The Crafty Retailer

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Felted Hoop Earring Tutorial

As a child of the 1970‟s I grew up

wearing hoop earrings. I loved „em
then and I love „em now.

The inexpensive hoops offered at the

big box discount stores are priced well,
but the thin plating wears off very
easily if you spray on hair product with
abandon, as I do. I sure hate throwing
away perfectly good hoops every other
month!

What to do, what to do?

Felt „em, of course!

Supplies needed:
Wool Fiber (about 5 grams of wool top or roving) pantyhose or knee high, any color
Bubble Wrap Hand Towel
Small Container Soapy water
Beading Needle and Fireline beading thread Fabric ties (old pantyhose will work!)
Seed bead and Crystal embellishment (I used Swarovski‟s 3mm crystal sequins)

Step 1:

Lay your hand towel on the work surface and put

the bubble wrap on top of the towel, bubble side
up. Take a small ribbon of wool top and tightly
wrap it around the hoop. Go back the other way.
You should have a nice tight blanket of fiber around
the hoop. Don‟t leave any bald spots. Bald
husbands are acceptable, bald earrings are not.
Step 2: Carefully put the earring into the knee high. This
will keep the fiber in place as you begin the agitation
process coming up next. Sprinkle the package with some
soapy water. I use olive oil soap because I am a felting
snob, but Palmolive will work in a pinch. Rub the package
back and forth, up and down, in a circle…whatever….over
the bubble wrap. Turn it and repeat on the other side.
Don‟t forget to get the edges while you are at it. Take off
the pantyhose and continue to rub for another minute or
two. Now repeat the process for the other hoop. Rinse
the soap and air dry.

Step 3:

Add some sparkle!

I use Fireline beading thread in Smoke when working

with Swarovski crystal. The sharp edges of the hole
will shred a less hardworking thread and the grey color
is more invisible than the “transparent” Fireline.

I used Swarovski 3mm sew on sequins in olivine and

seed beads I had on hand to get the effect I desired.
Don‟t forget to bury the thread within the fiber. No
need for unsightly thread hanging anywhere.

Voila! You did it! Aren‟t you proud?

Crafting is uncomplicated joy….pass it on!

Have any questions? Shoot me an email!

TheCraftyRetailer@gmail.com