Little Wool Ball Acorn DIY

These little wool acorns are a fun and super easy fall craft. Cluster them together in a wooden bowl, add string to them to hang them up, or make a pretty garland. This is a must-make DIY.

ASSORTED ACORNS

I have a love of acorns. Walking through the woods in the fall is an exercise for bringing home the prettiest, saturated leaves and pockets full of acorns! And I recently found another acorn love, wool ball acorns. These are part real acorns and part little balls of wool! Just so stinkin’ sweet! And they are so so easy to make too. In fact, you can make a whole bowlful of them in about 15 minutes!

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These are not felted acorns because you do not felt wool fibers. There is no yarn or rovings, paper towels, soapy water, or drills. Wool ball acorns are so much easier! They are made with wool balls that are already made. Even if you are not crafty you will be an pro at making these!

WOOL ACORNS IN A LITTLE BASKET

Why You Will Love Wool Acorns

  • EASY TO MAKE– these little wooly acorns are so easy to make and so addictive!
  • LOTS OF VARIATIONS- make individual acorns to put in a bowl or scatter across a table, string them together for a fall garland, or make hangers to hang them over a knob or even on a Christmas tree.
  • MAKES A GREAT HOSTESS GIFT – Fill a cellophane bag with faux acorns and wool acorns and give it as a gift!

The Anatomy Of An Acorn

GROUP OF WOOL ACORNS

An acorn is the fruit of an oak tree.

The hat or top of an acorn is called a cupule, meaning a cup of scales. The body of an acorn is the nut, and the little pointed tip on an acorn is called the remains of style.

For this post, we will call the cupule the top or cap and the nut the body.

What You Will Need

MATERIALS TO MAKE THE ACORNS
WOOL BALLS IN A GOLD BOWL

How To Make Wool Ball Acorns

WOOL BALL ACORN STANDING UP

These acorns are so easy to make! Some wooly acorns call for felting wool, but thes are so super easy! And so fun, too! I make some acorns with a longer body and some chubby ones. Here’s how…

Remove The Caps From The Acorns

ACORNS AND WHITE PUMPKINS

If you are using faux acorns, there is a little trick for removing their real tops.

ACORN CAPS

The body of the acorn has a thin plastic shell and is spongy styrofoam inside. Lay them on a hard surface on their side. Put pressure with your thumbnail where the acorn top and the body meet. The faux acorn body should collapse under pressure, and then you can pull the top and the body apart.

PUSHING DOWN ON A FAUX ACORN BODY

You will probably find hot glue in the top. But you don’t have to clean it out, You will melt the hot glue in the tops when you add more later.

INSIDE OF ACORN CAP

Making More Elongated Wool Acorns

You can use the wool felt pom pom balls round, just as they are. They will make adorable chubby acorns. Or you can make them a bit more elliptical-shaped. I made both.

The image below shows the elongated wool ball.

ELONGATED WOOL BALLS

To shape the round balls into a slightly more elliptical shape, wet your palms and rub the wool ball between your palms until you get the desired effect. The friction, warmth, and moisture will gently shape the ball. Set them asid and let them dry.

Pro Tip

I noticed that some wool balls were easier to shape than others. So, I started squeezing the wool balls. Some are a bit softer. Choose the softer wool balls to elongate. They are easier to form.

You can see both acorns below. Both the chubby round acorns and the elongated acorns look amazing. So make both.

WOOL BALL ACORNS LINED UP

Attach The Acorn Tops To the Wool Bodies

BASKET OF WOOL BALL ACORNS

Put a good amount of glue in the cap of the acorn so it comes in contact with the wool balls. Use the tip of your glue gun to run a little glue around the inside edge of the caps. Put a wool ball on the top and hold it upright, lightly pressing down. If the wool ball does not adhere, you may need more glue.

Let The Wool Acorns Dry

It only takes a minute or two for the hot glue to dry. Be patient, and you will be rewarded with darling wooly acorns to use in your fall home.

Ways To Decorate With Wool Ball Acorns

Details are important when we decorate. And these interesting little acorns are certainly a delightful detail!

Make A Twine Hanger For Wool Ball Acorns

ACORN ON TWINE HANGERS

Grab a length of twine to make a loop hanger. I used baker’s twine. I used a rubber mat I keep the hot glue on and put the ends of the wine together.

TWINE ON A YELLOW MAT

Using a toothpick, I put the tinest dot of glue on the ends of the twine so they stuck together. Then, I added a drop of glue the the top of the acorn cap in the back of the stem and adhered the twine ends to the acorn. I pressed the shaft of the toothpick to the twine to make sure it made good contact with the acorn cap. Clean up any stray hot glue spider webs by gently pulling them off.

You can also use Gorilla Glue Super Glue.

ACORNS HANGING ON A METAL DOOR WITH A VELVET BOW

Glue Acorns To Branches

Use these adorable to embellish fall branches. How fun. I hot-glued them to faux oak branches I have in a big urn. Because acorns are the fruit of the oak tree, find a great real or faux oak branch to glue these wooly acorns on.

How To Clean And Debug Real Acorns

If you want to use real acorns in your decor or just the acorn tops for making your wool ball acorns, you should debug the acorns. Here’s how…

  1. Inspect the acorns carefully, Discard any with cracks or holes.
  2. Put the acorns in a bowl of water and give them a good rinse. Use a brush to scrub them from dirt, larvae, or other debris.
  3. Let them dry completely on paper towels.
  4. Preheat oven to 170° Fahrenheit (79 ° Celsius). Put acorns on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours with the door cracked to let out any moisture. This helps the acorns dry.
  5. Turn every 30 minutes so they will not burn on one side.
  6. Cool on a wire rack.
  7. When the acorns are completely dry, remove the tops.

Let’s celebrate the wonder and beauty of fall by making these funny and chic wool ball acorns.

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8 Comments

  1. I love using g natural elements in decor. Thank you so much for this idea!

  2. These are super cute! I love this idea. Happy Fall!

  3. Hi! I love these wooly acorns but amazon is only showing them available in small, medium and extra large.
    do you think the extra large will be okay or what do you suggest?

    Thanks!
    Sheryl

    1. Hi Sheryl, any 20mm wool ball will work. Look at the ‘neutral wool’ pom poms. They are similar in color.

      1. Sorry-it’s the acorns that are only available in XL. Do you think that will be too big?

        Sheryl

  4. Laurie Shepard says:

    I’m so excited about making these … they are lovely and look quite easy. I’ve already ordered the wool balls. Now to collect acorn tops. Thank you.