Yarn-Wrapped Initials

These yarn-wrapped initials are easy to make, and a fun piece of art for kids to display on a shelf or bedroom wall. They make a great gift for a friend, too! Your kids can make one initial, a set or their whole name using this process. It’s a fun sensory craft and great for strengthening co-ordination and fine motor skills.

My hooligans have enjoyed crafting with yarn from the time they were toddlers. We have quite a large collection and they've always loved rummaging through it to pick out the perfect colour and texture to craft with.

We’ve done dozens of yarn-wrapping crafts over the years, making everything from Christmas ornaments to homemade dolls. Most of these projects have been fairly small, using just scraps of yarn, but recently, we made a much bigger yarn project, and it was a huge hit with all of the kids.

Each of them made the first initial of their name in the form of a one-foot-tall cardboard letter, wrapped entirely in yarn.

When I was a tween, one of my friends used to make sets of big hand-painted styrofoam initials to give as gifts. I think all of the girls in our group got a set for our birthdays one year. I loved mine and had them displayed on my bedroom wall for years.

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I thought it would be cool for the hooligans to make something similar to display in their bedrooms, but unfortunately, I didn’t have any styrofoam. I did, however, have cardboard, and to make our letters textured and interesting, we used yarn to cover them instead of paint.

They were really fun to make and the kids were so excited with the way they turned out!

What You'll Need:

• cardboard
• acrylic paint (optional)
• yarn
• tape
• glue or glue gun (optional)

How It's Made:

To begin, draw your letters on a sturdy piece of cardboard and cut them out.

Note: If your child isn’t going to cover their letter entirely with yarn, they can paint their initial first so the paint colour peeks through where the yarn doesn’t cover the cardboard.

Next, cut a long length of yarn and get wrapping! You can tape the starting piece to the back of the cardboard or simply trap it under the yarn as you wrap. To add a new colour or more of the same colour, tape the loose end to the back of the letter and begin to repeat the process with a new piece of yarn.

Tip: For letters with sharp angles — like “T," “L” and “H,” for example — it’s easier to keep the yarn running in the same direction for the entire letter than to switch directions when the line of the letter does. You can see with our letter “L” how we wrapped the whole letter horizontally to avoid dealing with that pesky corner.

If necessary, use a little glue or a glue gun to secure the yarn along the edges of the letter.

For a nice touch, you can use a chunky yarn to outline your initial or to cover any visible cut edges.

Encourage your child to use a variety of colours and textures for the most interest and for a wonderful sensory experience.

What a terrific piece of personalized art for a child to display in their room!