DIY Sheep Crafts | How to Needle Felt a Roving Angel | Shepherd Like A Girl

How to Make a Roving Angel

DIY Sheep Crafts | How to Needle Felt a Roving Angel | Shepherd Like A Girl

Guest teacher, Robyn Crowningshield, stops by the DIY Sheep Crafts blog to share her Roving Angel Tutorial. This detailed tutorial will take you through the process of making your very own Angel out of wool roving, step-by-step.

How to Make a Roving Angel

with Robyn Crowningshield

If you are new to fiber crafts, you may wondering, “What the heck is roving?”

Roving is a long, narrow, loose rope of fiber, most commonly wool, but it can be another type of fiber, or a sheep wool blended with cotton, silk, alpaca, goat, etc. The raw fiber is first carded (or brushed) so that the individual fibers are going somewhat in the same direction, and will hold the form of a long strand.

Roving is typically the prerequisite product needed in order to spin yarn. But, roving can be used for all sorts of other fun fiber crafts!

What You’ll Need

    • Roving – 14 inch piece, white  and 10 inch piece (white or colored) for body
    • Roving – 8 inch piece, white & 7 1/2 inch piece (white or colored) for wings
    • Roving – small 11 inch piece, white to roll for arms
    • Yellow string (any color of your choice) – 10 inch piece for headband or a five inch piece of roving
    • Yellow string (any color of your choice) – 21 inch piece for body bow
    • Yellow string (any color of your choice) – 10 inch piece for the hanger
    • Black eyes (glass eyes or two small pieces of black roving)
    • Embroidery Needle
    • #38 Felting Needle (all purpose)
    • Felting surface that is at least 1 1/2 inch thick (like a sponge or foam piece)
    • Scissors

If you would like to purchase a Roving Angel KIT from Robyn, please send her an e-mail.

Safety First!

Always practice good needle felted safety:

  • Pull the needle out the same way you inserted it into the wool—do not twist or turn the needle
  • Needle slower when working close to your fingers
  • While working, always secure the needle in your foam when setting 
it down

 

Roving Angel Tutorial

There are many ways to make these beautiful angels…everyone will have their own style.

Step-by-Step

  1. Take the longest piece(14”) of roving and tie it in a knot. You need to make sure it is in the middle.
  2. Fold the top half over the knot.

    DIY Sheep Crafts | How to Needle Felt a Roving Angel | Shepherd Like A Girl

  3. Place the longest piece of embroidery thread behind the head……below the knot. Bring it around front, even it out and tie a double knot. Leave the ends hang.

    DIY Sheep Crafts | How to Needle Felt a Roving Angel | Shepherd Like A Girl

  4. Using the 10 inch piece, make a hole in the center of it with your fingers. This will go over the head. Make sure the embroidery thread is sticking out between the main body and the top piece.

    DIY Sheep Crafts | How to Needle Felt a Roving Angel | Shepherd Like A Girl

  5. Using the 38 gauge (red head) needle…….felt the shoulders around the head/neck area lightly. This is to pull the wool closer to the head.
  6. Separate the layers of the body…top and bottom. Pull the top half over the head. Lay the wings on top of body, horizontally. Put the 8 inch piece of roving on first then the 7 inch piece on top. Tuck it up next to the head.
  7. Lightly needle felt the wings to the body using the 38 gauge (red) needle.DIY Sheep Crafts | How to Needle Felt a Roving Angel | Shepherd Like A Girl
  8. Roll a small, thin  log to be 12-14 inches long.  This will be the arms.DIY Sheep Crafts | How to Needle Felt a Roving Angel | Shepherd Like A Girl
  9. Fold the rolled log in half and lay it on top of the wings……….close to the head. Needle felt it in place, lightly.DIY Sheep Crafts | How to Needle Felt a Roving Angel | Shepherd Like A Girl
  10. Bring each end toward the center and needle felt the ends in place. You have now made the arms.DIY Sheep Crafts | How to Needle Felt a Roving Angel | Shepherd Like A Girl
  11. Pull the body wool down, from over the head. Bring the embroidery yarn from the back and cross them in the front. Wrap the yarn around to the back. Wrap it around to the front then tie a bow.DIY Sheep Crafts | How to Needle Felt a Roving Angel | Shepherd Like A Girl
  12. Using the long locks needle felt on the hair. You can just place the fuzzy ends on the head and felt away. Pull some down over the shoulders. Felting to hold in place. Add more fuzzy wool around the front to frame face.DIY Sheep Crafts | How to Needle Felt a Roving Angel | Shepherd Like A Girl
  13. Using the 10 inch piece of embroidery yarn, wrap it around the head, near the top, tie a knot in the back. Leave it hang.
  14. Add the eyes. You can either needle felt tiny pieces of wool or use glass eyes. If using the glass eyes, poke a hole, in head, where you want to put the eyes in…..add a drop of glue to hold in place.
  15. Using the other 10 inch piece of embroidery yarn………thread it through the embroidery needle. Run the embroidery needle through the head near the face, like shown.  Tie the ends together and pull the knot back into the head.
  16. You can now groom your angel using your hands. Pull the wings to a tip and twist them. You may needle felt them, at the end, if you wish. Gently pull the body together.DIY Sheep Crafts | How to Needle Felt a Roving Angel | Shepherd Like A Girl

You have just finished your beautiful angel!


We hope you enjoyed making your Roving Angel! To see what other projects you can
make, and to learn more about Robyn’s monthly needle felting kits, visit Cozie Nook Homestead.

Cozie Nook Homestead – Robyn Crowningshield

© Robyn Crowningshield 2018


Happy crafting!

If you have any questions, or want to share your roving angel-making journey, head over to the DIY Sheep Crafts group on Facebook. The community and I will be happy to help you! And remember to always…

Shepherd Like a Girl!


About Your Teacher

Robyn Crowningshield, lives on her small family farm, located in Ashfield, Massachusetts. The farm has been in her family since 1914.

Robyn grew up on a dairy farm showing Brown Swiss. Her oldest boy started her sheep journey in 2001 with

DIY Sheep Crafts | Robyn Crowningshield | Shepherd Like A Girl

a couple of meat breeds. Her youngest wanted sheep, at the age of five!

In 2004, Robyn bought our first Icelandic ewe lamb. Her family flock has grown and evolved into Cozie Nook Homestead.

Both of her boys showed sheep, and did well! They’ve brought home reserve champion over all breeds breeders flock, twice, reserve champion market lamb and reserve champion over all breeds ram twice.

Five years ago, Robyn started playing with wool. This was the start to her current wool business. She is a self-taught needle felter that loves creating unusual animals and wall hangings. She just started to weave, too.

Most of the wool she uses is from her Icelandic sheep. Ewe could say she fell in love!

You can contact Robyn by visiting her Facebook page, Cozie Nook Homestead.


Julie LeeSong Norman is a recent transplant to Montana. Adopted from Korea, she was raised in Minnesota by Swedes and Norwegians – you betcha. She’s been knitting since pre-teens, has also learned to weave, spin, needle felt and dye. She has taught classes at yarn shops, women’s shelters and village groups all over Minnesota and India. In Montana, she’s found a supportive group of fiber artists and is the co-chair of the Prairie Handspinners Guild in Billings and on the planning committee of two fiber events. When not playing with fiber, she’s most likely avoiding housework by hiking the hills, driving around to see mountains, reading or writing her next book or knitting pattern.Save

Amika teaches online courses and workshops for craft business owners, artists and fiber enthusiasts to help them create sustainable and profitable handmade businesses. She's dedicated to helping you succeed with your handmade craft business in the noisy online space that is the internet today.