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Making Felt Balls is a great project for kids. It only takes about 30 minutes and is lots of fun. If you are teaching a group, allow 1 hour. This would produce a golf ball sized felt ball.
Take a large handful of raw fleece and stuff it tightly into the toe of a pair of old knee-highs or a portion of the leg of a pair of hose with a knot tied at one end. Work the fleece down tightly and Use a twist-tie at the top of the ball of fleece to secure it in a ball shape. Dunk it in hot water and then squirt it well with soap gel or add a small amount of liquid hand soap. Rub gently at first and then with increasing pressure until fibers begin to creep through the hose (about 5-10 minutes).
Untie the twist-tie and remove the partially felted ball. Take some colored fiber and lay it out in three or four layers in a piece large enough to wrap around the inner ball. Place the wet inner ball in the center of the colored fiber. Wrap colored fiber around the ball and carefully tuck it all back into the panty hose. Try and compact the fiber as much as possible before replacing the twist-tie to hold it in.
Again dunk the ball in hot water, squishing gently to allow water to penetrate the entire ball. Add more soap and rub between cupped palms with increasing firmness as time goes on. When fibers or small pills of fiber begin to form on the outside of the hose, remove the twist-tie and peel the hose off. The hose may be partially attached to the ball, but just pull gently to remove it.
Add more soap gel to the ball and continue to rub and roll with increasing pressure until the ball is firm and hard. Rinse and allow to dry or put in tumble dryer with a load of clothes to dry and harden the ball.
If you desire a fancy design element on the surface, use felting needles to attach new fiber in your desired design. Do this before you completely harden and finish the ball. Ensure all new fiber is well attached to the surface by needling thoroughly to force enough new fiber into the rest of the ball. Return ball to the hose again and repeat the water, soap and rolling.
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