Crafting with felt can be one of the easiest and most rewarding ways to create handmade holiday ornaments for yourself or a fundraiser...beginners and experts alike. It comes in beautiful colors and is very inexpensive to use. My felt ornament patterns can be made with no sewing, so anyone who can safely use a glue gun, can participate in the fun!...and, felt has no 'right' or 'wrong' side like fabric can, so is great for beginning projects. There are a few things I have learned (the hard way!) over the years that can help your projects turn out beautiful with less problems. 

Tips and frustration savers-

When a Needle and Thread is needed:

• No sewing means just that, with ornaments, it usually includes bead eyes and such. You can glue them on, but sewing them on with a needle and thread looks neater. I use one strand of "Hand Quilting" thread for this. It is very strong so one strand is all you need, and it does not tangle easily like regular thread. Try it, it works great...and makes hand sewing less of a chore! 

Cutting:

• Always use a smaller, very sharp pair of scissors to cut felt.
• Remember, felt is easy to use but it will stretch out of shape if pulled on too hard.
• If two of the same pattern piece are needed (like a front and back head piece), pin them together for cutting, so they match perfectly in assembly.  
• Cut with longer cuts when you can, this will make the edge smooth and neat. Don't 'chop' at it!
• When cuttin around curves, try to move and change the direction of the felt, not the scissors, keep the scissors at the same angle. This will make sure both layers of felt are cut at the same angle and don't over lap oddly.

Using a glue gun:

• Felt can be very 'forgiving'. It's fuzzy texture will keep glue 'floating' on top if a small blob or drop of glue lands where it shouldn't be, DON'T TOUCH IT, LET IT COOL! then it can be cut or gently pulled off without ruining everything.
• If you are planning to create more than a few items, you may want to consider a different glue gun. One with a removeable tip (Arrow has one that screws off) and different tips that can be attached (these are generic and are purchased separately) These tips come with smaller holes and make it easier to control the flow of glue.
• Neatness does count! Being handcrafted does not mean it needs to look like the ones we made in first grade (which were perfect of course!) use as little glue as you can get by with. Felt is very easily glued together and doesn't take as much glue as you may think. Too much glue can 'ooze' out of the seams, burn like heck and look messy. Practice on scraps trying for a neat thin line of glue as close to the edge as you can get without it 'oozing' out. This is usually about 1/8" from the outer edge.
• If glue 'oozes' out of the seam: clip it smoothly off with scissors.
• When gluing two pieces of felt together, don't press too hard. If pressed too hard, the glue will 'ooze' up through the layers and show up icky. Gentle but firm pressure works best.
• When gluing the outside edge of 'seams', if you are not experienced with crafting, glue and inch or so at a time. It is great practice and you'll get the hang of it!
• Glue strings can be an irritating part of using a glue gun! But can be easily removed by blowing hot air over them with your hairdryer (lower fan setting, higher heat setting)
• Stuff felt crafts sparingly, use just enough to make the ornament/magnet puffy where needed. Overstuffing can make it look, and be 'out of shape' and bloated.
• Check your project when you're done. Is there any fuzzy felt edges that would look neater if trimmed? Sharp, clean edges look best.

When faux fur is needed for your project:

• First decide if you want a longer or shorter fur lengh. I use a lot of longer fur, it tends to make ornaments look more wimsical.

• Cut along the back side of the fur, using the stiches as a guide

• Try not to cut the fur, only the backing by inserting (sometimes, actually pushing) the tip of sharp, smaller scissors in between the nap, using small straight cuts. This will keep the 'fur from flying' so much!

• After cutting, take the pieces outdoors and shake them to remove excess fur 'hairs'. This really helps to keep your project neater and cleaner without having to constantly pick off fur hair. 

A little practice goes a long way towards easily creating wonderful gifts and ornaments for the holidays...have fun crafting!

Lori Christine