Tutorial: Felted Acorn Garland

As you may have guessed, I'm spending the weekend on the couch while recuperating. It's a bit disappointing because I would have preferred to be at the pumpkin patch or a haunted house or two but you gotta do what you gotta do. At least I can share some Autumn goodness with you through this festive garland.

How darling are those little felted acorns?

This whole idea came about a couple of weeks ago when I ran across this tutorial for an Acorn Garland at These Light Footsteps. It was super cute, and I had all intent to actually make it. I thought I'd probably glitter the acorns because what crafty girl doesn't love glitter? The problem arose when Quinn and I ventured out to collect acorns from the only Oak tree in the neighborhood. Well, it seems that the squirrels and chipmunks beat us to it because there were only a couple of whole acorns left; the majority were just caps. Bummer!

See? Out of all of those, I only found 4 intact acorns!

I put on my thinking cap and felt (pun intended) that some felted acorns might look even cuter instead. I love felt. Like, I really love felt. Not the cheap felt you used in elementary school, but the handmade felt that is made one batch at a time. The Mr. got me a needle felting kit for my birthday (he knows me so well), so I set to work creating the little nuts. 

Acorn tops

Tacky Glue

.25 ounce Wool Roving

Bubble wrap

1/4 cup water

1 T. dish soap

Twine

1. Mix the water and soap in a small cup

2. Smear a small amount of soap/water onto the bubble wrap

3. Tear off a small piece of roving 

(I used two colors to add dimension to the finished acorns)

4. Roll the roving up on itself to create a small cocoon

5. Tear off the second piece (can be the same or a different color)

6. Line the pieces up perpendicularly and roll them up together

7. Roll this piece between your hands lightly until an actual ball has formed

8. Apply some tacky glue to the inside of the cap

9. Stick the felt ball inside and you're done

You could always cheat by using pre-made felted balls if you really wanted but your hands smell awfully nice after handling all of the dish soap soaked wool haha. All in all, the finished acorns are the perfect combination of whimsy and natural. 

I love how cute these turned out. They'd be an adorable vase filler but I wanted a seasonal garland. 

In order to get your garland started, gather all of your acorns as well as a spool of twine. I used a combination of both real and felt acorns for a bit of variety but one or the other would be fine. 

Tie a knot around the stems on the caps. The nice thing about twine is that even with a relatively loose knot, the texture keeps everything in place just as it should. I didn't have to use hot glue to hold them in place, but that's an option if your caps don't have large enough stems attached.

Continue tying the acorns on, one by one, until you've tied on the last one. I spaced them about 3-4 inches apart. In total my garland ended up around five feet long.

Once Halloween has passed and November starts, I'll hang it up in the dining room. I think the natural tones and textures will be perfect alongside my monochromatic pumpkins.  Even strewn across the table, they look great so who knows, maybe I'll be lazy and just do that instead haha.

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