The Egg Edition

Over the years we've developed our own family traditions and rituals. Many of them coincide with the changes in seasons.  One of our favorites for spring is making felted eggs.  The other day we had an egg making session.


The ingredients for this project are wool roving, dish soap, a bucket of hot water and a towel or two.


Start with the wool.

Draft the fibers by pulling them apart and separating them.  Wrap them around your hand to form a loose ball of fiber.


It's time for a bath.

Squirt dish soap on the wad of wool and submerge it in the hot water. Make sure the wool is thoroughly wet.


Now it's time to get to work.

Place the wet, soggy wad of wool in your hands and roll it back and forth to form a more compressed ball of wool.  The more you roll the wool, the better.  The combination of hot water, soap and agitation will cause the fibers to lock and felt.


Take a break and look at your wool.

Use your fingers to shape the ball and make it egg-shaped.  Repeat the agitation to make a firm egg.


If you want a larger egg or want to add more colors, simply draft more wool, wrap it around the egg and repeat the water and agitation steps. Gently rinse your finished egg under cold water and let it air dry.

Eggs come in all shapes, sizes and colors.  It's fun to experiment.


They are beautiful by themselves.

I usually have one or two rolling around on my desk.


Or put them all together for a colorful display.

It's a great way to brighten a gray spring day.


When my kids were little, we would spend hours and hours making felted eggs.  It's a fun, creative, tactile activity.  While we don't spend as much time making felted eggs any more, it's still a wonderful way to mark the season.  And I find that once I get started, I can't stop. There are so many color combinations to explore.

In fact I've decided that I have to make a few more today.