Needle Felting for All

What I wish I knew when I started stabbing

 

Needle Felting is the process of poking a barbed needle into wool, over and over until it starts to stick to the fiber around it. This process makes the wool adhere together and your fluffy wool will compress and take shape. Here’s a few tips I wish I had known when beginning my needle felting journey:

 

1. Use core wool when sculpting any shapes. What is core wool? It’s coarser and cheaper than the colorful roving, and felts together much easier than other wools. Plus, it’s less expensive than those vibrant colors. Start your shape or base with core wool, and see your projects come together with ease.

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2. Start with rolling. As a self taught needle felter, I wish I had discovered this technique sooner. When making any shape, but especially a ball or oblong cylinder shape, start by rolling core wool into the tightest coil you can manage. You’ll get better at this over time, it does take practice, but soon you’ll see the benefit of adding color and sculpting shapes, if you get a nice, tight roll. I poke each layer together as I roll, so it’s less likely to come apart, but you’ll find your own way…just keep practicing.

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3. Not all felting needles are created equally. I had no idea of the variety of needles! Every felting needle has little barbs that catch the fiber and fuse them together, but there are different sizes and shapes, and they all do different things with the wool. The lower numbers are a larger gauge, and the higher numbers are smaller. You can use the larger gauges to initially sculpt your wool together, and you’ll find the higher numbers work best for adding details. In addition, there are also star and triangle shapes. Don’t even get me started on multi-needle tools…there are so many tools to poke wool. Experiment with the different kinds of needles and find your own sweet spot.

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4. Don’t be afraid to experiment! Sometimes the idea in your head doesn’t match what your needle made in the wool. The good news is that wool is forgiving–either poke it a bunch more times, pull it out and start over, or add more wool. Often, if the shape still feels soft and squishy, it needs more poking, and if it’s compressed too much, adding more wool can help. Needle felting is a fairly new art, so you may end up creating a new technique!

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5. Protect your fingers. Poking yourself hurts, so if leather finger guards feel good, use those. I try to make sure I’m always stabbing my needle away from my non-dominant hand, and I rarely poke myself these days, unless I’m tired. Don’t be like me, listen to your body, and stop when you need to rest. And most of all, have fun!

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Stab wool, not people! Happy poking!

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Xoxo, Monica