoy together. Read on for all of our best felting projects to suit every area of your life.

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Felt Balls

Transform shapeless wool fibers into colorful felt balls that really bounce. The size of each felt creation is up to you. Whether you choose to make a marble-like ball or oversized ones that look like tennis balls, you can let your imagination lead the way. The key to this project is dipping the wool fibers (turned felt balls) in a solution. This simply includes hot, soapy water. From there, you shape them up yourself and allow them to dry.

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Felt Pillows

Add more stylish décor to your home—sans the stress. Some of the easiest details to amplify your space starts with pillows. In this craft, needle-felting intertwines the wool fibers with each prick of a barbed tool. Handmade pillows show off the details made from three types of wool. There's a halo of yellow merino-wool roving, three yarn patterns (including one with a loose square knot), and felt oval cutouts, all needle-felted to the pillow fabric.

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Felted Chicks

The downy softness of baby chicks is incredibly appealing, and you can replicate that inviting texture with wool roving: Use it to make little yellow chicks to adorn a twig basket. Begin by rolling yellow roving into a long oval shape; repeatedly poke all over it with a needle to felt. Add shape and density to the head, neck, and tail by poking those parts more. Once the desired shape is achieved, cover with another layer of the roving for a softer appearance. To make the wing, place the roving on the mat and poke with a needle. Attach to the body by poking at the front edge of the wing. Roll tiny bits of black roving and poke into the face for the eyes. Roll orange roving and poke into the face for the beak. Go over the floral wire with a marker. Cut two four-inch pieces, twist, and poke through the body for legs. Cut two more two-inch pieces and bend into small V's; twist onto the legs for the feet.

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Needle-Felted Blanket

There's nothing quite like cuddling up with a warm blanket, but it's even better when you're underneath one that you created. Ivory, butter, and marigold dots dance across a medium-weight wool blanket, adding subtle color and playfulness to the effortless design. Make this craft by cutting felt circles in a variety of sizes. Next needle-felt them onto a blanket, a throw, or a wrap. Use a store-bought one or make your own. This blanket consists of about three yards of 50-inch-wide woven-wool fabric.

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Woolen Mittens

Felt an old sweater to transform it into a brand-new pair of warm mittens. To create your own, place your hand on the pattern paper and trace around. Add a 1/2-inch seam allowance around the pattern. Cut out your mitten shapes from the paper. Place your pattern on the sweater, with the wrist at the bottom edge of the sweater. Stitch edge with a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Turn the mittens right side out and steam them with an iron to finish.

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Felted Stuffed Animals

These petite stuffed animals—a Fair Isle lamb, a cable-knit chicken, and an argyle pig—are so cuddly and simple to make, you'll want an entire farm. The felt collection is just as adorable with the details put into each one. Floppy ears and wings are just a couple of the distinct features that will make these all the more realistic in comparison to the actual animals. Our lamb, chicken, and pig are also five to eight inches in height, so you can make them in a variety of sizes.

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Knitting Basket

This pliable 10-inch-tall knitting basket was made from a snowy Aran sweater. A perk about this craft? You can store even more crafts inside of it—like yarn, sewing needles, and more. This basket won't be a hassle to put together, either. First, you will simply need to round up your supplies, which include the essential sweater, some scissors, and basic sewing supplies. Next, you will just need to follow three steps and then it will be complete.

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Needle-Felted Vintage Clutch

Make a vintage clutch with a unique and personal touch. To begin, trace the purse templates onto the fabric: Lay the outer fabric flat. A few inches from one end of the fabric, lay the template for the outer fabric. Using a disappearing-ink pen, trace the template. Flip the template at the dotted line, and trace again; this will make one side of the purse. Repeat to trace the second side of the purse. Needle-felt design onto the fabric: Cut out 3/4-inch circles from the felt, so that you have enough to decorate both sides of purse. Arrange felt cutouts on both of the traced purse shapes. With a felting-needle mat underneath, use a single felting needle to tack down the center and border of each cutout; continue punching until the fibers transfer evenly to the reverse side. Finish both sides by spritzing them with water and pressing with an iron on the wool setting. Retrace the templates and cut out the fabric: Retrace the outer-fabric template over both of the needle-felted areas. Cut out both purse sides. Continue with the rest of the tutorial, gluing the paper piece to the lining, and so forth.

