Felt Beads

I made these beads after seeing a post (ugh I cant remember who it was!) about this foreign site. I was asked for a tutorial in english. I hope you enjoy it.

What you need:

a gumball machine bubble (or a small jar, like babyfood small)

some wool roving- just enough to loosely fill the container

colorless dish soap - I use palmolive oxy plus

hot and cold water

1. Microwave a cup of water (on high for about 30 sec.) Loosely fill the container with some wool roving. This much roving will make a bead about the size of a gumball. Put a drop of dish soap in, fill halfway with hot water, close lid and begin to vigorously shake the container.

If you are doing this project with kiddos, be cautious. But if the water is not too hot for them(use your good judgement) they could even shake the container.

2. Drain the water. This is what your roving should look like. A very loose wet ball of fluff.

3. Rinse the ball in cold water while pressing the ball together evenly. Ice water is best. It "shocks" the fibers. Try to not form any lumps on the ball. Then start firmly rolling the ball in your hands just as you would roll a ball of dough.







4. If you are careful to avoid lumps forming your bead should look something like this. You can trim any loose strands from your bead.

5. You can add seed beads to your felt bead by passing a threaded needle in and out of your felt bead and adding seed beads before passing the needle through again.

If you have any questions or comments feel free to let me know. Feed back is welcome and I would love to see what you do.