Needle Felting Basics

I like trying different types of crafts and art work and a couple of years ago I bought a needle felting kit. It was great.  It had the roving, the needle, the foam to protect the table, and wonderful picture instructions. Once I started it, I knew I found a new way to express my creativity.

It isn’t very hard to do although depending on what you are making, it can be time consuming.  With needle felting, you tend to make small items.  That’s OK I like making small things. And with the repetitive action of the needle, it can be very relaxing (as long as you don’t try to needle felt your fingers). 

The first thing you need is the roving.  Roving is the fiber that is used in needle felting.  It is usually wool but can also be silk, cotton and I have even used polyester fiberfill (yeah, the stuffing used in pillows.  I’ll tell you why later.)

Roving is often the wool that is cleaned, dyed and combed.  If the wool is combed it is soft and the fibers are separated to make a smoother look in the felting.  You will also see what is known as “batting”.  This is wool that has been cleaned and dyed but not necessarily combed (or at least not combed as much as roving).  This is often used for sculptures.  Because it is not combed the fibers are not as separated with roving so not as much felting is needed to keep its shape.

roving

batting

When you order roving, you will often see “core” wool sold.  This is wool that has been washed and cleaned of natural items (like grass and little twigs that might have stuck to the sheep).Sorry I don't have any core wool to take a picture of it.   This can be used in felting even if it is not dyed and combed.   Let’s say you are making a felted ball.  You don’t want to use the expensive dyed roving in the inside of the ball where it can’t be seen.  So instead you felt the “core” wool into the shape you want and add the colored roving as an outside layer.  

This is where and how I use the polyester fiberfill.  Fiberfill actually felts nicely although it takes more of the fiber fill to make an object than core wool might, it does take longer to felt than the wool and it is lighter in weight.  But the really nice part is it is much, much cheaper than core wool. (For $8.00, I can order 3 ounces of core wool or 50 ounces of polyester fiber fill.)

polyester fiberfill

The next thing you need is a felting needle.  This isn’t like a regular sewing needle with an eye and a smooth shaft.  When trying to explain a felting needle I tell people to imagine a thin nail with barbs along the shaft. The needle is about 3" long. It is those barbs (or little notches) that grab the fibers and push them together.  The more you stab or felt the fibers the more solid they become.

felting needle

These needles are very sharp so you have to be careful not to stab yourself.  And this is one reason why I don’t teach felting to small children.  It looks like a great craft for them but if they are not careful, that can hurt themselves with the needle.  (You might be able to teach children one on one depending on the child but I wouldn’t do it in groups for any children under 12 years old.)

As well as being sharp, these needles can also be easily broken.  You have to make sure that you pull the needle out of the roving at the same angle you put it in.  Twisting or bending the needle as you pull it out can easily break it.

Since the needles can be easily broken, it is best to work on some type of foam.  If you were to felt without foam, the needle could go into your work surface like your table or your lap  and damage either one or break the needle.  Felting into foam protects everything.  There are special foams that you can purchase for felting but you can also use a pillow or seat cushion foam. I use a piece of a seat cushion that is about 1 ½ inches deep.

foam for felting

Next week I will show you how to felt in a cookie cutter to make different shapes for appliqué or ornaments.   

fall cookie cutters and felted 'cookies'

PS - The picture is from my blog post "Cookie Cutters Aren't just for Cookies". (November 2016)

©2017 Cheryl Fillion