craft blanks for DIY projects

About Spun Cotton Shapes

Spun Cotton Shapes are three dimensional (3D) craft blanks that were first invented in Germany in the 19th century. They are used mainly for DIY craft projects and hobbies such as crepe paper flowers and decorations.

In German, Spun Cotton Balls are called “Watte Kugeln”.

Spun Cotton shapes are not made with cotton!

They are made with regular tree fiber paper. So why the misnomer you may rightfully ask?

Well, we don’t know for sure (and we would love to hear from you if you have the answer).

But we can think of at least two explanations:

  1. The German word “Watte” was incorrectly translated to “cotton” in English. While Watte does mean cotton in most cases, it can also refers to other types of fibers.
  2. The shapes were actually made with cotton fibers in the old days and the cotton was eventually replaced with tree fibers.

Note that in the French translation of Watte Kugeln (“boules en ouate de cellulose”), there is no reference to cotton.

Spun Cotton shapes main qualities

They are wonderful craft materials with great qualities:

  • The shapes are made of paper and are 100% plastic free.
  • They are ready to paint and easy to decorate.
  • Because they are lightweight, they are particularly useful to make ornaments.
  • Glue adheres to them very strongly because of their fibrous texture.

Examples of existing shapes

They come in many shapes and sizes. The most popular shapes are balls, because it’s a versatile form, but a lot of other form types also exist: mushrooms, teardrops, miniature fruits and veggies, eggs, bells, rolls, cones and lots more.

How to work with Spun Cotton Shapes

There are many ways that you can work with them:

You can paint them

Simply use a paintbrush and some acrylic paint. It’s as easy as painting on a piece of paper.

You can use glue

Glue adheres very well to them. You can embellish the shapes with small pieces of fabric, colored paper, golden trims (Dresden), ribbon, lace, mousseline, crepe paper, chenille stem, and much more.

You can even use glitter on spun cotton shapes

People often use spun cotton shapes to make glittered Christmas ornaments. To learn how to apply glitter, you can check out our video tutorial: how to make glittered lemon ornaments.

How to manufacture the shapes

Soft paper is rolled tightly into a mold until the desired shape is achieved. The raw shapes are then covered with a starchy solution and oven dried. The final product has a smooth, easy to paint surface. 

DIY Craft project examples

Here are a few projects that we thought would give you an idea of the wide array of possibilities. There are many creative ways of using spun cotton forms.

For more DIY project ideas, do not hesitate to check out our tutorial section.

We hope you enjoyed learning about spun cotton shapes. At Spunnys, we are crazy about spun cotton and spun cotton projects. So do not hesitate to ask any questions, it’s always a pleasure to reply. Happy crafting to all of you.