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Felted Pillow Covers

A trio of pillowcases incorporates sweater bodies, sleeves, and waistbands. Customize one that works with the design of your felted sweaters. The white cover consists of a cashmere sweater's body that is sewn on one end; add ties (3/4-inch strips, rolled and whipstitched) to the other end. To conceal the pillow inside, fold another piece of the fabric over its edge and stitch one end to the cover. The envelope-style orange cover (with darts at corners) uses pieces from a sweater's body and sleeves. For the tan cover, make a patchwork top by piecing together the sleeves; secure with a zigzag stitch.

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Felted Hat

Keep little ones toasty with this winsome felt hat. Measure or approximate the circumference of the recipient's head and divide the number by two. Next, enlarge the template on a photocopier so that its length, front to back, measures 1/2 inch less than the halved circumference; cut it out. Using the template as a guide, cut out another hat piece from the felted wool; flip the template, and cut out another hat piece that's the mirror image of the first. With a zigzag stitch and contrasting thread, stitch the dart closed on each hat piece. With a zigzag stitch and contrasting thread, stitch together the two hat pieces. Thread a tapestry needle with three strands of worsted yarn, and pull it through one earflap (X on template indicates placement) to the yarn's midpoint. Divide the resulting six strands into three equal sections, and braid. Knot at the ends, and trim. Repeat on the other earflap.

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Needle-Felted Fringed Scarf with Roving

With snowy-white patches melting into a yellow background, this scarf borrows its look from ombré, the fabric-dyeing technique that creates subtle, graduated shifts in color. The feathery ends of merino-wool roving tufts give an ombre effect with ease. Needle-felt the roving to a scarf already in your closet, or start with a piece of woven-wool fabric. We simply cut cashmere yardage to the size we wanted. To make fringed edges, gently pull out some of the threads running along the width at each end.

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Floral Embroidered Felt Pins

embroidered floral felt pins — CRISTIN MORGAN

Looking for a stunning accessory to sport on your outerwear? Then these floral embroidered felt pins are just what you need. And there are just a few stitch techniques that can help create them: back stitch, French knot, split stitch, and straight stitch. This wearable garden will soon be a masterpiece as you mix and match colors. You also won't have to transfer patterns, so you can try out different stitches and motifs in the creation process.

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Felt Baby Shoes

Babies and toddlers will adore these shoes, which will keep their feet warm and comfortable. Plus, they look cute, too. The handmade footwear is also simple to sew, as a template serves as a guide and just a few design details—like trim, punched holes, and snap closures—will top it all off. The cozy baby booties are also colorful, so they will be a standout fashion statement whenever the little ones wear them.

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Felt Shelf Covers

bookshelf with modular storage — NGOC MINH NGO

Your shelves will get a major upgrade with some simple felt covers. The colorful additions to an office space, kitchen, and more actually help to disguise any clutter you have and make it look purposeful. You can also adjust the felt covers based on your creative needs. So instead of making a standard size, you can measure and create the best end result for your space. A couple other tools—namely Velcro and hardware store supplies—bring the rest together.

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Needle-Felted Llama Ornament

This handmade ornament is bound to bring unique style to your home's aesthetic. The llama is made from white wool roving and decked out with an embroidered roving saddle blanket, all courtesy of needle-felting. Like many of our felt projects, it will only take about an hour to create this stunning accessory. This craft takes even less time than others since you can skip the pipe-cleaner armature step to allow it to hang as an ornament.

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Needle-Felted Penguin

These arctic animals are transformed into a felt (and fluffy) keepsakes. Not only will these penguins and polar bears serve as great décor during the cold-weather months, but they will also make for fun crafts for the little ones and adults to enjoy on those chilly days. While each can take about an hour to make, they are rather simple to piece together. Wool roving, a felting needle, and a needle-felting mat are all of the essentials you'll need.

