Upcycle Felt Scraps into Artistic Felt Sheets

Recycle your felt scraps by needle felting them into colourful new sheets of felt. It’s a great solution to reduce craft waste and an interesting way to restock your felt supplies with creative new material. Best of all it’s free!

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After years of madly crafting with felt fabric sheets, I have a massive collection of teeny tiny scraps that I just couldn’t bear to throw away.

Initially I didn’t quite know how I was going to make it work, but I knew that some how I would find a way to upcycle all those leftovers… someday.

I now have a box so full of scrap felts that you’d think a unicorn had left a deposit. Wanting to make a softie, and being in an absolutely essential lockdown my options for doll making have been a somewhat limited (Click and Collect has it’s own set of problems).

But it’s okay! Because when restricted I am at my most resourceful.

Recalling several years ago when I repaired the holes in my kid’s much loved Monster High inspired felt doll, I was struck with an exciting notion. I was going to needle felt my supply of felt scraps together into up-cycled felt sheets. With the end goal of finally getting to make a softie.

Felt crafted art doll inspired by Monster High’s Robecca Steam. After a few years of play the doll was repaired with needle felting.

There are so many wonderful possibilities from needle felting your felt scraps. Not only are you taking a load off landfill, which that in itself is a massive plus. If you take this path, well done you!

When needle felting your scraps, you are also making one of a kind art.

No two up-cycled felt sheets are going to be anything alike, ever.

If doll making isn’t your cup of tea, and picture making is more you, why not try creating murals with this technique.

If you are looking for things to make with felt scraps, this upcycling idea is for you!

You may enjoy these needle felting crafts:

• Needle Felting Basics
• Needle Felt Heart Garland
• Needle Felted Easter Eggs

Jab New Life Into Your Felt Scraps

You will need for needle felting:

• Scraps of felt (wool felt works best, but acrylic felt is also suitable)
• Needle felting needle (I use Clover brand)
• Needle felting brush mat or foam block
• Fork

Note: Watch your fingers when needle felting. Take my word for it, the needle will sting like a [bleep expletive) a whole lot more than your average sewing needle. Like driving a car you don’t want to be distracted from what’s in front of you. So maybe switch off the TV and listen to podcasts instead.

How to :

1. Collect your felt scraps and coordinate the colour bundles by general colour scheme. Alternatively you can go full rainbow explosion and mix all your felt scraps together.

2. Overlap two scrap pieces on the needle felting brush mat. Hold the needle felting needle tool in your dominant hand, and hold the felt scraps firm on the mat with the other hand. Repetitively jab the felt scraps with the needle.

3. Continue to needle felt more overlapping layers of felt scrap, building up to a new felt sheet.

4. After a while felt fibres build up in the brush mat. You can remove the fibres by combing a fork through the mat.

5. Needle felt the fibre clumps that you’ve retrieved from the brush mat.

6. You are creating a work of art with your felt scrap. And if you enjoy the process this project may be a gateway toward your making needle felted murals. For this particular project I created a new felt sheet with an estimated 30 x 33 cm.