Thanks for visiting today, let's sit down and talk about needle felting
Well let me help you. I was in the same position a few years ago until I did some research and then just went ahead and tried it.
What exactly is needle felting you ask?
Needle felting is basically taking some carded wool roving, and barbed needles which you use to mash the fibers together to form felt. The barbs on the needles catch the fibers and press them into the wool roving where they become all tangled.
As you keep using the punching method of the needle they become almost knitted together.
The art of needle felting is fun and rewarding, and objects can be flat or three dimensional, depending on what you enjoy the most.
What you will need to get started
I don't think there is any right or wrong way when creating art. As an artist myself, I believe what works for you as the artist, is ultimately the right way to do anything. Once you know the basics you can then experiment on your own, and just have a lot of fun.You will need felting needles, wool roving and a mat to work on.
I use both the Clover felting mat and the foam mat.
The Clover model shown below is like a large bristle brush and the mats are made from foam.
I also use the Clover needle felting tools and some individual needles, it all depends what I am working on. For a large area the multi needle tool by Clover, to me, is much faster, then I will fine tune my work using individual needles. I have chosen a video from youtube.com to show you how these tools work.
Clover needle felting supplies on Amazon
Flat felted technique to make this tiny pillow
Instructions below...
This was one of my very first needle felting projects.Take a piece of wool felt cut to the size you want your little pillow.
Lay the felt over your Clover mat or sponge.
Take very fine strips of wool roving in your choice of colours and lay them on the felt.
Start punching. This is when I prefer the Clover tool with 5 needles.
Once you feel it is embedded into the wool felt, start to add more fine strips of wool roving.
Start punching again and continue this layer method until you have it looking the way you like it.
I then take a single needle just to fine tune it and tuck in the pieces of roving hanging off the ends.
Now you can make your little pillow.
I used some wool felt for the back in a matching green.
I then printed this vintage image of a lady knitting on to fabric and sewed it on to the felt.
Stitch your two pieces together and turn right side out, then stuff and slip stitch the opening.
I embellished the pillow by hand stitching on some fibers and buttons, then I used an old looking safety pin to attach a teeny tiny tag and key charm.
A lovely gift for a knitting friend.
Wool roving on Ebay
This is an excellent video for beginners
Make a heart shaped felted pin
Both are done on top of the sponge. If you watched the video with the Clover felting products, now is a chance to see how it is done on a sponge and decide for yourself what may be better for you.
There are many, many videos on youtube. I chose the two on this page because they are geared more to beginners, and I think they are both good quality.
One of these days I will make my own video tutorials, until then, these are great.
Close up of a project of mine, felting on a painted baby wipe
Yes, you read that right, this is felting over a painted baby wipe, an experiment of mine.
I use baby wipes to rub paint into water colour paper for some of my mixed media projects, and I save them. After all , they are clean and I am big on recycling. I used baby wipes to make the beads you see in the photo too, but that is for another day.
To start this I put a piece of "warm and natural", which is used in quilting on my Clover mat, then the baby wipe. I wasn't sure if it would work but it did and really well too. This is when I would love a felting machine, which is on my dream list.
I used my single needles with various fibres and yarns I had, and I made little nest shapes.
Then I decided to use a new gold metallic thread I had purchased to do some random stitching on the machine.
Next were the little beads, and a few beautiful tiny dragonfly beads I had in my stash.
This is really just a tiny piece of artwork, I love it and enjoy looking at it every time I go in my art room.
Simplicity Deluxe Needle Felting machine
Simplicity Deluxe Felting Machine
Amazon Price: $210.99 (as of 06/03/2012)
A needle felting machine get's your needle felting done in a jiffy.
You use it much like a sewing machine, but the needles do not stitch, they punch up and down like you would by hand while you move your work around. Ahhhhhh what bliss!!!!
Perfect for artists like myself who have pains from repeating the same movement over and over again for a period of time.
Watch this machine in action
Needle Felting Machine
Free Online Tutorials for Needle Felting
- Needle felt some Easter eggs
- Beautiful tutorial, beautiful photographs with step by step instructions. You will love this blog. Sarah has some great craft tutorials.
- Needle Felt a Flower
- Step by step instructions for felting a 3 dimensional flower, great for beginners, and good practise if you want to get into creating little animals etc!!!!!
- Needle felt an Apple
- Excellent tutorial with lots of photographs along the way so you can see exactly how it is done.
- Needle felt a 4 petal flower
- This is another flower but much different to the other one I shared here.
This flower is dipped in soapy water after, so it is both the dry felting method and the wet felting, and it is SO pretty! - Needle felt this adorable little Love Gnome
- Wow, this is really cute and Fiona really spent a lot of time on this tutorial, with great instructions and lots of photos.
If you like the little Gnomes you see in the forest, you will love this. - Needle felt a lady bug
- This is so cute, a great tutorial with clear instructions and lots of photos.
Let's see who is tweeting about needle felting
Angel blessed, thank you to the following lensmasters.
Do you think you will give some of these ideas a try?
You do not need to be a member of Squidoo to leave a comment.
However you could sign up and make your own lens.
Sign up now it really is fun.
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Tipi
May 19, 2012 @ 8:53 pm | delete
- I am mesmerized with your needle felting and delighted to add a bit more angel dust, what a cool craft!
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aesta1
May 16, 2012 @ 8:52 am | delete
- I like to give it a try.
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privresearch
Mar 25, 2012 @ 2:26 pm | delete
- I will definitely give it a try. Thanks for the great ideas.
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miaponzo
Mar 23, 2012 @ 5:27 am | delete
- Well.. I have just started felting and I want to make felt designs on scarves :) Blessed!
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Bryoni
Mar 18, 2012 @ 10:32 pm | delete
- Thank you - I am going to give this a go!
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Koupie
I have a creative spirit, always have and I love all things creative, knitting, sewing, all kinds of art, photography, digital art and gardening.
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