1. Pull out a strand of wool, separating it loosely with your fingers to fluff it up a bit. Begin loosely winding the wool strand into a ball.  Work as though you were winding a ball of yarn, but much looser. Add more wool as needed to increase the size of the ball; shift the direction of the winding in order to keep the ball consistently round. Dip the ball in hot water and lubricate your hands with soap.  Wring out some of the water and begin to compress and mold the ball into a heart shape. Start by forming a triangle shape with a defined point at the bottom. Make an indentation with your fingers at the top of the triangle to form the top of the heart.  Push, pull, and compress the heart as though the wool were clay, continuing to dip the wool into hot water as you work it. After the heart starts to take shape, increase the pressure to further reduce the size and tighten the fibers.
2. Rinse the felt heart in ice-cold water to remove all traces of soap. Let it dry.
3. To needle felt the design, pull of a long strand of roving from the wool and roll and twist into a tight strand.  Attach an end of the strand to the heart bead with the felting needle.  Poke the needle repeatedly, straight up and down (vertically) into the felt, causing the fibers of the strand to “meld or bond” to the felted heart bead.  Coil the strand along the bead to create a design, continuing to needle felt by poking the needle straight up and down, all along the strand.
4. Change colors by pulling off a new strand of wool and adding to the end of the previously felted strand.
5. Continue to needle felt new strands to cover the bead.
6. Stitch seed beads onto and around the edge of the felted heart bead with strong thread and sewing needle to further embellish the bead.
7. To make the braided cord for the necklace, measure off 1 yard each of two decorative fibers and 1 yard of nylon cord.  Tie a knotted loop with all three cords at one end to create a closure that fits over the button (weave the ends into the braid to hide after tying the loop). Secure the looped end in a clipboard to secure it.  Braid the two fibers and the cord, adding glass beads to the nylon cord along the way.  Slide the beads up, braiding them into the work as you go.
8. To add the felted heart bead to the braided cord, thread a long needle with nylon cord, and push the needle and cord vertically up through the center of the heart.  Loop the cord over the finished braid and then push the needle and cord back through the center of the heart. Pull both ends to tighten the bead on the braid.  Add a few decorative beads to the cord at the bottom of the heart.
9. To secure the beads, tie an overhand knot with the ends of the cord.
10. Melt the ends of the cord with a wax-melting tool, which finishes off the ends nicely so they won’t fray. 
11. To finish the necklace, thread a shank button onto the end of the braided cord that does not have a loop and secure it with knots. Seal the ends of the cords with fabric glue or hem sealant to finish.

Suppliers and Sources:
Designer: Sherri Haab, author and craft designer
www.sherrihaab.com

Book: Felt, Fabric and Fiber Jewelry, c. 2007 Watson Guptill Publications
www.wgpub.com