Needle Felted Strawberry Air Freshener

Here's a neat little mini craft make which has a practical use too! Make a needle felted strawberry decoration and spritz it with fragrance to create an air freshener for your home or car.

YOU WILL NEED:

• 8g of core wool - we used English top

• 2g of red merino fibre

• 1g of rose merino wool

• 1g of elderberry merino wool

• 2g of forest green merino wool

• A felting mat

• A triangular 40G felting needle

• Frangrance spray or essential oil

• Thread & scissors

STEP 1

Wrap the core wool tightly around your finger, keeping the fibres straight. Slide the wool off of your finger carefully and place it on your felting mat and begin poking it all over.

STEP 2

As you poke, turn the wool constantly, tucking any loose fibres in at the top and bottom. Work in a gentle curve at both ends to round them off.

STEP 3

Felt firmly around the bottom to narrow it and then work into the top to flatten it a little.

STEP 4

Tear up a small tuft of red merino fibre in your fingers so that the strands are all lying in different directions. Lay it onto your core shape and poke it gently to felt it in place.

STEP 5

Repeat to add another little patch of red wool in the same way and then keep felting small patches until your core is covered.

STEP 6

Blend some rose pink and red fibres by tearing them up together.

STEP 7

Felt the blended wool to the top half of the strawberry.

STEP 8

Do the same thing with some elderberry and red wool fibres to create a darker blend. Felt this to the bottom of the strawberry.

STEP 9

Roll up a tiny wisp of yellow wool in your fingers and poke it firmly to attach it as a seed. Poke very firmly all around the seed to create a defined indent.

STEP 10

Add more little yellow seeds in a circle around the top of the strawberry.

STEP 11

Add more seeds randomly below the first row to create a pattern all over your design.

STEP 12

Tear up a tuft of green fibre and flat felt it gently on your mat. 'Draw' a triangle shape with your stabs.

STEP 13

Fold the fluffy edges into your triangle shape and poke them gently.

STEP 14

Peel the triangle off the mat and carefully poke the other side too. Don't push the needle all the way through or your leaf will become too fluffy. Keep felting it until you have a neat triangular leaf shape. Make five leaves.

STEP 15

Stab firmly through the base of the leaf into the top of the strawberry to attach it.

STEP 16

Repeat to add all five leaves in a star shape.

STEP 17

Take 20cm thread and tie the ends together to make a loop. Place some green wool over the loop and felt it into the top of the strawberry to attach it securely.

STEP 18

Spritz your felted strawberry with perfume or essential oil. Wool absorbs oil and fragrance and holds onto the scent for a long time.

Hang your sweet new air freshener in your car or around your home and top it up with fresh fragrance whenever you like!

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