Making a Felted Blanket for Dolls / Filcano ćebence za lutke

Here is another Waldorf craft activity that we did another day. Waldorf pedagogy is fueled with love and care for animals and all living beings.  Making a small felted blanket for a doll or an animal-toy, or even a real animal, if we have one - is one of the many ways to develop this loving and caring attitude in kids, according to Waldorf pedagogy.

Evo još jedne Valdorf aktivnosti koju smo probali pre neki dan. Valdorf pedagogija pridaje veliki značaj prirodi, ljubavi prema životinjama i svim živim bićima, kao i prema ,,drugima" uopšte. Izrada jednog malog filcanog ćebeta, za lutku ili životinju-igračku (ili čak za pravu životinju, ukoliko je imamo) je prema Valdorf pedagogiji, jedan od mnogih načina da se kod dece razvija i neguje ova vrsta saosećanja i brige za druge.

You will need: a zip-lock bag, some wool for felting, and warm soapy  water (with dish-soap).

Za izradu filcanog ćebenceta biće vam potrebna jedna zip-lok kesica (može se kupiti u Dm radnjama), nepredena vuna za filcanje (može se naći u radnji Modellina u Hilandarskoj u Beogradu) i malo tople vode pomešane sa tri kapi deterdženta za sudove.

1. Make the design on a flat surface.  It shouldn't be larger than the surfce of the zip-lock bag. Here, we took one colored wool for the background, and then played with the pattern on top, adding wool in another color. (It is important to put enough wool so it doesn't come out to thin once it's felted.)

1. Položite jedan deblji sloj vune na ravnu površinu stola (površine ne veće od površine zip-log kesice). Ovde smo upotrebili vunu u jednoj boji za podlogu, a zatim smo na nju stavljali manje komadiće vune u drugim bojama. (Važno je staviti dosta vune tako da ćebence ne ispadne suviše tanko prilikom filcanja.)

2. When the design is done, place it carefully into the zip-lock bag.

2. Pažljivo ubacite vunu u zip-lok kesicu.

3. Add some warm soapy water, so the wool is completely soaked in it. Take care not to spoil the design.

3. U toplu vodu dodajte 3 kapi deterdženta za sudove i tu vodu ulijte u kesicu dok se sva vuna ne potopi. 

4. Once the wool is wet, lay the bag flat on an absorbant towel and starting from the bottom of the bag, press with your hand flat moving it towards the top of the bag squeezing out most of the excess water and air.

4. Položite kesicu i počev od dna kesice povlačite dlanom prema otvoru, kako bi izbacili vazduh i višak vode.

5. Close the bag and start working the wool by poking, bumping, hitting with hands and fists, rubbing with hands in circles, etc, for a few minutes, until the wool becomes firm and felted.

5. Zatvorite kesicu i počnite sa filcanjem tako što ćete trljati dlanovima ukrug, udarati dlanovima, pesnicama, drvenim čekićem, valjati oklagijom, itd. Treba li napomenuti da je ovaj deo najzabavniji za decu?

6. Open the zip-lock bag, take out the felted wool and rinse it under water.

6. Izvadite ćebence iz vrećice i pažljivo isperite i iscedite.

7. Place the small balanket on a towel to soak excess water and to dry.

7. Položite ćebence na peškir i ostavite da se osuši.

8. Let the play begin!

8. Neka igra počne!