A woodland favourite, this cute little lady is ready for autumn and collecting nuts for her cosy home.
50g rusty red merino roving
2 × size 40 triangular needles, for shaping
1–2 × size 42 triangular needles, for surface finishing
Small amount of white roving
Small amount of green roving (optional)
2 × 4mm black glass eyes or seed beads
Thick black cotton thread
Finished size: 8–9cm tall
1 Take a length of the rusty red roving measuring 30 × 4cm and tease it apart to loosen the fibres. Fold the wool over so that it is a third of the original size and insert a small ball of wool inside.
2 Pull the sides around it to make a bulbous shape. Work with two size 40 needles to create the body, but leave the top fibres free.
3 Once the wool holds together, shape it so that it curves slightly. The bottom should be flat.
4 Now form the head from the loose top wool. Pinch the neck area in as you work.
5 Use your fingers to hold the head in place; it should resemble a pointy-ended nut. Go down to one needle to get the finer detail.
6 For the tail, take two lengths of roving, one measuring 25 × 4cm, the other 15 × 4cm. Lay the shorter length on the right-hand side of the longer, then fold the left side over and roll it as shown. The fatter end is the top part of the tail.
7 Shape the wool with two size 40 needles, defining the coil when the wool firms up. Turn the tail as you work, to get a nice roundness.
8 When the tail is ready, join the loose ends to the body and partway up the back, so that it nestles snugly.
9 From four scraps of wool, make a pair of stumpy arms and another pair of feet, joining them to the body as you did with the tail.
10 Add two tiny ears, shaping them on your felting mat before needling them directly onto the head.
11 Try sitting your squirrel up – if she topples over backwards, balance her out by adding extra wool to the tummy.
12 Now cover the whole piece with thin layers of wool, disguising the joins and smoothing the surface. Where possible, make sure the covering fibres follow the same direction as the body fibres.
13 Using a pinch of white wool, add a tummy bib, needling it directly onto the body.
14 Lastly, sew in the eyes using the sideways method and stitch a nose with black cotton (see here). If you like, you can add a cute acorn cap for extra adorability.