Felted star patches cardigan

This project was a Pinterest win- I totally love the end results! I saw the original Honestly WTF DIY Elbow Patch tutorial pinned a couple of times, and it reminded me that I had some wool roving on the shelves waiting for a project. I thought about adding some felted patches to a cardigan a few months ago, but never got around to it- the addition of a cookie cutter was the inspiration I needed to take the leap.

I used various sized star shaped cookie cutters (from a single set), rather than a heart cutter- mostly because stars is what I had on hand. This is such an easy project, and totally cathartic- constantly stabbing the fabric with the little felting needle is fun.

I added stars to the elbows, centre back and neckline of a cropped cardigan I've had for a couple of years, rather than sticking to just elbow patches. I have no shortage of cardigans, so I wasn't worried if I messed up or decided I didn't love the end result. 

A word of warning if you're going to attempt this project- make sure you use a wool cardigan or sweater- when you iron to set the design, you don't want to melt the cardigan. Mine is acrylic (and was originally super cheap), and one of the elbows is a tiny bit shiny from where I ironed- it's not noticeable to anyone else, but I know it's there and it annoys me a little bit. If you do use an acrylic sweater, it might be worth trying to hand wash it to set the fibres, rather than using an iron. I haven't tried this, though, so I can't vouch for the end results- but based on what I know about wet felting, I can't see why it wouldn't work fine. I did manage to break my felting needle just as I was finishing the last star, so be careful to stab in with a vertical technique, not on an angle. 

 What do you think? Tempted to start upgrading all your cardigans to fancy versions? 

Special thanks to my friend Marta for snapping these pics for me while it was freezing and treacherously icy outdoors after the snow!