Felting stones is a simple activity to do outside. It requires very little wool. Thus it’s very economical if you have to buy it -and gets quick results. It’s a messy outdoor activity as children need to walk about as they felt the wool and this sheds water in the process.

First, find your stone. It should fit comfortably in your hand. This is a good use of bedrock fragments found when digging. I chose mine from my stash in a glass jar.

Place your pebble on a layer of fleece on top of bubble wrap. I keep all bubble wrap for re-using that arrives as packaging. I’ve used a piece of carded Jacob’s wool from a friendly farmer with a pet flock. Alternatively you can purchase merino wool tops.

Roll up your pebble in the fleece, ensuring that the ends are smooth and tucked in.

Choose another colour of wool and gently open up the fibres to make them fine so that you can see through them. This time I added shop-bought merino wool top. Wrap this at right angles to the previous layer of wool.

Next, get a bowl of hand hot soapy water. Ideally biodegradable soap is best but any detergent or soap will aid the felting process. Add a little soapy hot water to the stone to make it wet but not soaking. Wrap the bubble wrap around the stone, allowing the water to drip out. This is why it works better outside where the water can spill and more children can undertake the activity at any given time.

Whilst the stone is wrapped in the bubble wrap, squeeze and turn the parcel. Do this for five minutes. Use a timer if necessary. Sing songs! After 5 minutes have a look at your stone to see if the wool has felted. If the fibres are still a bit loose or the stone is rattling around inside, then you need to wrap up the stone in bubble wrap and keep squeezing and turning. The motion is a bit like making a snowball.

Once the felt feels firmer around the stone, remove the bubble wrap and press and rub the stone. Rinse the stone under hot running water. Then let it dry. This is what my specimens looked like:

When other pebbles are added, it makes for a rather fetching mix and adds to the sensory experience.

I think these are a great child-made resource in any classroom or pre-school. Larger pebbles make lovely presents at Christmas time or for fund raisers. Buy the merino wool online as you will get the best deals. It’s also possible to felt a block of soap in the same way. The soap can be used as normal. The more it is used, the more the felt shrinks around it.

This post was originally published in September 2011.