INFORMATION ON MAKING FELT BALLS

NOTICE

This file is a collection of various messages having the common theme of making felt balls, that I have collected from my reading of the various internet fiber lists, although they are primarily from the feltmaker's list. I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, most of the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the orignator(s).
Pat Spark, Manager of the Feltmaker's List.
Return to feltmakers list FAQ

LINKS TO OTHER FELT BALL SITES
There's more information on making felt balls on the following page: Teaching Feltmaking
Jill Gully's  web page has a link to information on making felt balls.
There is felt ball information on Phalia's String Page.

INDEX QUESTION/ANSWER TOPICS
HOW DO YOU MAKE A HOLLOW-CORE FELT
BALL?
MAKING A FELT GEODE.                                 
HOW DO YOU MAKE A SOLID-CORE FELT BALL? MAKING FELT BALLS WITH KIDS.
MAKING SMALL FELT BALLS. MAKING FELT BEADS.
WHAT ARE FELT BALLS USED FOR? "SPECIAL" FELT BALLS.
PRICING FELT BALLS. FELT "MILLE-FLORE" PIN CUSHIONS.
FASTER METHODS OF MAKING FELT BALLS CUTTING FELT BALLS IN HALF. 
  WHAT ARE THE BEST PANTY HOSE TO USE
FOR MAKING FELT BALLS, GEODES, ETC. ?

HOW DO YOU MAKE A HOLLOW-CORE FELT BALL?
*March 14, 1996 Ida Spaulding. Irene, you'll probably get numerous responses to your inquiry about making felt balls. Here are a few, brief suggestions from me.  A ping-pong ball can be used for the center, cutting it open to insert a bell, then taping it closed. Wrap it firmly in dry fleece to a good size (this from experimenting), tuck it tightly into the toe of a nylon stocking and tie it closed. Wash in the machine with a load of laundry. Take out of the stocking---some of the outside fibers will have migrated through the nylon and need to be released. Do it up again in the stocking and send through the wash again---I send them through 3 or 4 times as each time they get somewhat more compact and smooth. For a design element in the beginning, the loose-fiber outside of the ball can be wrapped with glittery thread or loosely spun wool yarn---after several washings the wool fibers will grip securely. You might try beads on the outside of the felted ball or applique. To have a really compact ball (as in a geode) I think working with hand pressure is necessary--and you'd want lots of different colored fleece so that's another post.
*March 23, 1996 Sandy Mubarak. One fun way to do felt balls that are really fast and marketable is to take an old tennis ball, slit a slice large enough to slip a jingle bell inside, then I lay thin cobwebs of llama fiber over, drizzling with the soapy hot water; wrap a nylon net around (I have been using the fine laundry bag stuff bought by the yards and cut into various workable sized pieces), and work in my palms until it sticks together without floating, continue working like a hot potato, toss, etc. to full; spin excess water in spin cycle to hurry drying time. My cats love them. Wild dyed colors make great gifts, a drill and large needle can be used to add a handspun loop to hang or tie an elastic gold thread to drive cats crazy playing. It will work with any wool, I just have an abundance of camelid fiber.
*May 15, 1998 Nancy Langford. An easy way to make a larger felt ball using less wool is to have an old tennis ball inside. Our local tennis club gives them away free and I've done this project with kids with much success.
*May 16, 1998 Meike Dalal-Laurensen. I like the idea of starting with a ping pong ball. Slit it open and sit a little bell inside it and then felt the whole thing in. Not my idea though. Saw it in Echoes in an article written by a German teacher of children with difficulties.
*May 16, 1998 Ruth Walker. Forget the ping pong ball splitting--just wrap the wool around one of those cat toys that are a little cage with a bell inside. "But what about the wet wool?" you cry. When the wool is dry, the bell will ring again!
*May 16, 1998 Gage Evans: For a while, I was making mouse cat toys kind of like the ones described above by Ruth. The caged bells can get expensive if you are making a bunch, though. So, my "secret" was to buy whiffle golf balls. They are plastic practice golf balls with holes like big whiffle balls. You can get them in sporting goods stores. You have to have a pair of sturdy shears, but you can cut between a couple of holes and insert bells ("jingle bells" from Xmas close-outs or at craft stores). I then hand felt around the balls to make sure the fleece will stay put, put several of them in a nylon stocking, and throw them in the washer and dryer. When I take them out, I decorate them with ears, eyes, whiskers, and tails to make a mouse. I actually found the bell ring better with the whiffle ball because the ball keeps the fiber AWAY from the bell and lets it ring better. So if you really want the bell effect, I say, use a ball as your center, rather than just felting around the ball itself.  P.S. I priced my mice at $6 each and they did sell out. I will make morefor the Xmas sale. They are very cute and easy.
*May 16, 1998 Joan Dwight. I bought a bunch of the cat balls with the bell inside at the dollar store. They came in a package of 4 for $1. So it was pretty cheap.
*May 16, 1998 Gage Evans. That's good. The golf balls beat the price by a little bit where I go - packages of 6 for $1, but you do have to retrofit them!
*May 17, 1998 Sharon Costello. Do you have any "Dollar" stores near you? I can get the plastic cat toys with the bell inside at 6 for a dollar, I check the store every few months and buy them out. This is probably cheaper than your whiffle ball approach and a lot less work. I sell my cat toys for $5.00.
Back to Index

