The ultimate, low-maintenance succulent plant (needle felt tutorial)

One of the many great things about succulents is that they are very low maintenance, especially in terms of watering. But I thought I’d go one step further and make the ultimate, low(no)-maintenance plant… the woolly succulent! This succulent is based on one of my Echeveria hybrids, a lovely little pale green plant with red leaf tips.

What you will need:

• Pale, cool-green wool (if possible, use a few different shades to add dimension)
• Red wool
• Armature wire
• Brown wool (optional)
• Small plant pot (optional)

Forming the stem

For structure, use armature wire. If you want to create a single stemmed succulent you don’t need to do any wire manipulation, but if you want a plant with two stems you will need to bend the wire into a Y-shape, with each arm of the Y forming a stem. You may need a pair of pliers for this if your wire is particularly thick.

Begin with your green wool. If, like me, you don’t have the right toned green, you can blend blue-greens, yellows, and off-white wool (by hand or with carders) until you have a nice dusty blue-green. Wrap the wool around the wire and carefully needle felt it on (you can use a bit of glue on the wire if you find this easier). Be mindful not to stab directly into the wire as you risk snapping your needles.

Creating the leaves

Once you’re satisfied with the first five leaves you can neaten them up, I trim away an long fibres and then gently iron them, this compacts the fibres making each leaf firmer and less fuzzy. Attach them by felting the base of each leaf to the stem. The two smallest leaves should be attached first, roughly opposite each other on either side of the stem, extending a few millimetres beyond the stem.

Then, add the remaining three leaves in the next layer, around the first two leaves. Evenly space them as best you can.

For the remaining twelve to fourteen leaves (how many you choose depends on how full you would like your plant to be), we will follow the same process but add red tips to each leaf. Your next layer should have five or six leaves which should be a bit larger than the last three leaves you made, mainly larger in length. The leaves need to be long enough to “cup” the previous layer, being attached further down the stem but comfortably reaching the tips of the previous layer. The last layer, seven or eight leaves, should be slightly larger again. So, repeat the same leaf-making process until you have two more layers of leaves that increase in size.

Curling the leaves

At this point, neaten up your leaves again by trimming and/or ironing. Succulent leaves often aren’t flat and tend to have a slight curl to them as they get larger, think of how lotus petals curve upwards. This curve can be easily achieved by ironing each leaf with a straightener and curling the leaf as you would your hair (turning the straightener 90 degrees as you pull up the leaf). Alternatively, you can hold each leaf in the curved shape on your mat and give it a quick felt with the needle so the fibres can lock in that curved-shape. Just keep in mind, that the red tip should be on the outside of the curve.

Assembly

Finally, assemble your succulent by felting the base of each leaf of your third layer to the stem, ensuring the leaves are evenly spaced, and repeat this for the final layer of leaves.

If you are making a plant with two stems, repeat the leaf-making and assembly process.

Final display

Once fully assembled, give it one last neaten up with your scissors. Now, you have this adorable, little, no-maintenance succulent. I chose a cute little mole pot I was gifted to house mine, I clipped the wire to fit, filled it with brown wool, and then placed the plant inside.

Voila! A new plant friend to join the collection.

I hope you enjoyed reading and consider making your own little fuzzy plant – they also make great gifts for your friends, both those who collect plants and those who struggle to keep them alive!