Materials:
Wool roving – I used Alpaca wool roving
Form – real, plastic, styroform, or wooden eggs
Dish soap
Agitator – wash board, sushi mat, or griddle (optional)
1] Prepare a bowl of hot, soapy water. I use 1/4 cup of dish soap to 2 – 3 cups of water.
2] Begin by loosely wrapping 4 – 5 layers of batting around egg form. The secret is to get the roving evenly spread over the form.
3] Dunk the egg in the bowl of soapy water. (Throughout the felting process, periodically dip your egg back in the soapy water.)
4] Begin by slowly squeezing the egg while retaining the egg shape. In the beginning you need to be gentle so you do not slide the roving off the egg. I find gently squeeze while turning the egg works fine. Caution: If using a snap together plastic egg or real egg, be careful not to squeeze too hard.
5] After about 5 minutes the feel of the fibers will change. The surface becomes more rigid and you can now become more aggressive with the felting.
6] You can continue to felt by rolling and squeezing the egg or to speed things up you can rub the egg against your agitating surface. Remember to turn egg for a consistent felting.
7] When the roving has transformed into a dense felt, stop.
8] Thoroughly rinse the egg until all soap is removed.
9] Roll the egg in a towel to remove access water.
10] Set the egg on a rack and allow to dry completely. Depending on weather this can take several hours to a couple of days.
11] You can either leave the form in the egg or remove the form. If you would like to remove the form, cut the egg open using sharp scissors or an Exacto knife. This can either be a straight cut or zigzag to represent a cracked shell.
12] You can leave the edge as is or if you prefer, you can use 6 strands of embroidery floss and blanket stitch the edge. This is desirable if the eggs are going to be played with. It helps prevent the edge from fraying.
Variations:
*At step 2 you can mix different colors together. If you mix colors, make sure all colors are visible. If you bury a color so you can’t see, it won’t be visible after felting.
*At step 2 you can wrap 100% felting yarn around the egg to create a design. The yarn will move around so your finished design will be fairly random.
*After the egg is dried you can embroider on the egg adding a design or words.
*After the egg is dried you can needle felt a design on the egg.
*When you are all done you can stuff the egg shell with felted chicks, stickers or a felt fried egg. (Directions for felt fried eggs and bacon will be available in our FREE Patterns.)
Note about patterns: We are sharing patterns we have designed and made for our own children, families and friends. Every effort is made to share information in a clear and accurate manner. We offer preemptive apologies for any mistakes that may be made. Please let us know via comments or emails if you stumble upon a mistake or if you encounter directions that leave your scratching your head! We will rectify the situation as soon as humanly possible!
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Hi there,
I’d really love to try this craft out, but I have never felted before. By weight, how much roving did you use per egg? Do you have any suggestions about what type of roving we should use, and where to get it? I’m in the UK, but if you recommend any US sellers, I can do a price compare with UK ones and try and work out what’d be the closest match
Thanks very much, I’m excited to try this out!
P
This is a very easy and fun craft. And it’s great to do with children. If you are making many eggs and don’t enjoy the process, they are methods for doing the felting in the washing machine, but this is so hands on and fun I wouldn’t consider it. Anyway, I’ve never weighted the roving, but it doesn’t take much, certainly not more than an once or two. I love using alpaca roving although any high quality roving is fine. I have bought some cheaper roving, with little nubs left in it, and it just doesn’t form or hold up as well. The biggest secret and learned technique is to get the roving on the egg in uniformly. If there are thin or bald spots on your eggs, it will make your finished egg structurally weak. Also, if you clump the roving, it will be difficult to felt the roving through and through, and your finished egg will be too fluffy, and apt to lose its shape. The best way to prevent this is to put numerous thin layers of roving on your egg, criss crossing the egg multiple time. With just a little practice, you’ll be a pro.
I get my roving from a wonderful woman at North Star Alpacas. She is in the states but sells on Etsy. Here is her store front. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5001683. I am sure you can find some locally, and there are a ton of suppliers on Etsy. Because felting has become so popular, roving is now available at many large chain craft shops. I always prefer to use organic, locally grown and raised products, so if you can find something local, North Star Alpacas is in my home state of Michigan, all the better! Enjoy!
Thank you very much for this one…I always wondered how to make one of those, but nothing “smart” crossed my mind…really thanks, just can’t wait to try 😉
This could re-spark my creative desires!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I tried making eggs like this for easter, but was trying to needle felt them. I’m laughing at myself now!! I can’t wait to try again!