Felt products are often used as educational toys for young children. Thanks to the pleasant to the touch material and bright colors, the kids pay great attention to such soft figures. Using various patterns, you can create images of animals, characters from cartoons and books.
History of the creation of felt
In Russia, felt appeared a very long time ago, since felt boots were made from it. Initially, it was felted wool, and only then felt itself appeared. Young children at that time were developed with the help of birch bark, from which they made various figures. When birch bark was bored, the kids were introduced to felt. From it, they could wallow various animals, developing hand motor skills and their horizons.
Until the 17th century there was no concrete concept of "felt". By it was meant various materials not from the fabric from which the toys were rolled. Usually these materials were very coarse and sharp. Felt was distinguished by its softness.
This material can have a different composition and is divided into:
- Woolen - has the highest quality and highest value.
- Wool - is a mixture of viscose and natural wool.
- Synthetic - does not contain natural materials, only acrylic or polyester.
- Eco - made from recycled materials, most often it is 100% polyester.
In addition to the material, felt can vary in thickness, on which the softness level of the material will depend.
What are developing felt toys for?
Such products help to accustom the child to bright colors and study them. In the process of making a toy, the baby develops attention, concentration, fine motor skills of the hands. Using the example of creating a product, you can study with the child the structure of the body of an animal or character. Do handles, legs, eyes, nose with it.
An important plus of developing toys from felt is that they are more economical than developing toys in stores. Such products are often used in kindergartens and medical centers. All educational toys made of felt can be divided into the following types:
- Mobiles.
- Puzzles
- Finger toys.
- Toys with moving parts.
Material selection
DIY educational toys made of felt can be easily made at home and at little cost. It is only important to choose high-quality materials at a price suitable for you, and then carefully study the instructions.
To work with children you need to buy soft felt, which will be easy to bend. Such material is nice to hold in your hands. One color will not be enough, so you need to buy several pieces of felt necessary tones. In needlework stores, you can choose the required canvas size that you need. Next, you will need tight threads, scissors, a variety of ribbons and buttons. With their help, you can decorate the toy.
Pattern selection
To make a developing toy from felt, you will need a pattern or pattern. Without it, the product will turn out to be crooked and not so presentable. In the patterns, all the necessary details are thought out along with the indentation that will be needed for stitching the figure.
When choosing a pattern, you need to build on the type of product that you have chosen. If these are felt puzzles, then a large number of details will need to be cut. The longest in manufacturing is considered a mobile. This is such a hanging design on the crib. For her, detailed detailing of nature and animals is made of felt. Thus, the baby from the first months explores the world in a playful way.
DIY do-it-yourself felt toys with patterns are easier than making everything on the go. Acting on a previously studied scheme, you are definitely not mistaken in the manufacture of the product.
Step-by-step instruction
Making DIY educational toys from felt can be considered on the example of a rainbow. For her, you will need only one pattern, white felt, felt-tip pens and glue.
- Step 1. Cut out a pattern from thick paper or cardboard for a future rainbow. It should be a semicircle strip.
- Step 2. Take the white felt, split it. From the split felt, begin to roll the desired figure to the size of the pattern. It should turn out to be soft, dense and well-kept in shape.
- Step 3. For easier work, you can use the needle, helping her roll up felt.
- Step 4. We take felt-tip pens and paint our white blank. Just draw strips of rainbow colors, not trying to make them touch.
- Step 5. Next, with the help of a needle, we begin to connect the colors with each other. The ends of the rainbow need to be split.
- Step 6. We take two other equal pieces of split felt, we roll balls from them. We attach these balls to the ends of the rainbow.
- Step 7. Color the balls at the ends of the rainbow with felt-tip pens. You can draw funny faces.
Felt dog
As an example, you can also consider developing toys from felt with your own hands with patterns for beginners. They are well suited for young children. Such toys are very simple to make. Just cut parts from the felt according to the pattern, then sew them together and fill with cotton. It is quite simple to make such toys from felt with your own hands, taking dog patterns as an example.
- Step 1. You need to take felt brown, gray, black or red. According to the pattern, cut out all the details that are necessary for the manufacture of the dog.
- Step 2. Stitch the parts together, leaving small holes in order to fill them with cotton or felt.
- Step 3. Fill the figure with cotton or split and place unnecessary felt in it. You can use pieces that are left from work.
- Step 4. Attach the eyes, nose, you can make a collar.
Most of the work on such a toy you need to trust the child. In the process of creating such work, he will concentrate and try. It will learn under your supervision to carefully work with scissors, a needle. It will be able to develop its motor skills when it fills a toy with cotton or other filler. In the process of creating, you can ask some questions about the animal that you make. For example, what kind of dog the baby knows. Tell him something useful. This form of communication with the child is not only informative and developing in nature, but also helps you establish contact with him. DIY handmade toys made of felt are a good idea for hanging out with your baby.
Manufacturing secrets
Sometimes it is difficult to make developing toys from felt the first time with your own hands. A master class can help in this matter. Various educators and needlewomen in their studios conduct such trainings for beginners. They talk about them about the main mistakes, manufacturing secrets and other useful information. The advantage of such a training will be that you can personally observe the process of making the toy, and try to make it yourself.
Among the main secrets are the following:
- Do not take a thick needle for making felt toys with your own hands. Master classes are just designed so that people can clarify such important trifles.
- It is better to print and cut out patterns, rather than redraw them yourself. This will help to avoid crooked lines.
- Do not buy felt from synthetic materials.
Beginner Mistakes
Many beginners in this business think that if you do the work quickly, then everything will turn out better. But this is not so. The essence of developing toys for children is that it is the kids that have to do most of the work. And they can work at their own, sometimes slow pace. In no case do you have to rush and say that something turns out crookedly. You can carefully correct it. The child himself will understand that the neat option looks beautiful, and will strive for this result.
Beginners should not immediately take up complex patterns. It’s better to start with those that are simpler. In this matter, it is important to consider the age of the child who will make the toy with you.
Cost
Many beginner needlewomen are concerned about the price issue. After all, materials for applied art are quite expensive. But this does not apply to felt. After all, only he will be needed in the manufacture of toys. On average, a felt sheet can be bought from 70 rubles. It is quite profitable to take kits at once if you are going to make several products. Do not take those sets in which there are colors you do not need, there is nothing to overpay for. Beginners do not need to chase the quality of felt, for trial work you can buy cheap.
For many, it seems expensive to make felt toys with your own hands. Patterns, master classes - it seems that all this requires money. But you have to buy only the material itself. For real master classes, you will need to pay those who really show a desire to develop in this topic.