We wanted to kick off this Christmas season with a simple
DIY felted Santa Clause. Combed mohair top
is easily transformed into ringlets for this project. Keep reading below for
the simple steps to needle felt a Santa Claus with a glorious mohair beard.
Materials:
- 1 oz of combed mohair locks
- 2-3 oz of wool for wet felting a ball (Santa’s
head) - Felting needle and sponge
- Small amounts of black, blue, vanilla, red wool
for eyes, mouth and nose - Empty yarn cone
- Red, Black and green commercial felt squares
Directions:
Step 1: Using your
favorite wet felting technique, make a 3 oz ball with the wool. This will be
Santa’s head, so shape accordingly.
Step 2: While the head
dries, start making the ringlets from the mohair locks. Gently pull mohair
fibers from the combed top and run under water to dampen the fiber. Wrap the
lock around a dowel leaving one end unwrapped. (This makes removing the lock
much easier.) Once the mohair has dried, remove the locks by carefully
unwinding. Repeat this process until you have a good collection of ringlets.
Step 3: Once the head is completely dry, start needle
felting the beard onto one end of the head. As you remove the locks from the
dowel you will have one end that is straight and flat. Use the flat end to
attach to the head. Gently use your felting needle to poke the ends of the lock
into the felt ball, repeat poking until the end is firmly attached to the head.
(I needle felted a little hair at the top of the head, although it is not
necessary as the hat covers the hair.) Again, using your needle felting
technique described above, add the eyes, nose and mouth.
I agree at first glance he looks more like Davy Jones from
Pirates of the Caribbean than a Santa. But a hat and a body will do wonders!
Step 4: For Santa’s hat and coat, I used commercial
felt. For Santa’s hat, measure around the head and cut out a cone shape. Needle
felt mohair to the bottom of the hat to form Santa’s hair. Next, needle felt the
hat with hair to the head and finally felt a tiny pompom on the end.
Step 5: Next up, Santa’s body. Cut another piece of the
red felt big enough to cover your empty yarn cone. With the felting needle and
mohair locks felt around the widest end of the cone to make a white fur rimmed
hem for the coat and glue the felt onto the cone. Cut out a rectangular piece
of black felt for the belt and glue it onto the body. If you like, you can cut
out a felt square for the buckle (I used green). And if you really want to go
the extra mile, you can cut out 2 arms and felt mohair for the hands. Once the
arms are complete, simply glue them onto the body.
At this stage you are just putting the pieces
together. Attached the head to the body and voila you have a Pere Noel !