HOW DO YOU MAKE A SOLID-CORE FELT BALL?
*May  15, 1998  Amy Smith
.  I made one today by making a balled mass of scraps and then layering over, shrinking some and then made more layers over that, felting and fulling in a wire kitchen strainer, holding the bottom with my left hand and massaging with my right. I have a tennis ball sized ball that came out pretty good, but was hoping for "real" instructions.
*May 15, 1998 Ruth Walker. Amy--You are doing fine on your felt ball! There are probably a bazillion methods for making a felt ball and you don't need a website--you've already come up with one!  Another is to wad up some dry, good-felting wool, wind yarn around it, and felt it after putting it in the toe of a stocking.  But you can start wet or dry, small or big, in your hands or in a machine, and you don't want too many particulars--half the fun of felting is figuring out a new way to do it!
*May 16, 1998 Jill Gully. Amy--Here are the instructions I have made for people.  Hope this helps.
FELT BALLS. Take a large handful of raw fleece and stuff it tightly into the toe of a pair of old knee-highs or a portion of the leg of a pair of hose with a knot tied at one end. Work the fleece down tightly and tie another knot at the top of the ball of fleece to secure it in a ball shape. Dunk it in hot water and then squirt it well with soap gel. Rub gently at first and then with increasing pressure until fibres begin to creep through the hose (about 5-10 minutes). Carefully cut the top knot and remove the partially felted ball. Take your colored fiber and lay it out in three or four layers in a piece large enough to wrap around the inner ball. Place the wet inner ball in the center of the colored fiber. Wrap colored fiber around the ball and carefully tuck it all back into the panty hose. Try and compact the fiber as much as possible before tying another knot to hold it in. Again dunk the ball in hot water, squishing gently to allow water to penetrate the entire ball. add more soap gel and rub between cupped palms with increasing firmness as time goes on. When fibers or small pills of fiber begin to form on the outside of the hose, carefully cut off the knot and peel the hose off. Be careful not to cut into the fiber of the ball if possible. If that happens, apply a generous amount of soap gel to the damaged part and rub gently to smooth the surface. The hose may be partially attached to the ball, but just pull gently to remove it. Add more soap gel to the ball and continue to rub and roll with increasing pressure until the ball is firm and hard. Rinse and allow to dry or put in tumble dryer with a load of clothes to dry and harden the ball.
*May 17, 1998 Jill Gully.  Answer to question: What is raw wool? By "raw wool" I mean you can use any feltable wool that has not even been processed. I have a friend who has some Rambouillet sheep to keep the grass down in his pasture. His shearing leaves a lot to be desired, but the fleece can be washed and most of the bits picked out.... then I just use this for the "stuffing" in the middle. Since it is free... it is great for kids' workshops as it keeps their costs down immensely. The kids actually like it better, because it still smells "sheepy" and they can feel the lanolin etc. I have also used felt trimmings from garments I have cut out. I just wrap the felt cuttings into a ball shape and secure them with a few whip stitches. Then I can go directly to the stage of putting the new fiber around the core ball. This method makes a very firm ball because the already felted center is so firm to begin with.
*August 17, 1998, Sue. I spent the entire week on the Outer Banks last week and tried my first felt balls. I've done flat felt before, but this 'ball thing' was wonderful. I used white and/or gray roving for the core of the balls, and then used dyed roving for the outside layer. They're wonderful.  I'm going to give one to my cats to see what they think. I think the dogs will just chew it up (my Aussie likes to do that), so I'll not give them one. I want to make a big basket full of them - they were so much fun. I also got my SIL to make one - her first felting experience.  I want to try some beads now that I've broken out of the 'flat felt syndrome'. I also took my spinning wheel to the Outer Banks (my husband said he couldn't live with me a week without my wheel). Spinning in the salt air with the sea breeze was wonderful. I DIDN'T drag it to the beach, though, as we were a block away and I was on VACATION!!! I don't do sun anyway
Back to Index
*August 18, 1998. Kathy Warner. I spent the morning helping 8 mentally ill people make felt balls. It was their first experience felting, and we all had a good time. I am an occupational therapy student, and volunteer one day a week leading a crafts group at a day centre for people who are mentally ill. I decided ahead of time that most of them would not have the hand strength or attention span to make a felt ball "from scratch", so I made small felt balls ahead of time in the washing machine, then we put 2 or 3 layers of wool over them, to end up with tennis - baseball sized balls. (This might be a good way to start if working with young children, also.)  There is one blind client at the centre, and for the first time, I persuaded him that today's craft was something he didn't need sight to be able to do successfully--and it turns out that he likes to play catch with a ball, so this will be something softer for when he misses!  All in all, I was very pleased with how things went, and next week mean to see if some of the regular crafts group participants might like to try making a rug in a few weeks!
*August 18, 1998. Sue. You will need roving, very warm water (a bowl full works well), and some hand soap (I use soap I make myself). I make my felt balls with about 1/2 oz of roving. I divide the roving into 8 or 9 strips, which I then pull apart slightly. The first strip I tear into five or six lengths. These lengths I squish together - sort of wad them up. I take this wad and dip it into the warm water. Then I take my hands (which are wet from dunking the wad) and rub them on the bar of soap. Then I start squishing (different from squishing in that it is a repetitive motion keeping the wool between the thumb and first two fingers of each hand and alternating which hand compresses the wad, all the time turning the wad slightly between squishes. After a while the wool begins to felt. It doesn't really matter how 'round' this first wad is. After it has begum felting, take another of your roving strips and wrap it around the core wad. Do this as smoothly as possible, but don't get too hung up on little 'tags' which are inevitable for the first few layers. Repeat the squishing on this wrap and on the next wrap. By the time you have three or so layers, you can start rolling the ball in your hands as though you were making balls out of modeling clay - you remember kindergarten, don't you? Before you start squishing or rolling each layer, you should wet the 'new wool' and soap your hands, being careful not to use too much soap because too much soap is not conducive to felting. (If you have hands full of suds, you're using too much.) Each layer should be rolled until the felt is firm. As you do more outer layers, the ones inside continue to felt.  Repeat the layering until you have the size ball you want. On the final layer, be careful to pull or stretch the roving so that no 'tags' are formed. You can make these balls with all dyed roving, all natural roving, or (what I do most often) use natural roving for the first several layers and then gorgeously dyed roving for the last two layers. You can also do different colors for each layer and then slice the ball open when it's 'cured' to get a 'felted geode'. The possibilities are endless. When you have finished the layering and rolling, dip the finished ball in the warm water and squeeze the excess water out. If you want really firm balls, I think you could probably put them throught the washer, although I've never tried this. Maybe just putting them in the clothes dryer would do the trick.

