Swimming happily in her own lily pond, this little duck makes a charming table desk ornament.
15g blue merino roving
2 × size 40 triangular needles, for shaping
1–2 × size 42 triangular needles, for surface finishing
15g white merino roving
White cotton thread
Small amounts of yellow and green merino roving
2 × 3mm black glass eyes or seed beads
Finished size of duck: 6cm long
Finished size of pond: 12 × 6cm
1 To make the pond, take a length of blue roving measuring 30 × 4cm. Tease the length out a little to loosen the fibres, fold it over a couple of times and pull it into a pond shape. Using two size 40 needles, make a shallow mat. It should be roughly 1cm thick or less.
2 Using your fingers as a guide, hold the wool in place to get clearly defined edges.
3 Take a length of white roving measuring 20 × 4cm. Fluff it up and pull it into a duck shape: mostly body, with a small amount for the head. Use two size 40 needles but don’t overwork the wool, as it needs to retain some softness affix it to the pond. Using white cotton thread, sew a couple of invisible stitches to anchor the duck.
4 Carry on shaping and firming the wool, ensuring that the duck sits neatly on the pond. Go down to one needle to get the finer detail of the head and tail point. Add a pair of wings directly to the body using two equal-sized scraps of white roving, before covering the whole duck in a fine layer of wool. Where possible, make sure the covering fibres follow the same direction as the body fibres.
5 Sew in the eyes using the sideways method, then take a pinch of yellow roving and add the duck bill, using one size 42 needle. You may find it easier to shape the bill on the felting mat before attaching it to the head.
6 Cover the pond with a neat layer of thin wool and decorate with two or three water lily pads using the green roving. You can vary this design by making the pond larger and adding another duck, or a bevvy of tiny ducklings.