Felted Frenzy Wreath

Give an old sweater (or two or three) a new use... welcoming people into your home! This frenzy of texture and color is made with old sweaters that have been felted, cut, and pinned to a foam wreath.

Materials:

Wool Sweater(s)

Washing Machine

Mild Soap (Such as Dawn)

Scissors (or Rotary Cutter and Mat)

Box of Pins

Green Foam Wreath

2' of Ribbon

What is felting?

It is a fancy term for shrinking your wool sweater. However, by doing this you are making the wool fibers cling tightly together which creates an unraveling material.

Picking Your Sweaters:

Make sure your sweater is either 100% wool or a very high percentage of wool. When adding up the "ingredients" on your tag, include angora, mohair, and lambswool in the wool percentage to get your total. I suggest 70% wool or higher.

Instructions:

Throw your sweaters in your washer. If you have different colors, felt them at separately so the wool from one sweater doesn't stick to another. Pour just a tiny bit of mild soap into your washer. Set your washer to the hottest water setting. Throw in dryer balls, tennis balls, an old pair of shoes, or an old pair of jeans... anything to create agitation. Let your washer do the work! Stay close during this process to check on the progress of your sweater(s). Sometimes a sweater will take 10 minutes to felt and others will take 30 minutes (just keep sending them through the wash until the fibers felt together.) Even though your felting should be complete just from the washer alone - you can send your sweater through the dryer so you can get going on this project sooner.

Begin cutting 2" x 2" squares from your sweater(s). You can use a sharp pair of scissors or even a rotary cutter and mat if you have them.

Pick a wreath of any size or shape made of green foam (the white foam isn't compressed enough to hold a pin).

One at a time, fold the squares in half and in half again and place a pin through the outside of the center corner of the square. With the felted square on the pin, place it into the foam. Continue placing the squares relatively close to each other in any color pattern that pleases you.

When all of the green foam has been covered, loop a 2' ribbon through the center of the wreath and knot the ends together to make a hanger.

Hang your wreath and enjoy!