WOOLEN CHRISTMAS POMPOM GARLAND
This is a nice and easy activity to do alone, or togehter with children. It is quick and does not require anything else than some nice wool yarn. And the best part is, it will not result in a big mess to clean up afterwards.
HOW TO DO IT:
Pick up some yarn in colours you like. It is a good idea to use left overs from other projects if you have. If you would like to felt it afterwords to make it even more fluffy, you should choose wool that is untreated (not superwash), to make sure it will wet felt.
Start with twirling the yarn around one, or two fingers (or as big as you would want the balls, I like them quite small so I used only one or two). I wrap it about 35-40 times around my fingers. You will have to experiment, how many rounds of yarn you need will depend on the thickness of the yarn, and the size of your wool ball. When I am happy with the size, I take the yarn gently off my finger, cut the yarn about 10 cm length and make two tight rounds in the middle of my loops. Then I cut the loops at both ends with a sharp scissor and the yarn will "pop" out to a nice little ball. You can off course use the scissors to adjust the shape of your ball if you would like it to be perfeclty round. (I like it a bit scruffy and usually don`t).
Make several balls like this (as many as you wish for your girlander). Different shapes and yarns is also nice.
Next step is to make them into an girlander. I have used thin white yarn in 100 wool, organic and untreaded with any chemicals. This will felt very well, making it a bit hairy and fluffy. If you would like it to be thicker you could of course twirl it first. Measure up the wanted length of your girlander and cut the yarn of. Use a thick needle and sew the balls on the garland. It is nice to have some distance between the wool balls.
You can make a loop in each end ofyour garland to make it easier to hang.
Last step is to wet felt your garland. Wet it in hot soapy water and rub it between your palms or against something pebbled. If you have a washboard it is great for this. You can also use bubble wrap. This you should do by hand to have control of the felting process, it will probably not be necessary to felt it for very long until you have the wanted effect.
Good luck and enjoy the process!
