Wool beads - a beautiful and warm decoration

When the cold sets in, we all want to look even more stylish, and jewellery helps. Few people realise that an ordinary necklace can be warm as well as pretty. Better still, a one-of-a-kind piece is easy to make yourself, all you need is lovely wool in your favourite shades.

Today we look at felting, a craft loved all over the world. Wool can be dry felted with a special barbed needle or wet felted in warm soapy water. The wet method is quicker, so that is what we will use for our necklace.

What you need

Get wool in a few colours that go well together, for example Australian merino, warm soapy water, thread and a needle with a large eye. Everything for this craft is in our felting supplies section.

Felting the beads

You will need about 80 beads. The size is up to you: big felt balls look striking, and a necklace of large dense beads wrapped several times around the neck can even stand in for a scarf.

Tear off a piece of wool, the amount decides the size of the ball. Pull the fibres out at one end to form a kind of web, roll the other end into a tight ball and wrap the web around it. Dip the ball into soapy water, squeeze lightly and roll it between your palms until it is firm. Rinse the bead in clean water, squeeze out all the soap and leave it to dry. Well felted wool will not lose its shape.

Putting it together

Once all the beads are dry, string them on the thread in any colour order you like, shades of one colour or bold contrasts. Do not worry if the beads differ in size, small imperfections give the piece character. You can even make half large and half small on purpose. If you get hooked on felting, try making a DIY polar owl.

FAQ

How many beads does a necklace need?

About 80, though it depends on their size and the length you want.

Why rinse each bead well?

To remove the soapy water, otherwise the wool stays sticky.

Which is faster, dry or wet felting?

Wet felting, which is why it is used for the beads.