Back to Index

MAKING FELT BALLS WITH KIDS.
*Jan. 30, 1996,  Pat Spark
.  Hi, the article referred to about felt Christmas balls is (I think) the one written by Anne Sneary, "Felted Ball Christmas Ornaments," Handwoven, p.44-45, Sept/Oct 1993. There was another good article about felt balls written in Handwoven, March/April 1994 by Jacki Schell. She wrote about making miniature "felt watermelons" with grade school kids. The ball was created with a core of red fleece onto which small cut up pieces of black yarn "seeds" had been sprinkled. The red fiber was rolled up and the roll was dipped into a bucket of warm, soapy water. The fiber was rolled around and around in the hand to form a soft skin on the outside of the ball. Then it was wrapped with a thin layer of yellow fleece and rolled for a little while. Lastly, a layer of green fleece was added. The ball was re-dipped into the soapy water and rolled/squeezed until it became compacted. She finished the fulling by putting the ball into the toe of a nylon stocking, and putting it through a cycle of the washer. The kids then cut the ball into quarters to reveal the red inside with its black seeds. Cute idea!
              When I work with kids, I do not want them to learn about felting by using a washing machine. In the beginning, I think they should learn how to do the felting in their hands. So, I start them with felt beads (small balls) which they make quite hard. This really gives them the chance to learn how the wool changes through various stages as it felts. They learn to be gently in the beginning, until the fabric has started to form, then they can be aggressive. I think the kinetic knowledge is important for them. (I have worked with kids from ages 3 on up.)
              With my 4-H kids (ages 10,11), the second project after felt beads, was a felt ball with a soft core. They tightly roll up a piece of carded, spongy fleece. One that would not felt well such as Suffolk. When the ball is as big as they can hold, I help them to take a couple of basting stitches to attach the last layer of wool batting to the ball. When this is secure, they can add on more batting. They wrap as far as they can comfortably hold and then stitch it again to secure it. In this way, they build up the soft core until it is a little bigger than the size of the finished product. They carefully wrap good felting wool around this soft core (we use merino), and place it in the middle of a square of mosquito netting. The corners of the net are secured together with a rubber band which is pushed down tightly against the merino wool. The ball is dipped into hot soapy water and the kids begin to massage it, gently at first, so that a skin forms on the outside of the merino. They remove the net and shift the ball so that a different part is under the rubber band "tie". (We have also used twist ties. Do not massage too long before removing the net or the net may felt into the wool.) They keep massaging until the skin is hard enough that they don't need the net to help hold it together. Then they massage and squeeze until the merino has felted well. The ball will not be solid felt, because the core is not able to felt well. This means that it makes a great base for the kids to stitch onto. The soft core acts like a stuffing. The kids in my group made these at Halloween and did jack-o-lanterns, witches, spiders and one smile-face.  
*Jan. 30, 1996, Debbie Littell.  Sandy Mubarak teachers her class to felt llama fiber around a bar of soap! The result is a handy "scrubber" for the shower! Yes, mine did shed a little! But, it was fun and I always thought that would be a great activity to do with kids...
*March 24, 1996 Jill Gully. My stepmother in Tasmania first showed my children how to make felt balls using the toe portion of old pantyhose. For larger balls, you can knot off sections of the pantyhose further up the leg. We would take a large handful of plain old fleece and wad it into a ball in our hands. Then we would take whatever colors we wanted on the outside and would wrap these around the inner core. With a little help, you can get this into the toe of the hose without disturbing the outer layers. We then mashed it fairly tightly and tied a knot at the top end. Then we took soap gel on our hands and rolled the ball around in our hands, squishing the soapy gel into the ball. You can add a little hot water if you like. At first you could squish the ball out of shape and it doesn't matter too much, but as it becomes a little firmer, try to keep the round shape. If there is enough stocking dangling, you can grasp that and "bounce" the ball on a hard surface. Kids love to do this part! You might have to re-tie the top knot further down, if the ball compacts a lot and leaves loose space in the stocking. After quite a bit of bouncing and rolling, we put them in her front-load washer for a short time, then spun them out. My older son was delighted with his set of five navel-orange sized juggling balls that he made. And I was much happier than watching him juggle my 98cents a pound apples!! For those who wish, a length of sturdy hat-elastic can be tied around the initial wad of fleece so that the end product is a felt ball on the end of a bouncy string!

