top of page

Felted Hearts

Click on the Heart to Download PDF Pattern

The Basics of Needle Felting

Video shows you some of the basics of needle felting, how to make a needle felted owl, info on our kits and fibre, as well as a little about our sheep!

1T5A8593.jpeg

Sheep ~ Painting With Wool

An overview of creating a felted painting.

Needle Felting: The Border Collie

Needle Felt a Mushroom

Needle Felting Basics

Needle felting is very straight forward, start with a bit of wool roving and tightly roll it into the size and shape you're looking to make. Resting your work on a foam pad begin to poke the needle in and out, gradually building it up to the right size and shape you're looking for. The wool should be firm with a bit of bounce still, but not rock hard or really soft, as it needs to be able to support itself. To connect the parts together, you just poke the needle through both parts until secure. The barbs on the needle will entangle the wool together.

 

Read through kit instructions before starting –  remember to divide your wool, estimating how much will be needed for each body part. Try to keep size to that shown on diagram to ensure there is enough wool to complete the project. Extra wool has been given to allow for size differences and errors. If you make an error, Shetland wool is very forgiving and you can usually keep working the shape until it reduces, or increase it in size by adding more wool. If you have questions feel free to contact us.

​

Top Tips:

 

Poke the needle in one direction, in and out.

 

Caution - bending or twisting the needle may cause it to snap.

Be sure not to stab through the mat (when using), if needle hits a hard surface it may snap, or cause you harm.

 

It is important to make a small, firm core before increasing the size of your needle felted creature. The tighter you wrap your initial roving wool, the less time it takes to felt it. This will increase its rigidity and make it easier to felt into and shape. Our projects do not require an internal wire frame.

 

Volume of the wool will decrease as it becomes felted.

 

A reverse barb needle pulls the wool back out of your project, for a fuzzy texture. Locks of wool can be used by folding them in half and needle felting (normal felting needle) down the centre, leaving the two ends loose.

 

For intricate details like eyes, noses, and beaks it’s a good idea to roll the wool between your fingers before needle felting to secure, and attaching.

 

When attaching accent colours don’t push the needle completely through the body, or your solid colour will become speckled.

bottom of page