Wool dreads
You'll need 100% wool 54 yds/50 g skein, a washing board, a cleaning brush, soft soap or shampoo and warm water.
Cut the yarn in to 5 strands x2 the desired length + 20 cm. The finished dread will shrink 20 cm and it's supposed to be folded in half.
Soak the strands, firmly held together, in the water with soft soap and place them on the washing board.
Hold the strands firmly together and start brushing back and forth. The dread to be should roll back and forth with the brush. Put some soft soap on the board and work until you reach the end. Once the strands have started to felt properly, work for about 10 minutes from one end to the other slowly again and again. The strands should have felted together giving you smooth dread. While brushing after the felting process has started, roll the dread with your other hand to keep the felting process going for as long as possible. Be careful to not harm your palm against the metal though. You don't have to add pressure.
Once you're done, squeeze out the excess water and hang them to dry.
The picture below give an idea what they look like once they're done. These can make the foundation for the steamed dreads (tutorial below) or be folded in half with a small rubber band about 1 cm below the fold keeping it folded, and a hair clip sewn on.
DIY whistle in metal
This is a very simple whistle to make. In order to make the sound you need to hold your fingers to the sides, which makes it important that the diameter of the circle isn't too large.
- some kind of metal, like a cookie tin box
- something sturdy to cut the box open with
- something smaller and more easy to handle to cut the strips
- flat nippers
- something with a diameter of approximately 14 mm, like a wooden stick (broom handle for instance)
Via 365 saker du kan slöjda. Original text and hands belong to Göran Posthuma, craft councillor in Jämtland, Sweden.
