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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Felting + Girly Hair Accessories

December 18, 2013

felting1

Still slaving away, trying to crank out handmade gifts, though I came to my senses yesterday and decided to purchase a few gifts rather than trying to make everything. My mantra is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy-and-don’t-keel-over-from-stress, and I’m choosing the path of least resistance. I need to add in at least one more cliche there…

I don’t want to reveal all my gifts in case any of the recipients are passing through here (unlikely, but you never know), but I’m pretty excited about this new-to-me felting goodness.

felting2

I got a bunch of these wool felt packs from Daiso, which is a Japanese dollar store here in Seattle. Each pack comes with three tufts of wool felt in different colors and only costs $1.50! I got the needles separately here (a great toy store with high quality art supplies for kids and kids-at-hearts), but I later discovered that Daiso actually carries the needles as well. Oh well.

I am thoroughly enamored with felt garlands, and wanted to make a mini-version. Above you can see my attempts at minuscule pom poms. They’re really easy to make – I didn’t even bother with the needles (they’re just there for show – I like how they look) and just dipped them in hot water and rolled, rolled, rolled with my hands into hardened felt balls. I doused them in hot water after every few rolls, and I think they look great. Look, a snowman!

felting3

I’m also thinking of doing some fancier shapes with the felt and making them into hair accessories. This one below I made last year and it’s held up amazingly well. Hair clips are so charming, no?

felt-clip1

I will show you my handiwork once I’ve finished them!

So, given my frenetic elvish workshop-mode, I may or may not be posting an outfit tomorrow. Look for an update some time in the  afternoon-ish tomorrow…

Filed in: crafts • by sanae • 10 Comments

Comments

  1. Alana

    December 18, 2013 at 3:27 pm

    Our school had a junk sale as part of our autumn Harvest Festival. At the sale, I saw a cute purse made of felted balls of different colored wool (oh my, just Googled “felt ball purse” and saw millions of images!). I was so sad when it sold before I had a chance to buy it myself! I’ve totally wanted to try felting and am of course in love with Daiso 🙂

    Yet another thing to try! I’m sure your endeavors will be beautiful.

    Reply
    • sanae

      December 18, 2013 at 11:48 pm

      Thanks Alana! You had me googling felt ball purses too 🙂 we’ll see how my felting venture goes…trying to graduate beyond Pom Pom balls is turning out to be tricky.

      Reply
  2. L Lee

    December 18, 2013 at 3:33 pm

    Ahh… good old Daiso. I love the variety, quality and the price! In Melbourne, the unit price is more, at $2.80. Well… that to be expected from Australian retails, they charge more for the same stuffs you get in US. Maybe the labour costs more?? Anyhoo, I always want to try felting, but don’t really know what to do or make. I should check out the local Daiso store and give it a go! Thanks for the inspiration.

    Reply
    • sanae

      December 18, 2013 at 11:49 pm

      I didn’t know that there’s a Daiso in Melbourne, but of course that makes sense! The possibilities are endless with felting — animals, nature-inspired objects, abstract shapes…so fun!

      Reply
  3. Lucinda

    December 18, 2013 at 5:28 pm

    No fair! First, you have the best luck with Seattle thrift stores, and now you’re telling us about Japanese dollar stores?! Yet another reason why Seattle is such a cool city:) I tried needle felting for awhile and loved it too . . . just didn’t love what it did to my fingers every time I missed the foam and stabbed my finger instead. Have you tried making the felt balls in the washing machine? I never tried it, but read that if you put a bit of roving in a pair of pantyhose, tie it off around the roving, and move down the leg like a sausage link you can wash it in the machine and it will felt into a ball. Fun possibilities!

    Reply
    • sanae

      December 18, 2013 at 11:55 pm

      Ooh, I want to try the washing machine method, though the thought of using pantyhose to felt balls is giving me a weird visual for some reason…but I’m always up for experimentation!

      Reply
  4. Adri H.

    December 19, 2013 at 3:19 am

    Oh such cuteness! Love the barette!

    Reply
    • sanae

      December 19, 2013 at 2:39 pm

      Thanks Adri! I made several more, but of course, they’re floating out in some gutter somewhere, I’m sure.

      Reply
  5. Fiona

    December 19, 2013 at 6:41 am

    Ah, Daiso is in Singapore too, and it’s definitely one of my favorite places to roam around in. A couple of years back, when my eldest first started having an allowance and had saved up enough, I brought him to Daiso where he managed to get Christmas presents for everyone in the family! He was so proud of himself! Oh, and I love the look of a felt ball garland, but when I saw the wool roving at Daiso, I talked myself out of getting it because, well, I just don’t have time for another hobby!

    Reply
    • sanae

      December 19, 2013 at 2:43 pm

      I always discover amazing things at Daiso, though I shudder to think how they’re managing to keep prices so low…I love that your son was able to buy all his gifts there! Such a good idea.

      Reply

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