felted stones by Jennie H.

My dear friend Jennie and her son Ryder made these beautifully cleaver stones for Henry this year and I have been wanting to share. I thought that photos would not do them justice so Jennie was kind enough to share a tutorial on 'how to make: felted stones.' enjoy.

how to make felted stones:

while researching another felted craft, i stumbled across these great little stacking felted stones that i instantly knew would be a big hit for my then 16 month old son. i loved how the stones fit perfectly in his little hand, so soft to the touch with the weight of a hefty stone. i later sewed a stuff sack for the stones for easy transport and another game in itself - removing them from their cozy sack and placing them back into it. along the way we decided to make two additional sets as gifts for our play group pals. this was a great crafting activity that i was able to share with my son - he loved standing on the dining room chair that i had pushed against our sink while mimicking my every move. caution: this activity is for those who do not mind a very wet child and wet kitchen floor.

what you need:

a few child hand size stones (we chose 5)

wool roving in different shades....1 oz total will suffice, you should be able to find a mixed bag at your local yarn store....ours is the black sheep in encinitas.

dish soap, unscented and free of all dyes...i used seventh generation, dawn original is another favorite

hot, and i mean hot soapy water...

a cool rinse

what i did:

i set a medium sauce pan in one side of the sink with the hot soapy water...my working station

in the other side i set a larger pan with cool water...this was my son's station

for each stone i pulled three to four lengths from the dyed roving....the lengths are long enough to fold over the stones completely one and a half times...i switched directions/sides with each layer

once the stone was covered in the layers roving, i submerged it into the hot soapy water - the hotter the better and the faster you will set your wool...taking the stone out of the water i placed a dime size amount of dish soap directly onto the roving...with the stone in one palm i placed my other hand on top and clasped both hands together with the stone between...rubbing my hands together, as you would if you were warming your hands while keeping the stone between your palms...this movement agitates the wool's barbed fibers and allows the wool to knot together...i did this for roughly 5-8 minutes while moving the stone around in different directions....dipping it in the hot water every few minutes...once the wool was dense and snug around the stone i gave it to my son for the cool rinse...he would drop in and fish out the newly bundled stone over and over while i was quickly putting together the next stone....this was great entertainment...he was well involved long after i had completed felting the stones.

once complete place the felted stones on a sunny window sill until dry...about a day or two

jh

* this is the sweet sack that the stones came in {also made by Jennie}