Back to Index

MAKING A FELT GEODE
*March 15, 1996 Ida Spaulding. I have had fun with geodes (which I learned from Beth Beede). It is a perfect intergenerational activity and I've taught it several times in groups. The end product is a very hard ball that can be cut open with an electric knife revealing a magical design inside. It can be used for a pin cushion but better it is an amazing object d' art. Take various colors of carded (or teased) wool and shingle them out as you please in a great pile (the size of which can be compressed to fit inside your two hands held around it). Fill a bucket about 6 inches full of hot as-your-hands-can-stand water and a couple of shots of ivory snow detergent. Hold your hands tightly around the wool--making sure you have it encompassed-- and dip into the water---once in the water do not compress the wool---let the air bubble out and the water soak in briefly. Lift your hands lightly out. At this point if you want an outside that is one color you can carefully and lightly add strips of roving around the ball---there will be enough water coming from the ball to wet the outside. Then very gently shift the ball from one hand to the other and carefully smooth it--do this for about 5 minutes until a skin is formed on the outside. From that point on it is a matter of lightly squeezing and compressing with your hands and fingers maintaining the roundness---though it can be other shapes if you want--like oblong or egg. Work over a bucket to catch the drip. If cracks form you are probably working it too hard too early. This is a process where you gradually increase the pressure as the felt forms inside. If there are cracks early in the game you may be able to add some wool to cover them---otherwise you might consider them natural characteristics of this particular creation--these things have a life of their own. Once you have a good skin formed on the outside of the ball you can leave the thing to sit if you get tired of working it or you have other things to do. You can always come back to it and wet it again if the water has drained out of it and continue working it. If you work steadily it may take a couple of hours to get it really hard--depending, of course on your strength. For a really hard ball it helps to have an adult working it toward the end--though I've found that kids about 7 or 8 can get them really hard. It can be bounced or pressed down hard on a counter. Really squeezed with the fingers. I think this is a terrific exercise for strengthening hands---and good for arthritis.
*March 24, 1996 Sadelle Wiltshire. I've had a lot of luck with kids making balls and felt geodes using some verbal cues/instructions that I heard Beth Beede use with the child of workshop participant. It was a two day boot workshop, and on the second day, the woman's 9 year old came along for the day. She gave him a bucket of warm soapy water, and lots of fiber to play with. Had him roll up a wad of wool in his hands, gently dip in the water to saturate, squeeze out a bit, and then *gently* "roll in your hands, as if the wool were a baby bunny". This is a great way to keep kids from squishing too much. As it started to feel harder, she had him "roll, massage, like it was a teenage bunny, next an adult bunny, next a kitten, next a full grown cat, next a dog, etc...... The kids really get into this, and imagine they have that animal in their hands. I find alot less folds happen when they are more patient. I've used this with groups as large as 10 at a time, ages 5 - 15. As far as the geodes go, I have them add the next layer after there's a bit of skin formed. One geode I made that I loved had a layer of purple wool with gold glitz drumcarded in. It was a thin middle layer, and cut open, looked great!
*March 23, 1996  Vicki Moss. The method I've liked best lately is pretty simple and quick, and with just a little practice can result in really lovely, smooth balls. I think it's probably very close to the way I originally learned from Beth Beede some years ago. To start, pull off your various bits of wool and just toss them into a heap. Make sure fibers are going every which way. This is no time to be anal; just make a colorful little mound of wool! (I generally use well carded and/or batted merino or merino blends, but these instructions work pretty well with most everything I've tried.) Prepare a tub of water; hot is good, but I've done it with bunches of kids and tepid-to-cool water. The water must be deep enough for you to completely submerge your hands. I add several squirts of Ivory; I've never tried it with any other soap solution, but I expect most anything would be successful.  Gather up the wool loosely in your two hands. Compact it GENTLY into a loose ball. Now STOP and smear your hands with more Ivory. Then gather up the wool until you have it all cupped loosely in your two hands: one hand is palm up with the wool in the palm of that hand and the other hand is palm down keeping the wool from escaping. In one great whooosh, submerge your hands. WATCH the water for bubbles; you want to just stand there *doing nothing* until the bubbles stop. Next, bring your hands rather slowly out of the water. DO NOT SEPARATE THEM, OR SQUEEZE THEM, OR DO ANYTHING AT ALL EXCEPT REMOVE THEM FROM THE WATER! Everyone always seems to reflexively squeeze their hands at this moment, ending up with little pac man like shapes instead of balls. Now, the way I explain this to kids is: think about the wool as if it were a delicate little baby bird. Very slowly and carefully, WITHOUT SQUEEZING, change the positions of your hands, sort of tossing the wool from one to the other. This is hard to describe (but very easy to show in person!); if your right hand is cupped above and your left below, swivel your fingertips towards each other and beyond each other, thus reversing the positions of your hands. Your right hand is now below, your left is above, and you have gently manipulated the wool without using much pressure. Just continue this for a while: it could take a minute, or three minutes, maybe even more. This is where your judgment comes into play. You are just sort-of-tossing the wet wool from cupped hand to cupped hand, while it begins to felt *and* begins to maintain the integrity of its ball shape at the same time. Shortly it will begin to "set up;" when that happens, you're free to start really working it. You can squeeze it and roll it ... whatever.  It seems to be the very earliest part of this process that is at all tricky; it's important (as I know I've said before) to resist the desire to squeeze the wet wool! I've seen several children do it successfully right off; I've seen several artists, and art majors, be completely unable to do it right at all.

Here are the problems I've seen over and over:  
1) People are prone to open their hands and peek, and/or squeeze the wool.
2) Sometimes they forget, and let go of the wool under water and then gather it back up; never mind, don't bother ... it's probably too late.
3) Some people, especially those of an artistic temperament, slice-dice-and-mangle the fibers before even getting them into the water. They are so obsessed by color blending or whatever, they end up with all these horrid little short fibers that have been so abused, they simply do not felt.

Back to Index

MAKING FELT BEADS.
*Aug. 7, 1996 Gage Evans.   Last Saturday, I had a workshop scheduled through my guild to teach the technique I learned from - guess who - Pat Spark. It was phenomenally successful. There were 14 people there! We all had a good time and all went home with beads. The technique is deceptively simple. Lay out fleece as you would for the first layer of a regular felt piece - feathered fiber bits in rows. Then roll it up like a jelly roll. Put a LITTLE bit of soapy water on your hands. Roll the jelly roll until it forms a skin and condenses a little bit. Cut a piece of this soft felt jelly roll that is about as long as it is wide. Add a LITTLE more soapy water to your hands and roll the felt piece with a circular motion "as if you had a baby bird in your hands". When it starts to take shape, you can apply more pressure, but you have to be patience, otherwise the bird dies and you have a wad of smushed fiber. The more  pressure you apply and the more you roll, the harder the bead gets. You can even use them for buttons. Rinse the beads to get the soap out. Finally, soak for about 10-15 minutes in a diluted vinegar solution to restore the pH to the fiber. Let dry (it could take a couple of days,  depending on your climate).

