Recycled Wool Desk Accessories

Accidentally shrunk a favorite wool garment in the wash? Turn it into a quirky, functional holder for sewing kits, make-up or jewelry. Make your gift really green by filling wool pots with biodegradable pens, recycled markers or sustainable wooden pencils (look for the Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC, logo).

Materials Needed:

• thick sheets of felt or an old, shrunken, 100 percent wool garment
• pins
• scissors

• embroidery thread and needle
• scraps of felt cut into 1" squares

Step 1

Draw and cut out a template that has a base and four equal sides. Attach it with pins to the piece of felt and draw around it.

Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - A Greener Christmas © 2008 Dorling Kindersley Limited

Step 2

Cut out the fabric shape with a pair of scissors. Iron the fabric or starch it to flatten the base and sides as much as possible.

Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - A Greener Christmas © 2008 Dorling Kindersley Limited

Step 3

Sew the edges of the four sides together with a needle and thread using cross stitch. Set aside.

Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - A Greener Christmas © 2008 Dorling Kindersley Limited