NEEDLE FELTING

Alittle while ago our Facebook social media community ‘chatty prompt’ was ‘crafting’ and I submitted a post about needle felting. I only actually started needle felting last year, I think it was a lockdown and furlough thing, and was soon hooked. I started with simple template and pretty quickly got the bug for the craft. I’m now moving into making 3D sculptures which is pushing my skill set and my patience somewhat. Now that the Christmas period is well and truly over, there is that lull between January resolutions (crashing) and the much longed for spring evenings. What can you do to pass the time and keep your fingers out of the biscuit tin? If you are looking for a new hobby to fill the winter evenings, needle felting may just be what you’re looking for. It’s a hobby that doesn’t take a lot of money to get started and can be done pretty much anywhere. Quite a few companies have beginner packs with some essentials to get you started for a very small outlay.

If you haven’t come across needle felting, I’ll explain what it’s all about: Taking carded and dyed natural fiber wool; you mold and shape the wool fibers by piecing them with a single barbed needle. Needles vary in strength and the higher the number needle the thinner the needle is. My advice is buy a few needles *36 *38 *40, decent wool, a set of scales that will weigh small amounts down to 0.01g and a good needle felting surface. To start to knit the fibers together a lower number or coarser needle is used. This gets things moving quite quickly, especially if you are using an uncarded core wool for your central shape. If you are using templates, core wool is not normally used and the dyed and carded wool is used from the start. By inserting small amounts of wool into your template and using a medium needle, the wool soon starts to take the form of the template as you add more wool.

The wool will always go in the direction you push the needle so you can see results quite quickly. This is great for a beginner because who wants to wait for hours to see how their make is progressing? You don’t need pressure on your needle; just light taps onto your needle-felting surface. If the fibers are poking through the other side of your work, you are pushing too hard and you may break your needle. Templates are great for things like petals, and felting petals together can create a flower head. My first flower make in 2021 was the snowdrop.

You make a small inner set and a slightly larger outer set of petals then felt them together. To make the stems you pass florist wire through the petals before forming the dome shape. You can then either cover the florist wire with florist tape or wrap wool around the wire in a few layers to make a thicker stem. As a beginner I would suggest using the florist tape. It’s quicker and in the first few tries, it’s important not to be put off by fiddly and time consuming practices. Time enough for that once you’re a little more confident. Leaves can be added by felting from the template then wrapping them around the covered florist wire and then securing them

in place with a few stabs of a needle and a little florist tape. Add your snowdrop to a small pot filled with oasis

foam and you have your first creation.

As your wool starts to firm you will see that your needle is leaving little holes in the felt, this is a sign that it’s time to move to a finer needle to refine your finish. The longer you felt a piece, the firmer it will become. This is important if you need to pierce your piece for stems or stamen, or bird feet.

Needle felting lends itself very easily to making pieces for home decor, Christmas baubles, garlands, tree decorations, table setting name card holders, even a table centerpiece for a celebration. Pumpkins take shape very quickly and are a fun make, put them along with felted acorns and leaves in your own colour scheme. Last year with some hessian, lace and some felted Holly and mistletoe leaves and berries I decorated pillar candles for a pleasing display. You can use wax or faux candles and they can be used year after year.

Small-decorated needle felted Easter eggs in pastel shades can be hung from tree branches as a table centerpiece. This works well because the items are light and if they do fall off they won’t break, which is a bonus if you have little ones around the table.

You can felt flowers as brooches or as tags for presents. Needle felted flowers; animals or celebration shapes can be used to create your own cards. How much nicer than shop bought. I am about to embark on a tree topper poinsettia fairy for Christmas next year, yes already! The tree topper again will be light because she’s made of wool. If she falls off she won’t break. I’m also planning some small felted wooly mittens for holding treats on the Christmas tree, this could also make a personalised advent calendar and if I have time some small poinsettia to thread around the handles of two tall candle lanterns I have. The beauty of needle felting is that you can pick it up and work on your project as much or as little as you want.

You can create individual pieces like animals or wreaths for all four seasons. Again because the components are light you can add more detail, they won’t break and they can be stored for use year after year. I have an orchid project to start as I can easily murder the real thing. There are some absolutely amazing needle felt artists out there who can create the most adorable makes and some breathtaking faces. The possibility for project ideas is only limited by your imagination or your Internet searches. There are quite a lot of companies selling kits and templates. What I would say is do not buy cheap or synthetic wools from that large online retailer of everything. You will be disappointed and may be put off the art, which would be a shame.

As well as 3D pieces you can create pictures by painting with wool in a similar manner to the description above. Instead of molding your shape with a template you lay your wool across a base of either felt sheet or linen or hessian. You then secure your wool in place with gentle stabs. As you layer your wool and colours your picture takes on a lovely dimension you wouldn’t get with paints. This works really well with landscapes. My next wool “painting “ is hopefully a polar bear and aurora borealis. You could use a linen cushion cover to create bespoke pieces for your home.

Hopefully you will get to see some of these makes as the year rolls on. I’m around on the Facebook pages quite frequently so if you need any more information about getting started, please don’t hesitate to let me know.