Then and There

I have seen them and love them. So of course I had to try to make them for myself.

My needle felted acorns.
I love them! They are a great autumn decor feature.

Mine are a bit different from others I have seen in how they are made. They look the same and are just as great, but I did something a bit different that made them less expensive to make. All of the felted acorns I have seen for sell or in craft posts are made with wool roving. I priced some at my local craft store and decided it cost too much. To solve that problem I made my own roving using the scrap yarn I had.

I had small sections of different colored acrylic yarn given to me by my grandmother that I still had not found a use for. I picked my best autumn colors and set to work.

First step is to choose your color. I found that cutting the strands made it easier. So I cut 4 strands each about 3 to 4 inches long. It is not necessary to measure them. Gather all the strands together and hold them tight in the middle with the ends even.
Now for the next step you need a very clean brush. I used an old bristle brush that we do not use any more. I cleaned it well before using it.
Hold the ends of the strands between the brush and your thumb and brush them out.

When that end is well brushed turn them around and brush out the other end. Make sure you work your way to the middle so that the whole section is brushed out.

Now the yarn will have some twist to it but as you work more into it and pull it out several times it will not twist any more.Do this several more times until you have enough roving for your acorn. Then all you have to do is needle felt it into an acorn. Here is a simple video to see how to do that easy technique. Have fun!