5 Felt Crafts For Kids: Imagine What You Can Make With Felt!
I am super excited to start this new blog series on felt crafts for kids! This first post will overview the different types of crafts you can make with felt and give a glimpse at what is possible. Then each week, we will look at specific crafts you can do with your little ones to bond and pass the time.
Felt is a fabulous material for beginners of all ages to dip their toes into the wonderful world of crafting, and I hope these next several blog posts will show you how much fun felt crafting can be.
What is Felt?
Felt is a highly versatile textile used in every form of sewing craft, from garment making to home decor. Before we look into the various beginner felt crafts for kids, I want to go over what exactly felt is and some of its fascinating histories.
Felt is a non-woven material formed by matting and compressing the material into the desired density and thickness. People use many different fibers to create felt, but traditionally, they use wool or fur. However, industries have been able to develop felt from acrylic and other manufactured fibers in modern days.
If you are familiar with locking hair (dreadlocks), creating felt is similar, except instead of creating tightly bound ropes of human hair, they make tightly matted sheets of felt.
Felt has been the textile of choice in many cultures for centuries and was used to construct warm clothing, footwear, and other household items. It is believed to have originated in Asia thousands of years ago.
It’s incredible how this craft has stood the test of time in such a way and has remained prevalent in the modern era. This speaks to the versatility and timelessness of felt and what you can do with it.
What Crafts Can I Make With Felt?
Felt is versatile and is used for many different areas because it comes in various thicknesses and widths. You will see felt in multiple industries such as hat-making, garment-making, upholstery, and even cleaning applications such as polishing tools.
However, for crafting, the most common type of felt you will see in your local craft supply store is acrylic felt sheets for crafts or possibly felt on a bolt that you can purchase by the yard. This craft felt will be approximately 3/64” (1-1.6mm) thick and will be easily pliable.
The sheets will measure 9”x12”, and the yardage can range from 20” wide to 72” wide. Perfect for a variety of fun kid’s crafts.
Here is a short list of possible crafts you can make with this type of felt.
- Felt stuffed animals
- Flowers for headbands or wreaths
- Bags and baskets
- Button covers
- Play food
- Dolls and doll clothes
- Ornaments
- Costumes
- Hair accessories
- Jewelry
Is Felt Crafting Easy?
The quick answer is yes, but let’s dive into why felt crafting is easy and why it is the perfect type of crafting to introduce children to sewing and other crafting adventures. Here are my reasons why I think felt crafting is easy and fun, not just for children but for anyone learning how to craft.
- Children love the texture. There’s no denying that fact, and what better material to start them out with texture crafting than felt? It has a plush, sometimes soft texture to it.
- It doesn’t fray like regular fabric. This makes an excellent choice for beginner crafters and sewists to try their hands with hand sewing or cutting out shapes from fabric.
- It works great for “no-sew” projects. If you have a little one who isn’t ready to use a needle or isn’t comfortable sewing by hand or with a machine, hundreds of no-sew felt crafts would help you create beautiful artwork without picking up a needle.
- Felt works perfectly with simple designs. Since felt has its texture, it leans well into simple, modern designs. You don’t have to do a time-consuming elaborate project with felt, though you certainly can if you want to.
- It is easy to cut and sew by hand. Children’s craft scissors will cut through felt which is a huge relief, I am sure, to parents who don’t want their littles using sharp fabric scissors yet. You can also use ballpoint needles that aren’t sharp to sew pieces of felt together, making felt an excellent choice for young sewists.
5 Felt Crafts for Kids To Inspire You and Your Children to Get Crafty
This small compilation is just the tip of the iceberg for what you can make with felt. I wanted to give you an idea of what is possible and what we will check out in the coming weeks. All five of these crafts are perfect for children but don’t worry; beginner adult crafters will also have a blast making these adorable crafts.
Nicola at FeltTails has created this beautiful tutorial with her PDF for Felt Planets Garland. This adorable garland features the planets from our solar system made entirely from felt. Her tutorial shows how to sew the different planets and attach them to a string to create the garland.
This is just one example of a super cute garland using craft felt. The possibilities are endless with this garland idea. You could make different themed garlands for holidays, birthdays, and children’s rooms. Kids would love to help create this type of craft.
Emily over at Oh Yay Studio has created the PERFECT tutorial for you if you have a little one obsessed with princesses. The best part? She has made free printable templates for each princess to help you with the construction.
These little felt dolls are precious and would be a fantastic parent/ kiddo project, or you could make them as a gift for that princess fanatic, you know. We all know at least one, right?
Heidi from Happiness is Handmade put together an easy-to-follow tutorial for those who want a no-sew option. This craft uses felt to create a beautiful, colorful bouquet.
She shows you how to layer the flower pieces and glue them together using felt glue. You need to use a hot glue gun to attach the flowers to the stems. Be extremely cautious when utilizing that hot glue. You could use any color palette to create a modern floral arrangement that will never die!
How cute are these tiny bookmarks?! The supplies needed to make these bookmarks are felt, paper clips, and a hot glue gun. This straightforward tutorial is an excellent choice if you want a quick, easy craft project for you and your kiddos.
Like the garland in #1, the possibilities for this type of craft are endless. You can choose any shape you like, whether donuts, flowers, or flying saucers. You can create an adorable bookmark for yourself or your loved ones.
Gardening is a great way to teach children about taking care of living things and how hard work can reap great rewards. However, that might be a little difficult to explain to a three-year-old. But how fun would it be for your toddler to have a toy garden they can play with whenever they want?
With Lia Griffith’s tutorial, you can create these beautiful felt veggies that are lifesize replicas of carrots, turnips, and radishes.
I hope these five felt craft ideas have given you a taste of what you can do using this seemingly overlooked craft material. These crafts are a fun option for kids and adults alike, and I don’t know about you, but now I want to grab some felt and make something adorable!
Happy Stitching!
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