THE INSPIRATION
The inspiration for these balls came from my two year old Bodhi, who likes to throw stuff! He would throw anything and everything, so I decided to make him a bunch of soft felted balls that he could feel free to throw wherever he liked. They are beautiful and have turned into a very fun experience for him and all the children in the household. We actually used these as a party favor gift at his 2 year old birthday, and the other children seemed to enjoy them as well. These are easy for most ages to make, just make sure to watch closely with the felting needle if you allow your little girl to use it, as they are sharp.

STUFF YOU NEED

1. Natural plain wool
2. Colored wool
3. Dish soap
4. Warm water
5. Felting needle
6. Old sock

HOW TO MAKE

1. Get a bowl of warm soapy water and soak a piece of natural (plain color) wool, as big as your hand in the water.
2. Start to shape the wool into a ball in your hand.
3. Squeeze water out and continue shaping the natural colored wool in your hand in the shape of a ball. Repeat 3 or 4 times.
4. Choose the color you want your ball, and start to add that to the natural ball by soaking it in the warm soapy water.  Put enough colored wool around the ball to cover it all.
5. Squeeze out the ball and put in the end of an old sock. Tie the sock shut with a tight rubber band, so that the sock looks like there is a ball in the end of it.
6. Throw the ball sock in the dryer for about 15 minutes.
7. Take your ball out and use your felting needle to poke down loose wool and determine if you need to repeat the process again to make sure the ball is all covered with you’re your colored wool.

NOTE: The ball will get tighter the more you dry it and poke it, just depending how many times you want to repeat the process.