Welcome back to my New to Storytime series. It’s been awhile! These posts are aimed at people just starting out as storytime leaders. It’s really fun, I promise. This post will cover the basics of picking felt stories and songs and using them with small children in storytime or circle time setting. Don’t miss the other posts in this series:

Getting Started

Choosing a felt story or song can be daunting. My tip for beginners, especially if you are new to storytelling in general, is to start with a simple song. I’ve shared many of the felt songs I use weekly and I use them because they are so easy to incorporate. Already have a favourite storytime song? Try making felt pieces to go along with it and incorporate them before or during singing. Here are some examples:

I whipped these up to act as a visual guide for toddlers and preschoolers as we sing the songs. You don’t have to learn anything new in this case – you already know the song!

If you want try a felt story, choose something with a basic plot, a manageable amount of felt pieces (sorry, Very Hungry Caterpillar) and repetition. The felt pieces themselves act as a trigger to help you remember what to say, though you can also have a printed copy of the story on your lap or beside you as a guide. Sometimes I highlight the key words on the paper to help me remember the order of things. The great thing with felt stories is that you don’t have to tell a story word-for-word. You can use the pieces as your guide and make it your own. Here are some examples of simple stories that are easy to learn. All of the pictures are from Storytime Katie because she’s the bomb when it comes to felt stories:

These three examples are based on books. Just like with books, it’s important to practice felt stories ahead of time. Grab your felt board and let’s get started!

How To Use

There are a few things to do to set yourself up for success when using felt or flannel stories. Firstly, practice, practice, practice. Consider the following:

• Do all of the pieces fit on my felt board? Do I need to arrange them in a certain order for them all to fit or make sense?
• What colour is my felt board? If it’s black do I have any pieces that are hard to see?
• Where will I store my felt pieces when I’m not using them during the storytime? Do I have a place on an easel, a table behind me, a special storytime bag, etc? Are they easily accessible to little hands?
• Do I have the words to the story printed or have I memorized the story?

Before every storytime I take the time to put all of the pieces I’m using in order. Trust me, you do not want to be scrambling to find the next felt piece in the middle of the story! Once the pieces are in order I find a secure place to store them until I need them during storytime. My felt board easel has a tray on the inside where I can tuck away my felt story until I’m ready to tell it. Out of sight is better for little ones who will be tempted to come up and grab it if they spy it!

Introduce Vocabulary

One way to use felt pieces is to introduce the vocabulary in a song or story. For example, before we sing Zoom, Zoom, Zoom I put up the rocket ship. Then I ask kids if they are ready to go on an adventure. How will we get there? I point to the rocket ship and we say it together. Where should we go? I put up the moon and get kids to tell me our destination. Next we warm up our engines (rub our hands together). All of that vocabulary frontloading is done with the felt pieces before we sing the song. After a few weeks the kids instantly know what song we are about to sing as soon as I pull out the rocket ship. You can easily do the same for a story with unique vocabulary.

Practice Early Numeracy

Flannels are a natural fit for incorporating early counting and number skills with kids because they provide a visual aid that helps little ones see numbers. Flannel Friday has a Pinterest board filled with counting ideas and Storytime Katie has a list of her Five Little Whatsits if you need inspiration. My favourite counting story to use with felt pieces or puppets is Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd. If you use a counting rhyme take some time to put all of the pieces up first and ask the kids about them – what are they wearing, how are they different, how are they the same, what do you notice? This encourages the early literacy practice of talking and incorporates math and scientific thinking in a fun way. Here are two I’ve shared on Jbrary:

Simple Games

Don’t feel like singing or telling a story? Try playing a game with your felt pieces! My all time favourite is any variation of Little Mouse, Little Mouse. Seriously. I have a blog post with a bajillion renditions. See how it’s done:

There are so many game ideas out there though! If you have a small group and can give kids the chance to take turns to come up and interact with the felt pieces that’s even better. Some librarians leave the pieces up after storytime too so that kids who really want a chance to play get access to the story. Here are some other game ideas:

Have kids build a castle using shapes by Mel’s DeskKey Shadow Matching by Felt Board Magic – shapes, colours, similaries, and differences!

Using flannel pieces as games is a low stress way to integrate them into your storytime. You don’t have to memorize anything, there are endless options, and there is no one “right” way for kids to interact. It also encourages lots of open-ended conversations where you can model the serve-and-return model of talking to kids.

Making Felt Pieces

You do not need to be an artist or a crafty person to make some awesome felt pieces. Trust me. Here are some tips and resources for building up your collection.

• Clipart and Google Images are your friend – you don’t even need felt! Printing some nice pictures and taping them or clipping them up for the kids to see still provides that visual cue which is so helpful in toddler language acquisition.
• Bigger is Better: I love how Mel makes oversized flannel pieces for her babies and toddlers. It makes so much sense – they can actually see them and manipulate them better. If you have a big group I also recommend going large over small if you’re board can fit them.
• Keep Calm and Use Clipart: In this post by Storytime in the Stacks, she walks you through how she uses clipart to create her felt pieces. She includes a list of websites where you can get clipart for a fee or for free.
• How I Made This: Little Mouse: Hey There Library shows you how to use templates from Canva to create beautiful pieces.
• Flannel Friday: This online community has myriad felt stories arranged by theme. They link back to the blog post where the flannel was shared.
• Flannel Board Fun: If you do have some money to invest I HIGHLY recommend checking out Wendy’s shop. Colourful, well-made, and she shares ideas for how to use each set on Instagram!

