Twig and Toadstool

Roving Angel

Each Christmas we have a family tradition of placing an angel on our tree, to represent each of our loved ones that have passed away. There has become a real reverence for this tradition with my daughters and they never seem to forget year to year, which angel represents which one of our loved ones. I enjoy having these little angels on the tree, reminding me of the connection with those we love who are no longer with us. 

This past year my dear friend lost her mother. I decided to create an angel for her tree, in honor of her loss and as a reminder of the love that lives on.

Here is how this little roving angel is made

To create you will need:

A wooden bead

Pipe cleaner

White or flesh colored roving

Colored roving

Sparkly string

Needle felting needle (not necessary but it helps)

To Begin:

For the head and arms: fold a pipe cleaner in half.  Attach wooden bead to the kink and bend each arm in the opposite direction. 

For the arms and hands: starting at about 1/2 inch from the end of one arm, wind a thin layer of roving onto the pipe cleaner, working towards the direction away from the head.

Once your roving holds on to the pipe cleaner, fold about 3/4 inch  of pipe cleaner back towards the direction of the head. Continue winding over this fold and towards the direction of the head.  Be sure to use flat layer of roving, so your hand looks nice and even. 

For the face and body base:  Make a hole in the middle of a  flat layer  of roving and pass the angel’s head through the hole.

If you want a smooth and nice “face” be careful with arranging your roving flatly and tightly on the wooden bead  Take two small strips of roving, tightly tie at the neck and the waist.

For the sleeves: wind a flat, thin layer  of roving starting at the cuffs and work in the direction towards the head on both sides.

To dress your angel: take new piece of roving about 7″ long. Make a hole in the middle and pass the angel’s head through the hole.  Fold the roving tightly over the shoulders and down around the body.

Use a small thin piece of roving to wrap around the angel’s waist. Spread the roving evenly around the white skirt.

For the hair: fold a piece of roving in half that is twice as long as you wish the angel’s hair to be and place on the angel’s head and needle felt it a bit to hold in place.

You may also want to braid three pieces of thin roving to create a braid and then needle felt that onto the hair. 

For the halo: twist a piece of pipe cleaner into a halo shape and wrap with a thin layer of roving.

Tuck it into the back of the hair and needle felt the hair around it to hold in place.

For the wings: take a 5 inch piece of white roving and lay flat. Tie a thin piece of white roving in the middle and then "fluff" out your wings to the shape you want. 

To tie on your wings: wrap the string around the waist, cross over in the back, come over the shoulders and cross in front. Then tie at the waist. Take the ends of your string and go behind the waist once again. Tie a knot and then use the remaining ends to create a loop to hang it with.

That's it! You now have an angel.

I found creating this with my dear friend and her loss in mind the whole time, felt like a special way to connect with her grief and to offer my love. 

May you have many angels around you in this season and always! 

With love