Needle Felting Blog by Feltworld Creative Art Courses
Hello and welcome to my creative world information on Needle Felting.
Sad hare day
Needle felting is a very popular technique and can be seen at most craft fairs around the country. With needle felting, the fibres stay fluffy and dry with little hooks along each fibre still end up looped together to make the bind together. The process uses a special very sharp barbed felting needle which come in a variety of sizes. There’s a thicker blunt end that you hold and a much finer end that you use to stab into the loose woollen fibres. But make sure it is the fibres you are stab and not your fingers, because they are very sharp! But this technique is fun and it never ceases to amaze me what you can make from just stabbing away at the fibres.
As with wet felting, needle felting will allow you to make flat or 3D items. For flat pieces, the wool is placed on a piece of foam or polystyrene that will let the needle penetrate the wool easily . Further strands of wool are added and joined to this base later using the same technique. Pretty soon you will have either a 3 dimensional animal or flat picture that can be framed and hung on a wall.
To get started with 3D pieces, you first make a ball of felting wool and gently stab the needle into it until it becomes a compact mass that holds together on its own. Once you have this basic ball, you can add to it and begin to give it shape. I have formed natural carded wool sculpted it into the shape of a rabbit. It takes a full day class to creat a hare. But small animals such as a pengin, birds , owl etc can be made in a half days. Once you are proficient at needle felting, you can even include wire formers inside the arms of an animal to allow limited movement.
If you would like to learn how to do needle felting, I offer half and one-day courses. All the materials and refreshments are supplied. The full-day session also includes a light lunch.
You can get in touch via my website www.feltworld.co.uk/courses
email me: barbara@feltworld.co.uk and I will be in touch promptly. Feltworld gift vouchers are also available and make fab presents. or felt kits on on my Shop page.
Website: www.feltworld.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Feltworld
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Feltworld – Creative Art Courses offer a variety of fun creative courses covering wet-felting, needle felting, batik, and textile printing techniques. Based in Penkridge we are easily accessible from the M6 and the Rail network.
www.feltworld.co.uk
Have a very merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Barbara Simmons Meek
