Felting - first attempts

With Christmas on the horizon (albeit distant at the moment!) I've been trying to step up the crafting. We've been eating dinner earlier (before Matilda goes to bed) so that I then have all evening to spend on sewing etc. So, I've made some good progress on Matilda's doll - I've cut out the head and body pieces, sewn them together and embroidered the face (my first go at embroidery went well!).

I've been wanting to try felting for a while and have built up a small collection of wool jumpers, scarves and hats from car boot sales and charity shops. This week I chucked them in the machine on a hot wash and hey presto - felt! Now, what to use it for...

My friend also came round one afternoon to teach me wet felting using some orange and white scraps of wool tops she had. I made some slippers for Matilda (which are a little big so I think I need to felt them further, and they look a bit like clown shoes!). It was great fun, if a little tricky to do with little ones scampering about!

So, without further ado:

Jumpers etc before the wash...

And afterwards...

And a small pair of clown shoes...