Do you want to make your own felted acorn garland? This is a great way to mimic nature and spruce up your decor. Just follow these step by step directions.
Once upon a time, I used real acorns for decorating.
I was having a party and I wanted to create a truly authentic fall feel for the house….
….so I brought the outside in.
Just like they do in the magazines.
It wasn’t a felted acorn garland. Instead? I filled giant glass urns with acorns and tucked branches into them and strung tiny bits of twine from branch to branch and wrote thankful quotes on torn pieces of card stock and tied them onto the twine.
And I finished off the look by gluing oak leaves to the branches.
Can I tell you how amazing I thought I was?
Seriously.
All that fall glory for (almost) free.
People came to the party and ooohed and ahhed and told me how much they loved the idea of going green and all Little House on the Prairie and decorating with nature.
Why decorate with anything else?
I told myself that I was never wasting another dime on store-bought decorations when nature had already done such an amazing job.
Until.
Until a week later when I was cleaning and I passed by the urns and I noticed something wiggling in the bottom of the vase.
I’m not even going to say it.
We are not discussing what it was that I found in those acorns.
You are probably drinking coffee right now.
Just know that I took the urns and those acorns outside back where they came from…..
…..never to return again.
And now I wool felt all my acorns.
Because sometimes nature is amazing and wonderful and brilliant and awe-inspiring…..
….especially when it’s left outside. 🙂
How to Make a Wool Felted Acorn Garland
Step 1: Â Start with the acorn tops
To make a felted acorn garland, you want to spray the tops of the acorns with a sealer, like a clear acrylic spray.
This will prevent any unwanted friends from showing up.
Set aside and let dry.
Step 2: Â Pinch off a small amount of wool roving
I chose to use an off-white, but it also comes in a variety of colors.
You can buy wool roving online or at your local craft store.
Step 3: Â Create a wool ball
place the small piece of wool roving into a bowl of hot water.
Remove from water and start forming a ball between your hands.
Roll it gently at first without applying any pressure.
Continue applying pressure and the friction of your hands and the water will cause the wool to tighten and form into a ball.
Step 4: Â Glue the acorn tops onto the wool balls
Doesn’t that tiny acorn look so cute?
I pushed the wool into the acorn top and slightly flattened it to give the appearance of an acorn.
Then I glued it so it would stay.
Step 5: Â Glue the acorns onto a length of twine
You could tie them if you wanted to use a smaller twine.
I like the look of the thicker twine which didn’t really work when I tied it onto the tops.
Make sure the glue is dry and then hang up your garland.
And remember….don’t forget to spray your acorn tops.
Because I love the look of the garland with rustic wood and the textures of fall…..
…..without any extra surprises. 🙂
I love these! Too bad I didn't see this awesome tutorial last week. I just ordered some from etsy. Next time I'll make my own. Thanks for the tute! And have a great weekend.
Haha, too funny! The wool felted acorns are adorable and no bugs! May have to try that...I haven't checked to see how my acorn ornaments have held up. Maybe the worms dropped out while hanging on the Christmas tree. Hm... :o) Cecilia
Oh- I love this and have acorns on my christmas tree too. Maybe that's why we never saw the added surprise. Going to try making these with the kiddos. Great idea.
Hi Karianne, the acorn garland is adorable. If your readers are in a hurry, they can also buy the wool balls already rolled in packs of assorted fall colors. Lovely project. Have a great day. Lisa
LOVE these! I want to make tiny acorn wreaths and I was going to use the real thing…Guess I will be making them with wool instead! :) Life to the full! Meliss
Great project! My kids would love to see the you know whats crawling around the jar! It would be too much for me. Love how you made the mom friendly version!
Very fall lovely!
Cute! But I still love the real acorns I just leave out on my porch! Happy fall!
Ha! I had a similar "critter" experience when I made huge amazing nut balls one year...and then our house filled with little moths!
Okay, first of all... I love these felted acorns. They are sweet! Secondly, I had to laugh about bringing nature inside... It made me think of the one year I had a beautiful arrangement of mini pumpkins and gourds in a bowl on my table... and I was amazed at how long they all were lasting. One day when I moved things around a bit, I realized that the whole underside of the arrangement was moldy. EWWWWWWWWWW. That was sitting in my kitchen --- for HOW long? Plastic works. LOL Admittedly, I sometimes cannot help but purchase those cute pumpkins -- but I am MUCH MORE careful about how long I let them hang around!!
Yes Indeedee -- nothing like bringing the outdoors in! I would have screamed -- jumped up and down for a while -- got my huge super rubberized oven gloves -- face mask -- and then took everything out -- scalded and bleached anything those things touched. I get a cold chill just thinking about it!! I love your little acorns without the critters. Much nicer!! Are you traumatized? Did you have to see -- you know, someone -- to get over the shock?
Know just what you mean because the same thing happened to me. Yikes! Love your felted acorns much better.
