Angels and holidays go hand in hand. Whether it’s Christmas or Michaelmas, angels are central figures in many festivals and the month of December is full of them. Images of angels are traditionally found guarding our children, as the bearers of messages or bringing comfort during difficult times. Honor your special angel by making a simple needle felted angel to hang on your tree or elsewhere in your home. Bring comfort to those you love by making one for them, too!
Needle felting is very meditative and in very little time, you can transform clumps of wool into a special and treasured heirloom doll to enjoy for many generations. It is also very forgiving should you make a mistake, so grab a needle and some wool and let’s make a simple holiday angel! I have simplified this tutorial so that even beginners can create an angel doll of their own.
Materials
Wool batting
Colored roving (skin color, dress color, hair, halo and wings)
Foam mat
Needle felting needle (higher gauge needles are better for fine work)
*It is ideal to buy some wool batting to use as the underlying form of your doll. It will save you money, as the dyed roving is more expensive.
Form the Body
Begin by forming the head. Take a small piece of the batting and roll it into a ball by twisting it and rolling it along, tucking it in as you go. Needle felt it into place so that it is in the shape of a ball.
I will demonstrate one angel with just batting for the face and hands (to keep it simple) and one that will have a pale skin coloring so you can see the contrast. First will be the one without skin coloring. This one is slightly easier to make and requires less materials.
Lay a piece of batting vertically on your foam mat and place the head in the center.
Fold the roving over the face of the head and needle felt into place, leaving a clump of wool at the bottom .
Then, make the body. Wrap more batting around the wool left at the bottom, building it up as you go.
Now, the contrast, using pale flesh-colored roving over the face. Note the finished plain angel body on the right.
Take a bit of the colored roving and roll it around the ball, covering all of the batting. Needle felt it into place so that you cannot see any batting underneath. Then take a thin strip of the colored roving and lay it vertically on your foam mat. Place the ball in the center and bring the colored roving down over the top of the head.
Needle felt it into place just under the head, leaving some wool sticking out at the bottom where you will attach the body.
Then wrap wool batting around the excess colored roving and build it up until you have a nice simple shape for the body, needle felting it as you go.
Now the basic form of the angel doll is finished.
Decorate the Angel
Now that you have the basic shape of a doll, you will see her (or him) magically transform into a beautiful angel. Choose the color of her dress and lay a thick strip across the top half of her body.
Needle felt into place. Don’t worry about covering all of her as the dress will extend downward and cover the exposed batting.
Next, begin the arms by taking a thin strip of wool and rolling it up into a cylindrical shape.
Give it a few jabs on the mat to hold its shape and place it on the side of the doll, needle felting into place. Repeat for the other arm.
To make the hands, take some skin-colored roving (or plain batting, if that is what your head is) and roll it into a ball. Place the piece(s) where the hands would be and needle felt into place.
For the skirt, pull apart some tufts of wool and fold in half.
Needle felt into place.
The doll should now look something like this.
Now it is time to add the hair. Choose the desired color and style and needle felt into place. Add any embellishments you’d like or braids, curls, etc.
Make a halo using some yellow wool, shaping it on the foam board and needle felting onto the bottom back of the angel’s head.
Add a tuft of wool batting or white roving for her wings.
Needle felt a single line down the wings into her back to secure them in place. Be sure you don’t press the needle too far into her body or it will bring some of the white through to the other side. The barbs on the needle are at the tip, so you don’t have to jab too far in to effectively felt the fibers.
This delicate angel is now complete.
These not only look fabulous sitting on your tree, but they also make special gifts. They can be used as stocking stuffers, to embellish wrapping paper on a gift, or even tied to a basket of homemade goodies to share with your neighbor.
They will be something your children may cherish for years to come as they are made by your loving hands. Have fun making this sweet holiday angel!
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Jennifer DiMonte is a Waldorf-inspired homeschooling momma of two loving, creative twin girls, a wife to her soul mate, and an animal rescuer who enjoys writing and photography in her spare time. She lives with her family and all their little fur babies in the mountains of Southern California. She has an etsy shop called Ancient Hearth and pens a blog by the same name.