Wet-Felted Heart Craft

We have a simple, nature-based craft for young children that is perfect for Valentine’s Day!
Following the craft video instructions from Little Round Schoolhouse’s “Ms. Rae,” you will learn how to create a wet-felted heart using wool roving, hot water, soap, and a cookie cutter, giving you a beautiful, nature-based project to share with your child.

Even better, once you learn how to make a heart, you can use the same process with any cookie cutter, giving you endless possibilities. I made this craft each year with my Children’s Garden. I was always amazed to see what the children made at home using different cookie-cutter shapes!

Wet-Felted Hearts

Materials

• Wool roving
• Cookie sheet or baking dish
• Small square of bubble wrap
• Heart-shaped cookie cutter (or whatever shape you want to use!)
• Soap
• Hot water
• Spray bottle
• Clean pencil, chopstick, or skewer

Method

• Set the bubble wrap on the cookie sheet or in the baking dish. Place the cookie cutter on top of the bubble wrap.
• Gently separate the wool roving into short, thin bits, pulling it apart so it looks like “spider webs.”
• Place small bits of roving, one bit at a time, into the cookie cutter, overlapping the layers as you do so.
  Continue adding small bits of roving until the cookie cutter is filled to the top. Add an even amount across the cookie cutter, making sure you fill the edges, too.
• Fill a spray bottle with hot water and gently spray the roving until it is moist and reduces in size.
• Add another layer of wool to the cookie cutter until it is filled again. Like before, add the wool roving bit by bit, overlapping the pieces as you go. Feel for thin places and add wool to those spots, particularly the edges.
• Spray the wool down again with the hot water.
• Add a tiny drop of dish soap to your fingers and press the soap into the wool. Press all over the heart, making sure to get the edges, too.
• Once the soap has been added, switch to a pencil, chopstick, or another tool for pressing the wool. Hold the cookie cutter still with one hand and use the tool to press on the wool with the other hand.
• The wool fibers will slowly begin to felt together. Keep on pressing! Felting takes a lot of patience and often takes longer than we think.
• Continue to gently press on the wool until it has felted together enough that you can turn the heart over and felt the other side.
• Once your heart is felted to your satisfaction, rinse it under cold water, gently squeezing the soap out.
  Set your felted heart on a plate and let it dry overnight.
• Optional: Put a string through the top center of the heart and hang it up somewhere.
• Optional: Older children can needlefelt or embroider designs into their hearts once dry. 

It is easy to create beautiful wet-felted ornaments by following the video and instructions in this post. My favorite thing about this process is how easy it is to repeat using whatever cookie-cutter shape you want. We have made ornaments for every season and celebration using this wet-felting process.

Are you interested in creating a regular rhythm of seasonal, nature-based crafts to enjoy with your child? 
Storytime in the Schoolhouse® is a gentle, nature-based, non-academic enrichment program for early childhood. Storytime follows a weekly rhythm of songs, storytelling, and creative arts. To experience a full week of Storytime for each season, sign up for our free Storytime Seasonal Sampler.