Back to Index

MAKING SMALL FELT BALLS
*Dec. 6, 1996,  Joan Kozak.
Here's a couple ways to make small felt balls: (1)-w/fleece: Take a handful of raw fleece (of course clean would work too). Tease it up (pull the locks apart sideways until you have a fluffy cloud). Hold it in your cupped, closed (like a macramé monkey ball) hands. Dunk it in and then out of a bucket of hot soapy water.  Now roll between your hands until felted. Roll very lightly at first, so that the mass is round right fr/the start. Re-heat as it cools by re-dunking in the hot soapy water. (or zap in your microwave). If it just sticks to your hands and not together, add more soap. Note: oddly enough, when I say soap, I mean dish detergent. Rinse by squeezing in clear water.
(2)-w/roving or strips of batting: Roll very tightly into a ball the size you want or a lt. bigger. Tie into the toe of a nylon stocking. May as well make a bunch and fill the stocking, tying between ea. ball. It'll look like a string of round sausages. Now , just throw it in a load of laundry. Voila! Felt balls! Cut and peel out of nylons. (didn't someone send a hint on making this step easier?) . You may be surprised to know that I personally find it faster to felt them individually by hand.            Dyeing: I dye'em afterwards. It uses less (why waste dye on an inside you won't see?
*Dec. 4, 1996, Maria Runnzell. Try to wrap the almost-finished felt ball/apple in dyed wool. This way you save a lot of dye and you can get the same flamed (I really don't know the word in english, but I hope you understand anyway) surface as on apples. You can also make *patterns* on balls this way.

Back to Index

WHAT ARE FELT BALLS USED FOR?
*August 17, 1998,  Lori in Dairyland.  Sue, I have been making felted wool balls for 4 years now and I make about 300 a year. they make wonderful dog toys. Mine are more durable than a tennis ball but I do finish them in the dryer and they get quite hard. I have only had 4 dogs able to tear the balls apart and have had alot of repeat customers. A friend stores a couple small balls in a bag of catnip for her kitties. I also have sewed a piece of elastic onto a ball and hung it over a doorknob for the cats. Away from breakables of course.
*Nov. 2, 1998 Valerie.
 In answer to question "What are felt balls used for"? cat toys, soft balls to through inside the house, house bowling, or the all time favorite, "Art for Art's Sake"
*Nov. 2, 1998 Pat Spark. In our area the felt balls sell for $5. These are the washing machine kind, and are not that dense in the middle.
*Nov. 2, 1998 Barb Bush. Someone asked what felt balls are used for - - - I am making some very small ones to use as buttons on a hand knit sweater. I'm finding they are not as easy as I thought. Maybe it is my wool (Corriedale). I'm going to try putting them in a Barbie sock and see if that works.
*Nov. 2, 1998 Pat Spark. Felt balls are used for: indoor children's play, cat toys, dog toys.
*Nov. 2, 1998 Tricia.
My dog loves them, stress relief and stroke recovery as well and just because they are so nice. Oh, yes, as tree ornaments.
*Nov. 2, 1998 Jill Gully. Dear Barb, I make fairly tiny balls with my merino and they come out fine. I just make them in my hands without using the usual sock or stocking. However, you could just use a small piece of panty hose and a rubber band if you start with an inner core that is already partly firm and then just add your outer colored layer before putting in inside the hose.
*Nov. 2, 1998 Lori in Dairyland. Felt balls I have sold ....to put in baskets because they are pretty.....to juggle with....... to chuck at your room-mate (college kids)........for a board room meeting( not really sure?).........ball for the pool......they float........exercise ball........and of course toys........... My favorite question is "What is it? " and of course I always say "Its a Ball !!!!!"   If I had a nickel for every person that passes my basket of balls and has to touch and then smiles, or for every child who begs for one ("NO you have enough Balls")
*Nov. 2, 1998 Candy Hoeschen. Make 3 similar balls in a comfortable hand size, and sell as a set of juggling balls.

Back to Index

PRICING FELT BALLS.
*Nov. 1, 1998, Amy in Georgia. Well, I have been making felt balls today, and decided to sit down and figure out how much to price them. At a festival a month ago, I sold out at $3 each for softball sized ones....but I at that price I am not even covering expenses. They are soft in the middle though...kind of squishy, due to having a core of non-felting meat sheep, and I think that makes them not as pricey as the solid kind. (but more fun to play with, being so irresistibly soft. Babies love them! ) So.... has anyone sold for $4 or $5 and had any luck? E-mail me privately if pricing is too OT for the list. A festival is coming up this Saturday, and they charge a 20% commission, so I have to factor that in, and try to make a profit besides.  Oh...the black balls came out the prettiest of all of them. They are black with swirls of royal blue, teal green and magenta. I was so surprised at the beautiful contrast!
*Nov. 1, 1998, Lori in Dairyland. I make about 300 felt balls a year and price mine at $2.00/oz I sell my baseball sized ones for an average of $3.00. I found that when I have 2-5 dollar balls the $2.00 balls sell out first and then the 3 and then the 4. When I figured out costs I believe they were costing me (including everything) about 50 cents to a dollar an oz to make so the profit is quite nice for me.
*Nov. 1, 1998, Shelby Cefaratti. How much time does it take for you to complete a ball? I am in the middle of pricing numerous items for a show/sale and it can be quite frustrating. The system that I have come up with is a "per hour" rate depending on the complexity of the item. If it is a no-brainer (balls,  flat felt, etc.) then ~ $10/ hour. If it is something that take more concentration (scarves, complex ornaments, etc) $15 and up per hour.  Make sure that you are getting paid at least a little bit for your time. My advise is to figure out how much you want to get paid and then add the 20% commission.
*Nov. 2, 1998 Ian Bowers. But remember to add in your buying time, planning time, marketing time and particularly selling time including the time it takes to get there, set up, and then go home and unpack.  Start here if you really want to decide whether you are paying them or they are paying you for your products.
*Nov. 7, 1998 Ruth Walker.   I sell my felt balls for about $7, and I don't feel that's too much. Even with the washing machine doing the hard labor, they still take quite a bit of time, I have found. I have to disconnect them from the stockings, run them back through, do some more disconnecting (will do that every round until the fiber ends don't come out any more). Now that I think about it, I'd like to raise the price to $8. (Mind you, I will get only 60% of that.) I think the cost of the wool is the least of it. There's the time (more than I would have supposed from something that just goes into the washer!), the hot water, the hot dryer, and the wear and tear (if we're going to be honestly business-like about this) on the washing machine and tumble dryer.

