How to Make Needle Felted Acorn Ornaments

I love to decorate the house with handmade ornaments using natural materials as people used to do in olden-times. It reminds of a time before this season became so commercially focused and people made simple, handmade ornaments, decorations, and gifts.

These simple little felted wool acorn ornaments make a great needle felting project for anyone who is a beginner or for children who’d like to try out the craft (just mind those little fingers – felting needles are very sharp!)

Follow along the steps below and bring some handmade, natural charm to your home this season!

Making Needle Felted Acorns

what you will need

Acorn tops
Small amount of wool roving in colour of your choice
Thin ribbon or twine
Awl
Scissors
Glue
Felting needle

Carefully poke a hole in the acorn top – be gentle and go slowly as the tops can crack easily. I find it best to make the hole close the the middle of the acorn top and not near the edge.

Using a small amount of wool, felt a small oval shape – if you are felting for the first time, just wrap a small bit of wool tightly around itself and then start poking it with your felting needle – this will start to felt the fibres together. Once you have a good shape, you can roll the ball around in your hands to further felt the fibres.

Cut a length of twine or thin ribbon and feed it through the hole in the acorn top. Tie a knot. You might need to enlarge the hole a bit if your ribbon or twine won’t fit through.

Pull the knot snug against the inside of the acorn top.

If using twine, you can pull the strands apart, then tie them at the top to make a hanging loop. If using ribbon, you can feed the other end through the hole and then make a knot, or tie the ribbon to itself near the base of the acorn.

Add some glue to the inside of the acorn top. I just used regular clear school glue, but you could also use a glue gun, if preferred.

Press the wool felted ball into the acorn top and hold for a minute or two to make sure it has good contact with the glue. Set aside to dry.

You can add other embellishments to your acorn ornaments – here I’ve added a little sprig of boxwood and tied it into the twine. You could also add a little bell, some dried berries, or other dried plants or flowers would look lovely too!