Making wet felted autumn treasures is a fun little craft, it’s seasonal and requires soap, and who doesn’t want to stimulate hand washing these days?! We love making Lara’s felted acorns and decided it was time to add some wet felted chestnut hulls to our collection too! The wool for the hull is felted around the actual chestnut to give it a permanent coat, that looks like the hull it has on the tree.

Felted Chestnut hulls:

What you need:

• wool roving in a light green or cream colour, and a darker green – or any colours you like!
• a bowl of soapy water (a squeeze of washing up liquid in water works fine, or use a bar of natural soap and clean water instead)
• chestnuts
• sharp scissors

Take a bit of the light coloured roving and wrap it around your chestnut into a ball. Next, add a layer of green wool on top of that. Dip lightly into the soapy water and start gently rolling it between your hands. The friction and the soap will make the wool fibres matt together. Don’t press too hard while you roll, and keep going until the bal gets smaller and the wool very firm. It can help to wipe some foam off your hands to speed it along. If a crack occurs, just put a bit more roving over it (a very thin layer should do it).

Rinse the ball when it feels nice and solid and squeeze it. Give it a final roll between your hands and let dry completely.

When the ball has dried up, take some sharp scissors and carefully cut a slit across the length of your chestnut ball, about 1/3 of the circumference, until you see the chestnut peep out (I suggest this is a job for the adult!).

If you want to make it even more realistic, use the sharp scissors to make small v-cuts along the surface (not too deep!) and roll those into spikes using your thumb and index finger.

And there you have it! Wet felted woollen chestnut hulls to display on your seasonal table!

x Nomi

PS These felted acorns compliment these chestnut hulls beautifully! Plus, have a look at our overview of fifteen favourite fall activities for more autumnal inspiration!