Alright folks, what did I miss? Any tips or tricks you’d give to a new storytimer when it comes to use felt or flannel stories? If you’re a newbie and have questions, feel free to leave a comment!

I have started using 100% wool felt for my soft toys and I’ve found it’s lovely to work with as it has such a nice luxurious feel of ‘quality’ about it!

Acrylic Felt is so cheap and easy to find and 100% Pure Wool Felt is so much more expensive… MAYBE, like me, you have wondered

‘Is it worth paying so much more
for 100% wool felt?’

So I decided it was time to do some research to find out 
the differences between Acrylic and wool felt,  and THIS is what I found out!

Well, as always, there are pros and cons! You have to weigh these up and decide what quality of felt to use, and if you feel it’s worth spending the extra dollars!!!

OK, so what’s so good about 100% Wool Felt anyway?

• It’s the most durable type of felt, (Great for making heirloom quality toys).
• It has less fuzz than other felts and it will not pill.
• It is thicker, more tightly woven and has stronger fibres so it holds up better to wear so seams won’t rip when stuffing your toys!
• It has slight elasticity so it can be manipulated and shaped.
• 100% natural wool is both stain and water resistant.
• Wool is naturally fire resistant.
• Wool has anti-bacterial properties that keep it from mildewing.
• Wool is hypoallergenic.
• It is both ecologically and animal friendly. (It is a natural and sustainable resource.)

I used 100% Wool Felt from Winterwood for this Kitty Kate.  Besides the fabulous colour of the felt that I LOVE, (and which I just couldn’t find in any craft store that stocked only Acrylic Felt)  I really liked the fact that the edges of the felt pieces didn’t disintergrate, as I cut them out and sewed them in place, like they do when I used Acrylic felt. The chunkiness of the wool felt also gives the toy a nice 3-D texture look which makes you just want to pick her up and cuddle her! (The gorgeous fabric is Girly Parade from Two Monkeys Fabric Store.)

Are there any disadvantages of 100% Wool Felt?

• It is much more expensive.
• Wool felts are thicker which can make sewing and shaping it more difficult.
• It shrinks a lot when washed.
• It can be hard to find in a large array of colors.

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* I’m NOT sure I quite believe this last point though when you look at Winterwood’s wool felt color chart!

NOW, what’s good about Acrylic Felt?

• It’s much cheaper. (Great for practicing or kiddies crafts)
• It’s easy to find at any craft store.
• It is stain resistant as long as it isn’t an oil based stain, like lipstick.
• Acrylic felts wash very nicely and won’t shrink.
• Colors do not fade (the plastic fibers themselves hold the color.)

I have used these pre cut Acrylic Felt spots which I got from Ifeltspritely. I use them  to test out color options when designing my toy sewing patterns. And when I know the toy will be only for display NOT play, I use them for the finished toy too! It can be hard to cut perfecly round, equal sized felt circles for soft toy eyes, so they make it really easy to add felt eyes to your toys. They also come in so many colours – I felt like a kid again playing with my felt pieces!!!

And what are the disadvantages of Acrylic Felt?

• It will pill and fuzz. (Not good for craft projects like toys that’ll be handled often!)
• It’s stiffer and harder to shape.
• It’s thinner – so may be more see through.
• It’s much weaker and seams are more likely to tear.
• It catches fire almost instantly when exposed to a flame.
• It’s durable because plastics degrade very slowly.(Not too eco friendly!)
• Also not environmently friendly as large quantities of chemical pollutants are created when it is manufactured.

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* Eco felt is called this because it is made from recycled plastic (mainly bottles) instead of plastic pellets, but it is still made from the same material, with the same disadvantages as standard Acrylic Felt.


I used Acrylic Felt for this Sammy Shark. I don’t know if you can see it but when I sewed the blue felt in place with a blanket stitch, the acrylic felt is not very firm so the stitches dig into the felt ans make it pucker. Not the best but hey, I got a great color match and this toy is for display ONLY, so it should look good for a while!!!

So what’s my verdict?

Mmmmmmmmm! If I was just testing a pattern out, or making something I didn’t need to last for a while (like dog toys!), I would use Acrylic Felt. If I just cannot find the right colour of Wool Felt, I would use Acrylic felt or a Wool Blend which is a combination of the two. As long as the toy wasn’t going to be handled to roughly, it would be OK!  BUT if I wanted to make a good quality toy to last and last and LAST, especially when I want to give the toy as a gift or if I wanted to sell the toy, I would use Wool Felt.

So if I had to offer any advice on choosing between Wool Felt or Acrylic, I’d say,
“Try both and THEN decide what Felt you’d like to use when!” : )

I’d love to know which Felt you prefer or have used for making YOUR Funky Friends?!

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Till next time,

Happy Sewing,
Pauline