Turning scrap wool into a basket of Easter eggs
Dyeing Easter eggs is messy. I don’t actually like hard boiled eggs, but I do like the symbolism they hold this time of year. That’s why I try to find different ways to bring eggs to the Easter table.
Last year I stumbled upon a simple pattern for making felted Easter eggs. Well, it’s simple if you know how to use double pointed needles.
Similar patterns are probably available elsewhere online for crocheters, but crocheted stitches don’t always felt as smoothly as knitted stitches.
The eggs don’t use much yarn, making them a great way to use scraps – just make sure they’re wool, alpaca, mohair or other feltable fibers. Synthetics won’t felt.
You can incorporate shorter lengths of yarn by knitting stripes or patterns. Want larger eggs? Use two strands of wool and use larger needles. I even doubled white yarn with a strand made of short bits of random colors, which resulted in speckled eggs. I call those my duck eggs. Use more scrap wool to stuff the eggs if you want solid eggs, or stuff them with fiberfill that you can remove later if you want to hide candy inside. (I tried both. The solid ones turned out the best.)
The magic of felting comes after the knitting is done. Pop the pieces into a zippered laundry bag or pillow case, toss them into the washing machine using hot water…a little agitation and and these….
shrink a little and solidify into these….
Looking at the eggs reminds me of the projects some of the yarn came from. I wonder who I’ve made things for can spot remnants of their bag, clogs or scarf among these eggs?
If you want to get really creative, try needle felting designs or names on the eggs. Carefully, of course.
What spring projects are you working on right now?
Posted on February 18, 2013, in DPNs, Easter, Felting, Holidays, Knitting, Projects, scrap yarn, yarn and tagged crafts, Easter decoration, Easter project, Felted Easter Eggs, felting, knitting. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
I do love these eggs. They’re so colorful and fun. You could even do round ones for a more generic year-round look!
I’ve thought of trying to make round ones as Christmas ornaments…it would just mean decreasing the top end by reversing the increases from the bottom half. (I hope that makes sense to knitters.)