Today you are so LUCKY!
I am finally sharing how to make gorgeous felted acorn garlands. They are the cutest things ever, don’t you think? It’s no wonder so many of you have asked me for the tutorial. Drum roll… here it is!
Jazz up your home for autumn. Or make a colorful garland for your Thanksgiving table or your Christmas tree. Or make one to keep your home wonderfully woodsy all year round. I promise, once you have your ADORABLE felted acorn garland up in your home, you’ll never want to take it down.
Pin this graphic tutorial on Pinterest so that you can save the instructions forever. You’ll be happy you did later when you are looking for it!
Here’s the full tutorial with nice big photos to guide you.
Here are the materials you’ll need to make your very own felted acorn garland :
- felt balls in your favorite colors (find them here. You’ll need about 40).
- real acorn caps (you’ll need about 40).
- 5 feet of hemp string (the thinnest you can find).
- a needle with a big eye
- glue (hot glue is best but if you are working with children, school glue works just as well… you just have to be more patient waiting for the glue to dry.)
- scissors
- pliers (optional).
Step 1
First pair up all of acorn caps with your felt balls, making sure the balls fit snugly in the cap. Leave the balls in the acorn caps until you are ready to glue them together.
Step 2
Put a little glue into the base of the acorn caps and insert the felted balls. If you are using a hot glue gun, the balls will bond immediately to the acorn caps. If you are using school glue, you’ll need to leave the felted acorns for a few hours for the glue to dry.
Look how cute your felted acorns look. I adore all these pretty bright colors together.
I love finding doubles, which is what I call it when there are two acorn caps on one stem. When you come across a double, choose complimentary colored balls to fill the caps. These make your garland even more fun.
Step 3
You can string your garland when the felted balls are completely bonded to the acorn caps.
Thread the needle with the hemp string.
Thread the needle through the center of the felted ball of each acorn. Depending on how firm your felted balls is, you might need to grasp the sharp end of the needle with a pair of pliers and pull hard to get the hemp string through the felted ball. You might even need to jiggle it a little as you pull… don’t be shy to use force if you need it.
String all of the felted acorns onto the hemp string.
Step 4
When all the felted acorns are on the string, begin at one end to space them the same distance from each other. I like leaving at least the space of an acorn between them… sometimes more space looks more delightful.
End your felted acorn garland with a simple loop knot and hang it up.
I have put together a wonderful kit, available in The Magic Onions Shop, that will come with EVERYTHING you need to complete this project.
If you LOVE this garland but are not the crafting type, you can purchase it in The Magic Onions Shop… in the Garland section. If you don’t see the color combo you are after, send me a message and I’ll make it for you in the colors you choose.
Looking for more crafting ideas? You can find awesome needle felting directions on my Needle Felting Tutorials page.
Here are some of my other fall and Christmas crafts.
And here are all of my crafting tutorials.
Happy crafting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni
14 Responses
This are gorgeous! Found you via Craftgawker. Love the concept of your site. Can’t wait to look around more.
Thank you for your kind words, Jess.
Welcome :)
xo Donni
I love this so much. They really are the cutest!
Glad you love it, Emma. I hope you make one. If you do, please share a photo with me :)
LOVE your blog, by the way! Love your origami advent idea… might be just the thing for us this year :)
xo Donni
I love this! I don’t have time to order the kit as I am hoping to make these with the grandkids this weekend. What size felt balls do you recommend using?
Hi Kirsten,
I use 3/4 of an inch ball… but the size of the felt ball will depend on how big your acorn caps are.
Enjoy making it with your grandkids… they’ll love it. I’d LOVE to see a photo when you are done :)
xo Donni
Wow I love the garland it’s so colourful. I have some felted acorns but didn’t think of stringing them together to put on the tree. Thanks for the inspiration.
Hi Claire, I’d love to see yours if you make one :)
xo Donni
Have you tried to felt your own balls? Is it possible for a child of 4-6 years to felt balls this small? I would like to do it in our kindergarten,
Thanks!
Mary
Hi Mary,
Yes, my kids loved felting in Kindergarten. It’s such a wonderfully sensory craft, with the warm water and soap suds. They’ll love it.
xo Donni
What a cute idea! I can’t wait to try this Christmas! What size balls did you use I see them online in different sizes. 10mm 15mm 20mm or 25mm Thanks!
Hi, I collected caps that would fit my 3/4 of an inch balls.
Did you do anything to the acorn cups before using them?
No. Ours were clean and bug free. You can cure them in the oven for 20 minutes on a low temperature if you like.
xo Donni