These wool felted acorns are delightful. I will make some but will still use the real thing also. Place acorns on a baking sheet in your oven and "bake" about 10 minutes at 200 degrees. No little critters will greet you later! I love to use the real acorns inside clear glass cylinder vases to hold candles. Felt balls wouldn't work for that!
I love your garland! Like everything you do, it is beautiful. Did you know you can bake your acorns and pinecones so you don't ever have to worry about any surprises? Bake at 200 degrees for 45 minutes. I first read this tip on the House of Hepworths blog.
Well, well, you were right. I was drinking coffee. But I am certainly glad that I read this, so I can go and dump my acorns back outside. They were looking so nice and festive around a candle in a hurricane in my living room. Ewww!
I would think you could put the acorns in a ziplock bag and freeze for a while and that would eliminate the little guys too.
oh yes, I thought I was so clever and so smart too, collecting all those adorable acorns for centerpieces....fortunately I discovered the hidden prizes before I brought them into the house!!!!!
These are truly delightful! But, as Sue and Tina mentioned above, if I am bringing real acorns, pine cones, hemlock cones or whatever indoors, I bake them. I use a foil-lined cookie sheet to spread them on and bake them at 300º for half an hour. (I read this hint in a book called Family Christmas, by Barbara Radcliffe Rogers. It's a wonderful little paperback full of great ideas.) An added bonus is that when you bake pine cones like this, it makes your house smell nice while they are baking!
Thanks you...I WAS drinking coffee!! I cut some basil the other day from my garden and some leftover sitting in a vase of water for a few days until I could use it. The day I did I was chopping away and a little wormy thing sort of rolled off...it was the same exact color as they basil. We never would have known if we had, er, ate it. And I had already washed it a few days before! Yep, the outdoors often makes it in!! But the acorns are precious and I may make a garland while I have some time. Jane xx
Cute acorns. Thanks for the heads up reminder of bringing the outside in. Have a great week!
Oh my these are the cutest things! What a great idea and does not seem too hard at all! Thank you for sharing!
Yeah, got to be careful about bringing in food for squirrel and wiggly things and habitats for lizards. yes, I did and all the eggs hatched. Having a heat spell so having a hard time thnking fall! I still want the communiyt pool to be open! Have a good day!
Adorable! I'm gonna try this and I will NOT forget the clear sealer! We had some early squash that was ready in the garden and Mr. P. brought into the house and set and left them on the counter... I found some really ICKY crawlers the next day... on my kitchen counter, YUCK! Needless to say, I cleaned out every cupboard, cabinet and disinfected everything... no early squash for us, I gave them to the critters I do love outside!
I had the same thing happen to me. I like faux better. ( the idea of "cooking" or "freezing" the critters doesnt work for me. I'd see the acorns and just think of the dead squirmy things inside. Yuck ! :) ). Plus, yours are just adorable.
I am always picking up acorns and pine cones and have never seen a critter! I use both everywhere for fall and winter and love them.
These are darling...and I was glad to find out how to make the felted balls without using that sharp tool I was told at Michael's that I needed. Also, if you bake any natural materials you bring in from outside...I'm not sure of the temperature or the length of time...it will kill all the critters.
This is the cutest thing ever - what a clever idea. I'm not very crafty, but thinking maybe even, I could try to tackle this one…
Funny story! This would be sooo much faster than the hand-knitted acorns I bookmarked on Ravelry--which are adorable, but, let's face it, it's highly unlikely I will ever actually MAKE them. Your project, however, I might!
So cute. Thanks! Wiggly stuff....in the past i had purchased beautiful, shiny chestnuts at an asian grocery thinking i would use for decor and then roast......a week later the vase was full of nasty little things. So glad we didnt eat them! I love the look of real acorns, but prefer the peace of mind your adorable ones bring.
Oh my goodness. I giggled and giggled. I haven't had this issue with acorns, but it turns out I adore pine cones...Yep. Same problem! Three cheers for fall!
Nature will keep us all humble. My horror story...similar to the pain of stepping on a Lego is stepping on an acorn...
This is so dang cute! hehe I know - we had some peaches from our tree which we don't treat with anything...a couple of days later something was wiggling about...yeah no thank you!
LOL! I had the same thing happen!! I heard they're called weevels or something like that?? So yucky! You have a gift for story telling. You are so funny! I love reading your posts while I have my morning coffee!! Keep on posting! :)
This is such a unique idea and a great alternative to using real acorns and risking bugs. Pinning! If your looking for a new link party, I would love for you to link up to Your Designs This Time every Monday morning at 8:00. I hope to see you there!
I'm so glad you did this tutorial! I've been wanting to do this and now I know how!
Here is just a little tip I do when I use acorns in bowls or craft ideas.....I put them in a ziplock and put the ziplock in the freezer and that kills the critters. I love your cute garland!
I too, love to bring the outside in...but not the critters! Thanks so much for linking to Whimsy Wednesday, Kari Anne! I included you in my weekly feature from the party - Easy Ways To Decorate For Fall! You can see it here https://www.ohmy-creative.com/fall/easy-ways-decorate-fall/ Party is open for this week - hope to see you there! Susan