Back to Index

FASTER METHODS OF MAKING FELT BALLS
*Nov. 2, 1998, Valerie.
Amy asked if there were a quick way to do this. I put the wad of felt in a tube sock and tie a knot in it. I do this with about 20 socks and then through them in the washer and take them out before they spin. I have to un-knot the wet socks (the worst part of the job, IMO) and then take the balls out and full them a tiny bit more with soapy hands. This is the production method I use. As far as pricing, that is tough. I priced mine at 4.00 each and didn't sell many. More sold when I went down to 3.00.
*Nov. 2, 1998 Kris Hopkins. Valerie and Amy, Try putting the wad of fiber in the sock and close it off with a thick rubber band. You can put several balls in a longish sock this way, depending on the size you want to make. Just put the rubber bands between them so it looks like a funky row of beads. It makes it MUCH easier to get them out of the socks when you use rubber bands.
*Nov. 2, 1998 Candy Hoeschen. Other easy closure methods: A Twist Tie that come with plastic garbage bags. I seem to accumulate lots of these because I usually just knot the garbage bag closed. A plastic bread tie closure (on the experimental list, to be tried on the next ball-run)
*Nov. 2, 1998 Pat Spark. I use plastic covered bread type twists, found in the gardening section of my local hardware store. It is green and comes on a role with a little blade attached to cut of as much as you'd want.

Back to Index

"SPECIAL" FELT BALLS.
*Nov. 20, 1998 Denise Pilkington. Greetings again, A special hello to those people who wrote asking instructions for felt balls. I was going to answer individually, but my email address has been non functioning for a week and I have lost some of your enquiries, so for those interested  here are my instructions.
Bungee Balls and Baby rattles. Now to the balls, firstly I start off with some scrap fleece unwashed is  fine, this is the core of the ball then wrap some carded fleece to cover the scrap and tie some old yarn around to keep the shape. Then some more carded fleece to cover the yarn . At this stage it looks quite big, but remember it shrinks and you still have the final covering to go. I put this into the leg of pantyhose and tie with elastic band so I can reuse the stocking. I make about 6 in one go and into the washing machine with all my other clothes for a normal cycle, hot or cold. For the bungee ball, I now attach a piece of hat elastic about 12-15ins. when ball is dry. Thread thru large needle and tie knot in one end and push into ball and come out so elastic is firmly secured inside. Then I add the coloured fleece for final design and any fancy yarns. Put into stocking piece about 8ins long with knot at one end. Gently massage the soap gel no water at this stage, and squeeze and rub till fleece is firm. Before tying the top knot in stocking look to see if all the coloured design is in place and there is no under colour showing, then return to stocking and push down into toe and tie the other end. Now comes the fun part for kids making the balls. After more rubbing the ball with soap and rubbing on wash board or cane blind or any rough surface you can take the end tail of stocking and bang the ball onto hard surface {cement even} so that felt is really becoming hardened . I would not recommend doing this until the ball is already well felted.  Rinse it in cold water to remove soap and spin dry. Another method I have heard of is to put ball in dryer to really harden it, but I haven't a dryer, so I have to work harder. For the baby balls with rattles inside, I use the small container that the film for my camera comes in. but you can find anything metallic like with lid. I  place a few bells or beads or even metal washers inside and close lid. I use some old  felted scraps to wrap around the container and then proceed as before with some carded fleece and yarn. These balls I don't felt as hard as the others.  Another way to do small balls for hat decoration is to roll a piece of wool top or carded fleece into tight ball and just rub soap gel gently at first to make a skin then roll harder in palms till it is hard. My daughter (15} and my step-grandchildren make small teddy bears using this method.

