Needle Felted Ocean Fairy- Summer Waldorf Seasonal Table

We are in the middle of summer and this is the time when families often visit the beach.  Our August nature table has a blue sky, hot yellow sun and a blue silk to symbolize the water.  The natural elements include seashells, sand and a bright yellow flower bloom.

The beach is a fantastic place to take children.  Feeling the sand on their bare feet and being in the water can have a calming effect on a person.  Natural elements, like sand and water, help children rebalance and often produce happy, joyful little ones.

I decided to make an ocean fairy for the nature table this month.  She is a needle felted doll that is wearing a craft felt dress.

Here are the instructions if you are interested in making one of your own.  If you are new to needle felting you can view the basic technique through this video link.

Start with a sausage body shape and a round head.  Felt the wool until it is dense. Don’t felt the bottom of the body.  Keep the felt loose because you will be expanding it after the arms are attached.

Attach the head to the body.  I added an extra bit of flesh tone around the neck because I wanted her dress to be a V-neck style.  Simply poke a line around the area where you attached the head to create a neck crease.

Form a long sausage shape for both arms.  Felt the arms until they are well rounded and firm.  Felt the arms onto the body.  I attached them behind the body (the slight bump will be hidden by her dress and hair). I gently pulled out the wool at the bottom of the body so that it will fill the dress.  This will also help the fairy stand independently.

Cut out a dress shape.  I used a similar pattern as the Spring Fairies wear.  You can watch this video to get the detailed measurements.  Make sure you fold the craft felt over at the top so your dress has a front and a back.  Cut a scoop or V in the top to make a neck hole.

Sew up under the arms and down each side to secure the front of the dress with the back.  I used a blanket stitch around the neck hole and around the sleeve cuffs to add a bit of detail.  The Spring Fairy Video Tutorial will show you how to sew a blanket stitch if you aren’t familiar with the stitch.  I cut the bottom hem of the dress into an uneven jagged pattern so that it would spread out (like water) when the fairy was standing up.

Put the dress on your fairy body. Make a hand by felting two small balls of wool. Felt each hand to each arm.

I like to separate the hair wool before I start felting it to the head.  This wool is very curly and it comes in a big clump.  Lay several strands of hair out and untangle the pieces.  Felt the hair a section at a time onto the top of the head.

Find a shorter section of hair wool and use this as your bangs if desired.

I decided to attach a shell necklace and a shell hat for my Ocean Fairy.  I used the hot glue gun to secure the shell hat.  A small shell and a green twig became a staff.  You could either stitch the staff to her hand or use your hot glue gun again.

My Ocean Fairy stands on her island of sand and shells. She is ready to use her magic staff to influence the mighty ocean and help all of the creatures of the sea.

May your summer days be filled with sand, water and sunshine.