Holidays

Felt Garland

Brandon and I are starting to think about holiday decorating. Real tree or fake? If fake… silver, white, or pink? Such are the difficult decisions we’re contemplating. ;)

I’ve been seeing a lot of felt garlands around lately, and I think they’re adorable. Problem is, I can’t help but think “I can make that”. I’ve never felted wool, but how hard can it be to make lots of tiny little balls, right? Then I can have exactly the colors I want.


felt garlands from abitare and Crate & Barrel

If we use the little silver tree we have in the basement, we could go for this kind of look:


silver christmas trees from west elm (a few years ago)

I’ve already started wrapping presents in green, red, and white paper. I’m eager to Christmas up the house!

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  • Bobbi
    December 3, 2008 at 2:50 pm

    Uh… how do I felt wool? That would look great with my little silver Xmas tree!

  • Syd
    December 3, 2008 at 2:59 pm

    Oh my goodness, those are awesome. I won’t have a tree, but I want the garland anyway.

  • Lise
    December 3, 2008 at 3:00 pm

    Hi!
    I’ve written a tutorial a few years ago on how to make felt balls/beads. it’s really easy! it’s still up on craftster if you want to have a look:
    http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=21330.msg173302#msg173302

  • Bobbi
    December 3, 2008 at 3:02 pm

    Awesome, Lise. I’ll check it out. This would be a great project for my cross country trip. Too bad the trip is over Christmas vacation! Maybe I’ll have them all set for next year. :)

  • Making it Lovely
    December 3, 2008 at 3:03 pm

    Ooh, thanks for the tutorial Lise!

  • kandice
    December 3, 2008 at 3:13 pm

    omg! that is the most darling tree EVERRRRRRRRRRR! i know what you mean. when christmas rolls around i get totally crazy and want to decorate EVERYTHING. ive always loved xmas. its always been really big in my family so it always brings good memories and feelings. merry christmas nicole!

  • Molly S.
    December 3, 2008 at 3:52 pm

    I saw those in Crate and Barrel too and thought they were cool.

    Can you buy a bag of felt balls or pom-poms at a craft store and string them together somehow? I’m curious to see if I can recreate these now.

  • Nichole
    December 3, 2008 at 3:59 pm

    Is this going to be your first Christmas in the house?!

  • Amy@OldSweetSong
    December 3, 2008 at 4:00 pm

    I couldn’t agree more, it’s all about the colors! The balls are nice but I also like the flat cut out style and they would be much easier to make. I just wrote about them on my blog… (shameless plug)

    http://www.oldsweetsong.com/?p=195

  • Mrslimestone
    December 3, 2008 at 4:06 pm

    Oh no, not another Christmas craft I want but have no time for! Please share if it really is THAT easy.

    I love the pink tree you posted on your wish list but unless its something you feel comfortable replacing in a few years, I think a colored tree might get stale after a year or two. If you dont want to go green, white might be the safer option.

    PS: I got my very first fake tree this year after 10 years of being a die hard real tree person. Im loving it! Tons of lights, no needles to sweep up!

  • Making it Lovely
    December 3, 2008 at 5:01 pm

    I ran over to Chix with Stix to buy some wool roving… I’m going to give it a try.

    Nichole, this will be our second Christmas in the house. The first one looked like this.

    The Tree & the Living Room

    Oh Deer

    Oh, and Mrslimestone, I think you’re probably right. Although, I may just love a pink tree forever and ever. ;)

  • amy purple
    December 3, 2008 at 5:16 pm

    We got a eco-friendly cardboard tree this year – if you’re looking for some other fake options. haha.

  • Jen
    December 3, 2008 at 5:41 pm

    Now I have to make this garland as well. It is super cool! And making it is so much better than buying it.

  • Grace
    December 3, 2008 at 6:22 pm

    I was just thinking the same thing about a felt garland. Just dug up this craftshop link for felt balls and wool roving (with which you can make your own in any color wool!):

    http://www.ornamentea.com/theshop/Fiber.html

  • Jenny
    December 3, 2008 at 6:31 pm

    Another garland option is just to knit a long I-cord. It’s super easy (I knitted mine while watching TV at night) and still very customizable. It looks awesome wrapped around our tree, if I do say so myself!

  • Making it Lovely
    December 3, 2008 at 6:33 pm

    What’s an l-cord?

  • Jenny
    December 3, 2008 at 7:04 pm

    Super simple – just cast on a few stitches (I did 4) on a double pointed needle and knit them. But then instead of turning the needle (like when you knit normally), knit the yarn again by bringing the working strand up from the back – this way the cord kind of closes in on itself. I know my explanation isn’t very good – this is clearer: http://www.purlbee.com/i-cord-tutorial/

  • landry
    December 3, 2008 at 7:13 pm

    here’s another cool article that has great instructions, what a fun Christmas gift…
    http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter06/FEATfeltedbeads.html

  • Jules
    December 3, 2008 at 7:39 pm

    Silver or white on the tree. I’m doing it for Brandon. ;)

  • Flyleaf Books
    December 4, 2008 at 7:41 am

    I love the felt garland and the the candy red and white tree skirt!

  • MJ
    December 4, 2008 at 12:36 pm

    Loving the garland! I’m already planning a trip to the craft store for some wool roving now :)

  • whitney
    December 4, 2008 at 2:17 pm

    Oh my goodness! A pink tree would be so much fun!! I don’t think my husband would go for that! haha Can’t wait to see what you pick!

  • Love, Lulu Mae
    December 4, 2008 at 2:41 pm

    oooooooo. we just bought on ebay the west elm “gold” xmas tree! looks just like the silver one, but in gold. super kitch! i absolutely love the felt garland too!

  • Melissa
    December 5, 2008 at 9:44 pm

    I love your blog. Great ideas and great stuff!! Looking forward to seeing pictures of your complete Christmas decor. Hopefully by next year we will be back in our house and the new addition will be finished. Well, both new additions since I am pregnant as well (16 weeks). We should then have a LOT of room for our Christmas tree as opposed to now. I am currently contemplating which piece of furniture to have my husband move out of the living room!
    Thanks!!

    Melissa
    http://arlingtonhomeaddition.blogspot.com

  • Danielle
    December 8, 2008 at 4:13 pm

    I have thought the same thing!! Instead of felting balls i just cut felt sheets into different sized circles. then i strung them with a needle and thread… and it looks great!

  • kristin
    December 8, 2008 at 9:50 pm

    this is great! i love the wallpaper in the dining room and i’m totally on the same wavelength as you with the felt garland. make it (buying it seems super pricey). i like the c.barrel kind the most.

  • jelly gamat
    January 17, 2017 at 1:41 am

    I was just thinking the same thing about a felt garland.