Turn that old sweater you no longer wear into a clever Christmas decoration. We cover craft foam balls with felt wool, then transform them into a trio of Christmas tree popsicles.
The wool sweater must be felted so that it does not unravel. If you need to reduce it to make it truer, boil it in water in a large pot. The water should cover the entire sweater, so stir it up periodically with a wooden spoon. Let the sweater cool before wringing it out and putting it in the dryer or letting it dry naturally. Repeat if necessary.
Create a template on paper to use as a pattern to cut out the sweater. We use this eye shape pattern because it will cover the ball evenly without much bunching.
Cut the sweater into pieces to go around each ball.
Starting at the top, use the glue gun to carefully attach the sweater pieces to the foam ball. IMPORTANT NOTE:Do not place the glue on the sweater (near the edges and in the center) directly on the foam ball because the hot glue will melt the ball.
Slightly overlap each piece of yarn, being careful not to let any glue come out of the edges. Glue all the pieces together until no foam is visible.
Cut the 48" dowel into three different sized pieces. When creating your sizes, remember to include 4-6 inches to fit the ball and the wooden blocks.
Cut a small hole in the bottom of the foam ball and push a wooden dowel into it (about 2-3 inches). Repeat for the other balls..
Wrap mini pine garland around dowel; hot glue it to the top under the sweater ball only to hold it in place. Leave 2 to 3 inches at the bottom unwrapped to fit the block of wood. Do not stick the garland by the pin. It will stay in place once it's on the block.
Add tape(s) and a pin to keep it in place.
Stack the reclaimed wooden blocks in three different heights. (We use cherry pieces collected at the recycling center.) Mark with pencil and then cut them on the saw. Use wood glue to adhere each stack together. Put something heavy on the stacks and let them dry for a day.
When the piles are dry, sand them to remove any rough edges. Cover each stack with two coats of lacquer.
Mark the center at the top of each block and use a large drill bit to make a hole about 2 inches deep. Put the pin into the hole; make sure it is straight. Then take it out, insert wood glue into the hole, then push the dowel back in. Let dry.
Joanne Palmisano is the author of Salvage Secrets (W.W. Norton, September 2011). Visit her blog, also called Salvage Secrets ..
