An Instagram account I follow--My Sweet Savannah posted about how she made some felted acorns. I decided to do the same, but make an acorn banner, since I've had an obsession with seasonal banners of late. I also thought it might be a better way to display the felted acorns, than placing them in a bowl, where they would be hard to see.
However, you could also make the acorns without the banner component for a shorter craft and display them in a shallow bowl or cloche. Let me know if you come up with another idea.
To make the felted acorn banner you start out by collecting a large amount of acorn tops. If you can't find them in your yard or neighborhood I've also seen them online on Etsy. You could also raid a squirrel's nest. Your choice.
I had my husband spray the acorn tops with polyurethane to make them more durable. He then drilled two small holes in the acorn tops so they could be threaded with a needle and string of twine.
Next you need a package of wool roving in assorted colors. I purchased mine from Amazon for about $12. I split each color of wool roving into four portions. For each portion I started by separating the fibers to fluff it out a bit and then it rolling between my hands.
Next you dunk the rough ball shape in hot water mixed with a couple of squirts of dish soup. Then you keep rolling. When you have a round shape you are happy with, you dunk it in a bowl of hot clean water and continue to roll until most of the water comes out. Let the felt balls dry for about 24 hours.
The next step is to string the acorn tops and space them out as you want them. Then use a hot glue gun to attach the felt balls to their acorn tops. The end product is quite quaint and reminds me of little elf hats. They should also be more durable than other fall decor such as decorative pumpkins which go bad at the end of the season. I look forward to using this felted acorn banner again next year for my fall decor!
The Anne with an E