💧 ⭐️ Wet felting with young children.
Wet felting can be such a wonderfully nourishing activity for young children, it is a process which involves felting wool fibres together using as hot as you can stand soapy water (I use natural hand soap) - and using agitation , such as rolling in the hands, or in today’s case using a knitting needle to poke and fuze the felt fibres together.
For the little one, it started as simply sitting beside me, with her hands in the warm soapy water exploring the textures that come with the activity, waving her hands at the wool which would stick to her wet fingers. She would hold the wool in her hands as I cupped them in my own to help rolling and felting as she laughed
Then came the pancakes as I like to call them, pieces of roving saturated with water which she would just squash onto the table, or slop In the water and dunk, squish, repeat. Eventually came rolling caterpillars or worms, sometimes snakes. Then came the felted balls and today her first ‘shape’ from a cutter.
Now the little one is older we have begun to experiment with blending felt colours which had been her favourite way to explore roving recently. Now, I have a pair of hand carders which are way too heavy for the little one. So a while ago I purchased some dog brushes (I’ll pop the link in my stories) which have worked a treat and are still going strong! They are perfect for little hands, the right size and weight, they enable the little one to practice the hand movements she sees me doing when carding wool. The pins on them are surprisingly sturdy and they have had good use the past few months.
If you haven’t tried wet felting before a few things you could do to try it with the little ones
• Wet felting needs as warm as you can get soapy water - so if you are worried about mess, let them have a go in the bath!
•Try wet felting after active time, it can be a calming activity with a candle lit and some lavender oil (in a carrier oil such as Jojoba) in the water and the oils will help nourish the skin from the soapy water.
• Embrace the crazy creations and save them, as keepsakes, or next years tree decorations
even the pancakes look beautiful and delicate when dry!
• protect your surfaces with towels and most important of all have a lovely time exploring this sensory rich activity!
