Simple Needle Felting- Valentine's Cardi

           I love Valentine's Day- what I don't really love is being told what colour to wear or indulge in on that certain day- and so when faced with another day of pink and red I decided it would be fun to change things up a bit! I love hearts and turquoise and I especially love my Littlest one wearing her heart on her sleeve - this Valentine's Day in addition to the red and pink we will have some little blue hearts. This adorable felted heart project was inspired by a post over on Design Sponge- hop on over to check out all the V-day fun!

            To make your own felted heart patches you will need one wool sweater- we thrifted this one- a small square of dense foam from any upholsterer- single barbed felting needles which we picked up local at Maiwa and some fun colours of wool roving- also from Maiwa- nothing like a visit to Granville Island for supplies!

            Decide where the hearts should be placed on the sweater- we chose the elbows- to mimic elbow patches- but this is a great little project to mend holes in sweaters and blankets. Once you have decided on placement slide the foam block inside the sweater- which allows the needle to go through the fibre and beyond without damaging the needle or the surface below. Working in small sections I started near the top half circle area of the heart and started the felting process by shaping and placing the wool roving on top of the sweater- the best approach to needle felting is a straight up and down with the needle. Start at one end of your shape and work your way around the shape- working your needle up and down integrating the fibres until you have one solid shape.

         Once you have achieved a solid felted piece remove the foam block from the sweater- separating the felted sweater and fibres from the foam. Again this technique is fantastic for fixing holes in wool blankets or worn areas on sweaters- like elbows. Weather for Valentines Day or every day this is a great way to perk up any tiered sweater from the thrift shop! Meanwhile if you need me I will be wiping up a pie with heart shaped crust!