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Needle-Felted Heart Mug Cozy

Show some love with a custom accessory for the mugs and cups in your kitchen. With the help of a felting needle tool, wool roving, and buttons, you will be able to produce these handy needle-felted cozies with ease. Plus, you can deck it out with a heart design or spell out "love" for an even more uplifting sight in your home. We used bright, warm hues to create each piece for this cozy collection.

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Felt Hot-Water Bottle Cozy

hot-water bottle felt sleeve — Raymond Hom

A hot-water bottle is one of life's little luxuries. A soft felt sleeve makes it even cozier—and a great gift. If you want to make this project without the hassle, you're in luck. This felt hot-water bottle cozy only takes a few steps to bring to life. To start, cut two pieces of 10-by-15-inch felt. Continue by sewing three sides and then turn it inside out. Insert the bottle and cinch the top with ribbon.

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Felt Slippers

Make each family member's trip around the house warm and cozy with these felt slippers. The moccasin-like design makes them easy to slip on and off. The hues are also up to your choosing, so you can color-coordinate with the whole household or make custom patterns to fit everyone's individual style. Don't stop there! Finish off this craft by tying each set of slippers together with a ribbon and labeling them for each loved one.

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Felt Tissue Pouch

All it takes to spread the love to your family and friends is felt, pinking shears, and a quick seam. This felt tissue pouch is the perfect gift you can create from your very home. Begin by downloading the template. Continue by cutting the felt with fabric scissors; fold it so the edges meet in the center. Machine-sew the sides, leaving 1/4-inch of excess; trim with the pinking shears. Finally, stamp a message on the tissues if desired.

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Felted Trivets

That old sweater protected you from the cold, but it'll protect your tabletop from heat when you turn it into a felted trivet. Wash the sweater with laundry detergent on your washing machine's hottest setting. Dry it at the highest temperature as well. (To get the properly thick felted texture—matted and no longer unraveling—you may need to repeat the process.) Cut the felt to any size, and shape it as you like with a rotary cutter or craft scissors.

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Felt Tech Case

colorful tech cases made of fabric — Kate Mathis

This case is an easy project since it just requires a few straight stitches. To make this craft, choose a button-and-string or an elastic closure; then add a small pocket for earphones. Download one of our templates for these cases (we have ones for an iPad with button, iPad with elastic, or iPad mini or Kindle), to fit another device or a favorite book. Next, download and print your template of choice. Following template guidelines, cut the felt pieces and position a 14-inch length of elastic. Pin the felt and elastic in place. Sew the pocket onto the front first, then sew the side seams.

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Felted Sweater Patches

Needle-felting can disguise these flaws while making the garment fresh and fashionable. To create an elbow patch: download our elbow-patch template. Next, simply print it and cut it out. Position the template over the elbow area of the sleeve, and trace it with disappearing ink. Place the needle-felting mat inside the sleeve under the outlined oval. Lay a few tufts of roving side by side in the oval. Using a felting tool, punch it until the fibers transfer evenly to the reverse side. Continue by adding more roving for a thicker layer, or repeat this on a new section of the oval. Finish by spritzing both sides with water and pressing with an iron on the wool setting. If you simply have holes, needle-felt a circle or other shape over the hole, with the mat inside the sweater.

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Pom-Pom Red Panda

Give the little ones in your life a keepsake they will always cherish. This pom-pom red panda features the same adorable face and fur that you would see in the real-life animal. The thickness overall is up to you, too, so you can truly make the craft your own. As long as you have worsted yarn, felted wool, and a few other craft materials handy, you will be able to recreate this cute creature in no time.

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Multipocket Tote Bags

Your wallet and keys are just a couple of essentials you likely need when leaving your home. To make things easier, why not create a tote with plenty of pockets? This way you can store your staples and make sure nothing else is forgotten when you head out the door. Customize this multi-pocket bag with different colors of felt fabric to make it stand out even more. Plus, it's durable once you make it, so you can use this for years to come.

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