Back to Index

FELT "MILLE-FLORE" PIN CUSHIONS.
*Dec. 6, 1998 Cathy Jacobus. I've just spent a fun and hilarious afternoon making my first pincushions using the jellyroll method. Perhaps trying to make pincushions would be more too the point... After rolling up the wool (romney and gotland) into a bundle approx. 12 inches long, I wrapped it in yarn and inserted it into a stocking. I tied off the ends and tossed it into the washing machine. Basically, I ended up with a fuzzy sock puppet. The stocking was thin in middle, bent in half, and otherwise irregular, irregular, irregular. My husband says I'm ready to do my own infomercial... It was all very funny, but I'd love to know what I did wrong. I suspect I made the bundle too long, causing it to bend in half. My goal was something along the line of the geode pincushions sold in the Magic Cabin Doll catalog (if that's familiar to you). How do you get a regular size, i.e., consistent thickness and smooth sides? I also tried felting the roll by hand, as described in Anne Einset Vickrey's Art of Feltmaking. In this case I couldn't get the large diameter I wanted.
*Dec. 6, 1998 Candy Hoeschen.  Hmmm - When I do 'millefiore' log pincushions, I roll up at least 3 separate smaller log units first. I try to make the batts thick/thin, and scrunch them with interesting folds as I roll them up. I also insert bundles of colored wool yarns here and there (4 - 10 yarn in a group, running lengthwise through the roll). Then I lay out the batts that will be the rolling/wrapping layers. Put the first log unit down, roll it up, add a yarn bundle, roll the second log unit into the big log, etc., . . . The assembled log is quite large - like the size of your leg. It needs to firmly fill out the nylon stocking. You then need to insert it into the nylon without introducing tucks and folds in the outer wool layer.  I do it by cutting the bottom out of a large plastic cottage cheese carton or big yogurt container (5" to 6" diameter). Gather the nylon stocking over the outside of the plastic container. Insert the 'log' into the bottomless plastic sleeve, and as you push it in, the nylon stretches over to cover the outside of the log. Just like sticking your leg into a nylon stocking! Tie the ends, and into the washer. The ends tend to get rounded - maybe putting a 4" plastic circle from the container at the end before tying the knots would minimize the rounding.  Some people get their wool wet as they roll it up, and compact it as much as possible. I just roll it up tightly, dry. Rolling it on a cushion of foam can also provide 'traction' as you roll.  Be sure to squeeze several rounds of rinse water through the log, to be sure the soap is out. Drying the whole log can be tough - I've had some go mildewy on me because they didn't dry thoroughly. A friend of mine dries her pincushions in an old food dehydrator.
*Dec. 6, 1998 Loretta Oliver. I had the same experience about 3 weeks ago. Before rolling it up, I wet the wool on the top/inner layer with warm soapy water, the bottom/outer layer was mostly dry. After rolling into a tube, I put the tube into a stocking, tied it off and threw it into the washing machine. After a few minutes the tube was a little disfigured. I removed the roll, squeezed out the water and began rolling and reshaping the tube. After a few minutes the tube shape returned. I threw it back into the washer, checking periodically. At the end of the cycle, the stocking was covered with wool hair, but that was o.k. I pulled the stocking off and rolled the tube some more, working in all the loose fibers. It turned out fine.
*Dec. 7, 1998 Gage Evans. In Anne Sneary's article in Handwoven (Sneary, Anne, "Felted Holiday Slices," Handwoven, P. 61-63, Sept/Oct 1998), she doesn't mention putting the roll in the washing machine at all. She says to get comfortable, put on a good movie (really!), and roll for 1 to 2 hours. You don't have to roll that long all at once, but what you're looking for is REALLY hard felt so that it doesn't mash up. Mind you, I have not tried it yet, but the finished product was definitely worth the work, and, she reminds you that you an get several items out of the roll depending on how thick you are cutting for pin cushions or ornaments.  For those of you who do not subscribe to Handwoven, I'm sure they would send you the issue if you write them. I believe it was the September issue with the "deck the halls" section.
*Dec. 8, 1998  Wendy Dreyer.  Hi! I've been making a lot of dog balls, for all my doggy friends. I dry them in the dryer and test them for dryness in the microwave. Steam is a pretty good indicator. Couldn't you dry the log rolls in the microwave? I guess I'll try it!
*Jan. 20, 1999 Ruth Walker. Amy--When I make pin cushions from felt balls I slice off some of the ball so that there is a flat surface for the pin cushion. I always throw the "coins" back into the washing machine (inside a mesh zippered bag) and then into the dryer. The further felting "heals" the edges, and they always turn out to be beautifully rounded edges.
*April 9, 2005 Sharon Camins. Hope everyone is enjoying spring.  I was just wondering what you consider the best way  to make pin cushions. I usually needle felt, but I have a feeling that wet felting might be preferable. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
*April 10, 2005 Pam Oswald. I wet felt mine needle felting causes them to be too dense in my opinion.
*April 10, 2005 Lori Flood. You can see my pincushions at:http://www.spinsterstreadle.com/4sale/retaildecor.htm
They are very run-of-the-mill production item but my husband and I can make 50 a day and customers really love them.  Boring - but I call them my booth fee item.  No matter how bad the show is I can usually sell enough of these to make my booth fee!  And they are inexpensive enough to give as stocking stuffers or young children can buy them for grandma.  I had one lady buy 50 of them for her employees in part because she really wanted something made in the USA!  I used to make the "Mercedes" of pincushions but ended up stripping it down so that I could have a lower priced item in the booth. I like Harrisville wool for these because their wool is very rich colors and the short fibers will really compact firmly.  This type of pincushion needs to be really compact because when you slice the ends of the ball off and expose the colorful surface it needs to be solid and not fuzzy into the very center.  Bouncing wet in the dryer helps with this. The pieces I cut off are turn into irregular shaped beads (pictures not on web yet)  I can even drill through them with a Dremel and string them on leather or use a needle and thread wire or yarn through them.  Again - boring production stuff but I get about 10 beads from every pincushion's scraps and I make them right along with the pincushions so that by the end of the day I have 50 pin cushions and 500 beads.  My husband is terrific at helping with this production line process and can keep me focused (with lots of whining and complaining) for about 5 days straight.  That's usually enough supply for the whole year and, while I don't get a lot of fulfillment out of making them, I do enjoy watching people get excited over them! 
*Aug. 2, 2006 Maurine Adrezin. Can anyone tell me how to make a felted pin cushion or where I can get information on how to make one?   I would really appreciate the help.
*Aug. 2, 2006 Dianne Giles. Ok but the way I do it so that you get hard felted pin cushions is labor intensive.  I have to give credit to the group of women that I work with here in Southwest Iowa we all came up with this technique together. First thing is to make the center.  I use Jacob wool because it felts the hardest. Not required but you get a nicer finish.  Decide on what size you want the pin cushion, most of mine are small.  You start with roving and roll a tight ball about 1/4 bigger than what you want the size to be.   Holding it tight put it in a nylon like a knee high and put it in the bottom.  Then Twist the nylon tight to the ball.  Make sure that there is no wiggly's coming out of the twisted part of the nylon.  Then fold the nylon over and twist again repeat this until you use all the nylon up.  Put it in your laundry with hot soapy water.  I don't waste water I just put it in with the whites.  Then put it in the dryer this gets you a very nice tight ball to start with. Once this process it done then you let your imagination go to town I then needle felt whatever I want.  Like a lady bug.  If you are clever you will do your ball in black to start with.  Then just put half circles of red on each side put black dots on the red.  Felt each piece firmly on the ball.  I start with a size 36 felting needle working my way up to a 40.  For the head you take a small piece of black wool fold it over scrunch the top enough to make a head carefully needle felt that part into a ball. You should have a tail on that you use to attach it to the bottom tightly felt that to the ball.  Know to make the antenna's you need a skewer I take a small piece of black wool and tightly wrap it around the skewer.  Put it in your palm and turn it it will get very tight.  Pull it off the skewer and wet felt it with soap and water I find it helps to start a rolling motion with it on a towel. Rub it between the palms and if the ends aren't point pull them out a little.  Once dry fold in half and start needle felting it to the head and the ball.  Needs to be tight felt to the piece other wise it will fall off.
Then you can put eyes on it and it's done.  You can do this process with any type of animal or fruit just think about the dimensions. And of course practice makes perfect. 
*Aug. 3, 2006 Linda Wright. I make felted pin cushions also.  They are in the shape of little hats.  I take a few ounces of wool, roll it into a 2 to 3 inch long tube compressed. round one side like the top of a hat, Pull out the edges of the other end and roll them up slightly like a brim, or sometimes, add wool around the bottom as a brim. Needle everything down tight.  add some ribbon or hat band decorations. I usually make a few sizes. The small ones, quilters like to keep their needles in.  The medium size are good for pins, and a larger size for hat pins. I was recently told that a quilter who has one of my little hats kept loosing her needles until one day she checked the hat and found 23 needles in it.  That's why the quilters like them smaller, plus the wool keeps the needles from rusting in Florida.


