Wonderful Wool Workshop

Nancy from Creatful invited ancient craft specialist Jill Maunder to join us for an exciting hands-on journey into the world of wool...

Learning the journey

Children from Mill Hill and Morelands nursery spent a wonderful afternoon exploring and crafting with a variety of wool. Using freshly sheared fleece from Little Acorns sheep, Chocolate and Marshmallow, the children learned about the amazing process of treating and working with wool, from its raw sheared state through to final knitted and felted creations.

The children had a wonderful connection with the wool from the beginning as they regularly visit Chocolate and Marshmallow at our Little Acorns outdoor site and know them well. This aided their interest in the experience, and photos of Chocolate and Marshmallow were presented during the workshop to help remind them of their woolly friends. The children especially loved the tactile exploration of the wool, and investigated many different textures and colours from a range of sheep both near and far.

Children exploring different kinds of wool and Chocolate and Marshmallow our nursery sheep.

Spinning stories

The children showed great interest and watched patiently as Jill showed them how to brush and spin the raw wool into yarn for knitting. The children all had a chance to try their hand at spinning, and ended the session by creating their own craft pieces from Chocolate and Marshmallow's wool.

Jill showing the children how to brush and spin the raw wool and the children's crafts.

Teaching sustainability

Enriching educational experiences such as this help to teach children about where everyday items come from. It also provides a window into our ancient crafts and how promoting these today can help us achieve a more sustainable future. Very few of the products we use today are sourced and produced locally, so educating our children about the charm and ecological value of sustainable products can hopefully inspire a sense of wonder in all things eco-friendly and handmade.