Crafting with Felt

Now that it’s just K and I hanging out together on the weekends, I am able to find some time to dive back into a hobby that I started about 5 years ago.

When I first started making things from felt, and gifted my first felt hand-mades to my friends a year after I left the corporate world, I had friends who exclaimed that this ‘thing’ of making and sewing stuff was really unlike me. The Rachel that they knew who just left the corporate world then, didn’t seem to be the kind who had the patience to sew or make things.

Well, taking the step into the unknown world of sewing craft have shown that I can indeed sew and can get a tad obsessive at it when I get into the momentum of making things.

The process of making something by hand, with love, care and thought is very gratifying and therapeutic. I think once anyone is able to create something and are fairly pleased with their creation, it can get rather addictive.

Back to Crafting

I stopped crafting 3 years ago when I encountered some major life changes. I moved a couple of times, but interestingly, wherever I moved to, I always made sure to bring my craft things along with me to the new place. Even though I never get to use them at these few years, I seem to have that inkling that someday I will be back crafting again.

I self-taught to learn how to use the sewing machine through the internet, and picked up tips from my friend Pauline, who is more advanced in her skills of machine-sewing. Then sewed bags, zippers pouches, cushion covers and clothes, but found myself drawn to felt and hand-sewing of the occasional ‘frivolous’ thing with felt 😛

Felt is colorful, soft and luxurious to touch and there are so much that can be made from it.

Here are the ways felt can be used;

• Home Crafts like felt magnets, hanging mobiles and ornaments, coasters, table and floor mats, buntings.

• Applique on fabric bags, pencil cases, zipper pouches,  t-shirts, children’s clothing.

• Toys like Animal Softies, dolls, bean bags, as well as a vast variety of baby toys

• Animal Figurines, collectibles for the shelf or mantle

• Accessories like brooches, pendants for a necklace, hair ties and children’s hair-clips. Key chains, sleeves and cases for mobile phones and tablets can be sewn from felt.

Making things from felt is not at all complicated, all you need is a steady hand to cut the felt shapes and learn some hand-sewing stitches.

So keen to try out crafting with felt, but not sure how to start?

Here’s a post where you can find felt in Singapore. And I will be starting a new series of Crafting with Felt posts on Catch-Fortywinks.com where I will be sharing tutorials to make your own felt craft.

*All photos in post are of actual felt creations I made from 2009-2011

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