Simple, step-by-step instructions for how to make a felt ball garland! A DIY felt ball garland is perfect for decorating your home for the seasons, party decor, or adding playful style to a home office or kid’s room.
Garlands are seriously one of my very favorite pieces of decor.
No matter what, where, and why I’m decorating, there is always room in my designs for a fun garland!
Not only are they stylish, but garlands are also one of the easiest and cheapest decor items you can make.
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So, if you’re looking for a low-cost way to add some fun flair to your decor, a felt ball garland is a great option!
Give this tutorial a try and let me know what you think.
I feel like I could make one for every season and never get tired of them! 😉
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Preparing to Make a DIY Ball Garland
Before you begin, there are a few things you’ll need to decide about your garland.
Determine the Length
Consider where you plan to hang the finished garland and measure the length of string you need to make it look like what you’re wanting.
Make note of this length, because you’ll need to have enough string and felt balls to create a garland that long.
What thread do you use for a felt ball garland?
The key to selecting the right thread or string for your DIY felt ball garland is choosing one that’s strong but thin.
I highly recommend using 1mm unwaxed cotton cord, like this one, for your garland.
The cotton is sturdy and non-stretchy, making it the perfect material.
You could also use a .5mm hemp cord – like this one which comes in all sorts of colors.
Just make sure you don’t get waxed, elastic or nylon as those won’t thread or hold well in your garland.
Pick a Style
There are a few different ways you can make your garland, depending on the style you’re going for.
You can choose to make a felt ball garland that has a felt ball every so often and string in between, like this:
You could choose to make a garland that’s solid felt balls with no string showing, like this:
You could even add a fun shaped felt ball to the solid garland like I did with the felt hearts in this DIY Valentine’s Day garland:
Side note – This “mad about you” printable is available in our Free Printables Library (along with 15 other Valentine’s Day printables!)
For the free download, simply enter your name and email in the form below and you’ll have instant access to ALL of our printables, including this one.
Decide which style of felt ball garland you want and then sure you get enough felt balls to fill your garland accordingly.
For example, I wanted our garland to be 60″ long and I knew the felt balls I was ordering were about 1″ in diameter.
Thus, I made sure to get 60 felt balls to fill my entire garland without string showing.
Don’t want to try and figure out the math? You could always order a felt ball garland kit and have all that prep done for you!
Choose the Colors
This part of the design is all you!
Go with what you love, or what goes well with the event you’re decorating for.
Making it for a birthday party? Get felt balls that match the party colors and hang them on a colorful string!
Decorating for spring? Do pastel colors on a white string!
The sky’s the limit – have fun with this part.
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How to Make A Felt Ball Garland
For a printable copy of the materials and instructions, scroll down.
Materials Needed
Tools Needed
DIY Felt Ball Garland Assembly
STEP 1: Make the Felt Balls
This part of the DIY process is entirely optional – I chose to purchase pre-made felt balls for my garland. (You can grab the same ones I used here – they are PERFECT.)
But, if you want to make your own, this is a fabulous tutorial to follow.
STEP 2: Thread the Balls on the String
The next step, once you have all your balls ready to go, is to thread them onto your string.
Begin by cutting your string at about 12″ longer than you want your final garland length to be.
Then, tie one end of the string in a knot with a loop on the end (for hanging.)
Next, thread your string into your metal yarn needle, and then thread each of your felt balls onto the string.
I’m not going to lie, the felt balls I used were thick and tough, so threading with a metal yarn needle was a must.
I also had to push the ball down onto the needle using a solid surface underneath – I couldn’t do it simply by hand.
Depending on the style of DIY felt ball garland you decided to make, you may have just a few felt balls to thread or quite a lot.
Keep threading your felt balls onto the string until your garland is complete.
Even with a lot of felt balls, this step goes rather quickly – it took me about an hour to do my 60″ solid ball garland.
STEP 3: Tie-off and Hang
After you finish threading all your felt balls onto the string, tie off your second end with a loop and you’re done!
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Where to Hang a DIY Felt Ball Garland
You can put a garland pretty much anywhere you want, but here are a few of my favorite places:
- Hanging on a fireplace mantel
- Draped over a mirror
- Hanging on a blanket ladder
- Resting on a shelf or table
- Draped around a cork or white board
- Hanging from a headboard
- Draped along the top of wainscoting
- Hanging in front of open shelves
- Draping from a chandelier
Don’t be afraid to get creative with your garlands!
They’re such a fun decor item to move around and play with.
And they are a fun way to add a pop of playful color in a space!
As promised, here are the printable instructions:
DIY Felt Ball Garland
How to make a felt ball garland out of string and felt balls. This easy DIY project will add fun style to any space or event!
Materials
Tools
Instructions
- If you so desire, make your felt balls.
- Cut a piece of string 12" longer than you want your finished garland to be and tie one end of the string in a knot with a loop on the end.
- Thread the other end of the string on your metal yarn needle and use the needle to thread all of your felt balls onto the string.
- Tie the final end of the string in a knot with a loop.
- Hang or drape your garland!
I hope you have fun with this project!
As always, let me know if you have any questions.
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I agree – getting the needle through the felt ball can be challenging! Even I struggled! Glad they were a fun project for your family. 🙂
My family made these garlands to trim our Christmas tree with. At first my kids could not get their needles through the felt balls at all. Then I grabbed a small awl and pre-poked the balls for them- they were still a bit of a struggle (especially for my 8 year old) but they managed to make some super cute garlands that fit our style more than most commercially available holiday decorations. It was much cheaper to make these than is is to buy them at the craft store too!
I bought them on Etsy. You can grab some here!
How did you make the felt hearts or did you buy them?