These
Wool Friends are easy to make and every one can be its own creation.
There are directions to make all kinds of different character
friends. It's a great way to use up wool left over from other projects.
You can find lots of
Kids Crafts in our Activity Library.
Kids have fun with crafts.
Children love making gifts for their parents and other adults who
are important to them. But what can they make that will delight the
person they are giving the gift to?
Here's how you can quickly and easily get lots of simple, high quality
gift ideas that you children can make. Guaranteed to be fun the
children making the gift, and a delight for the person receiving it.
Cut a piece of cardboard about 6 inches or 15 cm across. The
exact length doesn't matter, but it should be easy to handle.
With one hand, hold the end of the wool on one side and start
winding it around the 6 inch side of the cardboard. For younger
children, you can tape the end of the wool to the cardboard.
For most projects, it won't matter exactly how many times you wind
it around the cardboard. About 25 times works for most projects,
except the Octopus (see instructions below).
When you have finished winding, cut off the wool at the same edge
you started. This end will become the bottom.
Cut two pieces of wool about 4 inches or 10 cm long.
Take the first piece, and slide it under one side of the wool, near
the top. Move it up to the top edge and tie it in a knot to hold
all the wool pieces firmly together.
Use the scissors to cut the wool pieces at the bottom end.
Remove the cardboard.
To make the head:
Wind a small ball of wool, about 1 inch or 2.5 cm around. It
will be the stuffing for the head. You could also use a crunched
up kleenex or pom pom.
Lay the wool bundle flat, with the tie in the center.
Place the stuffing for the head on the tie. Bring the ends up
together covering the head.
Use the second piece of wool to tie the ends firmly in place
covering the head. There should be about 5 inches of wool pieces
hanging down from the head.
To make arms:
Cut 12 pieces of wool about 5 inches or 13 cm long. Use small
pieces of wool to tie them tightly at one end. Divide the wool
into three groups and braid them. When the braid is about 3 inches
or 7.5 cm long, use a piece of wool to tie it off. Trim the loose
of the braid so they are even on both sides.
After you have made a basic wool friend using the instructions above, you can
turn it into a wool character using the instructions below.
Ghosts or Dementors (from Harry Potter)
Leave the character as is with all the pieces hanging loose.
Girl
Roughly divide in half the pieces below the head. Put the arms
braid through the middle of the pieces. Use a piece of wool to tie
the pieces tightly under the arm braid to make a waist. Leave the
bottom pieces loose as a skirt.
For hair braids, cut 9 pieces of wool about 6 inches or 15 cm
long. Cut two pieces of wool with a contrasting color for hair
ribbons. Lay the hair pieces together, on one end tie a bow using
a hair ribbon. Divide the 9 pieces into three groups and
braid them. When the braid is finished, tie off that end with another
bow. Glue the hair braid in place.
Boy Roughly divide in half the pieces below the head. Put the arms
braid through the middle of the pieces. Use a piece of wool to tie
the pieces tightly under the arm braid to make a waist.
Divide the loose pieces in half to make two legs. Tie each half
tightly near the bottom to make puffy pants. Or braid each leg and
then tie off.
Octopus
Count the number of pieces in the loose section and divide by 8; you
will need at least 48 strands.
Ideally you will end up with a number that is easily divided by
three. If there are 48 pieces, there will be 6 pieces for each
leg, and 2 in each strand of the braid.
Braid each of the legs and tie at the bottom.
Hints:
Don't wind so tightly that the cardboard bends.
Tie on bits of yarn or thread to make eyes, nose and mouth.
Send us a note if you have any questions.
Children love making gifts for their parents and other adults who
are important to them. But what can they make that will delight the
person they are giving the gift to?
Here's how you can quickly and easily get lots of simple, high quality
gift ideas that you children can make. Guaranteed to be fun the
children making the gift, and a delight for the person receiving it.
These
Wool Friends
When you have finished winding, cut off the wool at the same edge
you started. This end will become the bottom.
Characters
Girl
Boy