Back to Index

CUTTING FELT BALLS IN HALF.
*Jan. 18, 2002. Elaina Kenyon.
I'm trying to figure out the easiest, safest way to saw a felt ball in half. Any suggestions?
*Jan. 18, 2002. Jane Altobelli. When I make pincushions, I do the usual thing with making the felt balls in stockings in the washing machine and go back and forth between the washing machine and the dryer (once the balls are hard enough to come out of the stockings) until they are as hard as I want them. Because these are going to be pin cushions and I want the inside to show, with my freshly sharpened carving knife, I cut a small slice from one side of the ball and then another from the opposite side.  THIS MUST BE DONE WHILE THE BALL IS STILL DAMP.    (Sorry for "shouting" but I don't have an underline option.)  I then cut the ball in half.  I discovered that the slices through the ball are much cleaner when the ball is still damp but I don't know why.  The best cuts are done with my carving knife - don't even think of using an electric knife.
*Jan. 19, 2002. Celia Stapleton. I'm wondering if the cuts would be even cleaner if the balls were frozen while damp? then cut them after they are frozen???? The fibres would be stabilized and the cuts would not break up the felt. Try it!!!!!
*Jan. 20, 2002. Elaine Luther. An electric knife works really well.
*Jan. 20, 2002. Joan Claborn. An electric knife works great. We have done quite a few that way.
*Jan. 21, 2002. Ian Bowers. We use a carving knife!
 

WHAT ARE THE BEST PANTY HOSE TO USE FOR MAKING FELT BALLS, GEODES, ETC. ?
*Dec. 10, 1998 Amy in Georgia. I was wondering if anyone has had any preferences for the brand of pantyhose used for making balls in the washing machine. I ask, because I normally use a really inexpensive, brand "X" kind for felting, and my balls have turned out great...well, last night I realized I was out of the cheap kind, but had just gotten a run in a pair of "Leggs" pantyhose, so I used those instead. They are really different to work with - tighter, shinier, smoother, tougher than the cheapies. I thought they would work great with the balls, but when they came out of the wash, I had crevices in the balls, which hasn't really ever been a problem before. The wash cycle was the same as usual, and I made the balls the same way I always do, so all I can think is that it was the pantyhose, but I don't know why it made a difference! Strange. Any ideas on this?
*Dec. 10, 1998 Jill Gully. The better quality hose have more lycra/spandex in them which causes them to have more of the "stretch" that hugs them to your legs. Those cheap saggy hose that make you feel as tho' your crotch is down around your knees <g> seem to work better for felt balls cos they don't put so much pressure on the fiber as it is fulling. When you knot your hose or tie it over the ball it is easy to get one side of the hose a little tighter that the other without meaning too. Saggy hose are more forgiving about this since they tend to stretch even more when they get wet. Save the tighter hose for when you are making a hat or other item over a bucket or jar. I use the saggy hose first to cover the fibers because it stretches more readily, but I like the firmer hose on the outer layer of hose because it holds the fiber firmly against the sides of the bucket. If I lost any of you on that last paragraph, see my web page for instructions on making a "hat on a bucket".
*Dec, 10, 1998 Ruth Walker. I have had the same experience with the tight panty hose. I think it's because they don't allow the wool to move at all; they really are a control product! I don't even bother to use them anymore; it's more time-efficient to go out and buy those cheap knee sock hose for 33 cents a pair at Wal-Mart.

Back to Index

Back to Top

Page updated: 08/03/2006

Return to feltmakers list FAQ