Today we reach the halfway mark between the winter solstice and spring equinox. With an arctic chill currently surrounding us in upstate New York, we are seeking warmth - which means it's the perfect time to share some warm wool hearts with our loved ones.
You may have already seen my Needle Felted Heart Tutorial (just scroll down on tutorials page until you see "How to Make a Heart"). Today I'm going to share a couple of ways you can get creative with these hearts.
A handful of these hearts look beautiful strung together as a garland for a DIY Valentine's Day decoration.
I made 4 hearts using blended wool roving (you'll need approximately 0.1 oz. per heart - about the size of a golf ball rolled up). You may use any colors you like; I chose Cardinal, Carmine, Pink Lemonade, and Ecru from the Valentine's Day wool sampler.
You'll see that in the Heart Tutorial I'm using wool batting. But you can easily make these hearts with roving as well! You can choose to simply roll your roving into a ball and then proceed with shaping that into a heart. However, I personally find it easier to work with the roving if I fluff it up first so that all the fibers are no longer going in the same direction. You can see how I do this in the "Part 2: Types of Wool" tutorial on the same page (go to minute 2:29 Preparing Roving). Here is my first heart using the Cardinal blended roving:
For these hearts, you may decide to use a single needle for the entire process or several different needle sizes throughout.
If using a single needle, I recommend the #38 Triangle needle. This is a great all-purpose needle and will allow you both to felt your basic shape as well as refine it.
If you'd like a little more control over the felting process or you'd like to get your heart to a really smooth finish at the end, I recommend following along with me in the Heart tutorial as I show you how and when to use the different needle sizes.
After creating the rest of my hearts, I used some 4ply waxed linen thread and a #20 Chenille needle to thread my hearts. I love the waxed linen thread because it is thin but very strong, and it goes through the wool smoothly. Once the hearts are threaded, you can then move them to create the spacing you like, and they will stay put. I choose the Chenille type of needle because it has a sharp point to pierce through the felted wool, and a long narrow eye that makes it easy to thread and push through the wool. You could also cut shorter lengths of your linen thread and make individual heart ornaments.
These needle felted hearts make unique little valentines just as they are, or add a drop of your favorite essential oil to a few and set them around your home to help unwind after a long day. I hope these hearts will bring you and those around you a bit of warmth this winter.