Cardboard or Cardstock?

Paper Chase

It is inevitable that some of the felt projects require the use of cardboard or cardstock.

Usually the thicker cardstock comes in BIG sizes, bringing them back and storing them is a problem for some of us. But you don't always have to go down to the craft store and carry the big piece of cardboard back.

There are lots of useful cardboard and boxes around our house that we can make use and recycle.

Here are some which I find quite useful.

Post / Mailing Box.

Which is what I use for my Felt Gingerbread House.

Boxes of computer products, toys boxes etc...

You can also use double layer if you find single layer to thin.

Tissue Boxes.

And other cardboard and boxes such as foolscap paper backing, empty milk carton, shoe boxes and biscuit boxes and even your shopping paper bags etc... These are also great as some of the projects you might need thicker cardboard for example, felt gingerbread house, pizza server and some you need thinner ones like the felt cakes, tea set and utensils.

So start looking around now and you can save some money and do your part in saving the environment by recycling those paper.


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Materials for Your Felt Projects

(A) Necessary Materials

Materials you'll need for your felt projects includes:

Felt Fabrics.

See my post below for the differences between wool felt & acrylic felt.

Needles, pins, scissors, ruler, pen or thin felt marker (red, brown & white),
non-toxic craft glue.

Different color threads.

Fiberfill or polyfill.

(B) Other Useful Materials

Stick with fine tip, penknife, tweezers, glue gun.

Easy Tear Stabilizer.
(Will talk more on the usage later in later part of my blog).

(C) Other Accessories

Assorted beads & buttons, unwanted eye shadows, magnet, eyelets,
keyring/chain, cell phone charm stripes etc...

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Types of Felt Stitches

Hand Sew Felt Stitches Tutorials!

Not everyone owns a sewing machine or even though they do and are fairly familiar with using it but when it comes to sewing with felt, they still prefer to 'hands-on' like me.

Understand the types of stitches and their uses here for sewing pieces of felt fabrics together including:-

Straight Stitch




Whip Stitch




Blanket Stitch

French Knots





Back Stitch

Click on the type of stitches to see the detailed tutorials.

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Felt Food Going Out of Shape?

Working With Felt

Just like other fabrics, felt has vertical and horizontal sides. The side that stretches more when pulled is the horizontal side.

Most probably you have seen this sentence in my instructions "trim off excess fabric then sew...". This is necessary not because the patterns are not accurate but different types of felt stretches differently and which side of the felt you are sewing on is also a factor.

So when cutting, be sure to match the sides, otherwise your felt may stretch and change shape when stuffed.

Do work with double strands of threads rather than single when sewing and attaching pieces of felt together as this will make the stitches stronger and cleaner.

When stitching the pieces together, take care not to pull the threads too tight or the surface will look wavy and flat instead of round when stuffed. (See example below).

Flat edge vs round edge.

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Wool Felt or Acrylic Felt?

Felt Fabrics

Finally! you can get quality wool blend felt online at LBB's etsy shop.
These felt comes in 63 colors and 2 sizes: Mini (20cmx20cm) or Jumbo (40cmx40cm)
They are quality 1mm thick 60% wool, 40% rayon and are certified baby & child safe!

I have always been asked "which type of felt is better? and what are the differences?" I'm not a felt expert but I can tell you what I know and prefer.

As a Felt Patterns Designer for Umecrafts, I've tried many different types of felt and I'm glad to have found & settled with these quality felt from Japan. I find 100% wool felt too thick & acrylic felt too many "needle holes", but these felt are soft & sturdy, only 1mm thick yet the fibers are more closely knitted and it is EASIER to TRACE, CUT & SEW, its fibers DON'T fray as much, & it DON'T STRETCH easily so my items DON'T go out of shape like before. They are also WASHABLE (shrink about 10%) and very DURABLE even for repeated sewing.

More than a thousand sold, check out the Feedback Received to see what these felt users have to say about LBB's Felt.

Acrylic felt are generally cheaper, made from polyester blend of fibers are fade resistant and also machine washable and dryable. But acrylic felt does not sew very well as it will tend to pull at the stitches, leaving a gapping hole where the stitch pulls, and the felt could rip if you over stuff your item.

Nothing beats the performance of traditional wool felt which is thicker thus more 'tear' proof and will not stretch out of shape easily like acrylic felt do. The wool and wool blends tend to only leave the hole where the stitches are and not pulling the hole open when stuffed. But they are more expensive and not as easy to find as acrylic felt.

Some of the places you can try getting wool /wool blend felt are:
Lit'l Brown Bird's Design
A Child's Dream
Bird Brain Designs
Colonial Crafts
Crawford Designs
Magic Cabin
The Felt People
Joggles
Kari Me Away
The Silver Needle
The Silver Penny
Vintage Vogue


Visit http://litlbrownbird.etsy.com for baby & child safe quality wool blend felt in 63 colors.


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