The Tools to Have for Felt Crafting Activities

It's easy falling in love with a pack of felt die cut shapes and imagining how you will use them but a whole new ball game once you get them home and then realise there's a bit more to it!

Most people start small building up their confidence and their toolkit along the way. So here is my guide so you don't get too overwhelmed with it as its really all quite straight forward.

• Crafters often start by buying a pack of my reusable felt table sprinkles. Yes it really is that simple. They just open the packet and decorate away so no tools are required, they just need to remember to keep the bag to place them back in to reuse again later.
• Having tried table sprinkles, the next stage seems to be making cards. After handling my felt shapes, inspiration strikes and ideas come to mind and a new handmade card maker is born. So in addition to card blanks and envelopes, you will need a home printer to print out the greeting on the front of the card and a multipurpose glue to attach your felt shape(s) to the front.
• This is turn can lead to a little side hustle or full time business and if this is where it leads you, you may wish to invest in biodegradable cellophane bags to display your cards in or easy peel greetings card labels which are removable stickers that secure the card to the envelope in a retail environment but cut out the waste of a cellophane bag.
• A needle and cotton - Felt Shapes often become decorations- hanging ornaments which involves sewing 2 shapes together, inserting some toy stuffing and adding a hanging ribbon. These simple decorations often lead the way to more intricate work, where a maker adds smaller felt die cuts to the ornament to further embellish it. My blossom and mini flower range are a good example of this.
• Fabric Glue - Felt Shapes often have a way of turning item of clothing into something quite special and for this I recommend a washable fabric glue. Personally I would always sew the shape in place but that is my preference. I like blanket stitch and love the perfect edging it creates.
• 3D Felt flowers - things are now starting to get a bit more complex here. The kit is it anything like one of mine will come with either written instructions or a link to a free on-line tutorial that you can follow. When making up felt flowers I find  a pair of tweezers are a great way to help roll up the flowers but fingers are fine and I honestly use both! Once your flower is rolled up you can either stitch it in place or glue it. If you are looking to glue it then I'd say use Hot Glue every time. The bond is instant and requires no tiny clips to hold in place until glue dries.
• If you want to display flowers in a vase then you'll need a pack of florists wire for them.
• Finally MY HERO ITEM - A 1 inch paint brush. I use it to brush down my workspace as the felt fibres get everywhere. I really don't know where I'd be without it!

Of course, this list isn't exhaustive but you'll get by with it for nearly every felt crafting project you have in mind.

Happy Making!