These needle felted hearts are the perfect Valentine’s Day project and can be used in so many ways. In the past we have used them to make valentines and have also strung them up as a garland. We’ll be using a metal cookie cutter as a form to help to create the heart shape, and you’ll need some sort of a pad to felt on top of. I’m using this mini heart cookie cutter from the shop for finished hearts that measure approximately 3/4” wide, but you can use any heart-shaped cookie cutter that you may already have. If a child is doing this project independently, I recommend using a larger cookie cutter, like this one in addition to wearing thimbles like these to protect fingers.

Materials:

– wool roving (the yellow roving I’m using can be found here or here)
– heart cookie cutter
– felting needle (without holder / with holder)
– felting mat

or buy the DIY needle felted hearts kit that contains everything you’ll need!

Instructions on how to needle felt hearts

Step 1: Prepare your wool roving

Place your heart shaped cookie cutter on top of your felting mat. Pull off a few small sections of wool roving and gently pull the fibers apart to separate them and fluff them up. Start stuffing them inside of the cookie cutter until it is packed tightly. Start with a smaller amount of fiber if you are unsure of how much to use— you can always add more fiber along the way if necessary but you won’t be able to remove fiber if you’ve added too much.

Step 2: How to needle felt using a cookie cutter

Use your felting needle to begin stabbing the wool all over while holding the outside edge of the cookie cutter in place with your opposite hand. As you stab the wool, the barbs on the needle will catch on the fibers and the wool will begin to compact and reduce in size. Whenever you’re using a cookie cutter as a form, make sure that you keep your needle at a 90 degree angle to minimize the risk of breaking your needle if you accidentally hit the cookie cutter. If some areas seem low, you can add more wool roving as necessary during this stage.

Step 3: Continue needle felting

When the wool looks pretty compacted, gently remove the cookie cutter and peel the partially felted heart off the felting pad. Flip the heart over, place it back inside of the cookie cutter and felt the underside. Alternate between working on both sides a couple more times until the heart feels firm enough to hold its shape.

Step 3: How to finish your needle felted hearts

Remove the heart from the cookie cutter and begin shaping it along the edges, keeping your needle at a 45 degree angle when stabbing the wool. When the heart is finished it should hold it’s shape and feel firm. With the cookie cutter that we are using our finished hearts measure about 3/4” wide.