What is Needle Felting?

In short, needle felting is a fiber art or craft that involves sculpting shapes, objects, or anything you can imagine with wool and a threaded needle. It is an art that is equally versatile and intricate, which can involve wet and dry felting. The barrier of entry is low and anyone can pick it up with some practice!

How and when did you start?

I always thought soft sculptures and felted art were amazing. I picked up the hobby during the pandemic and it turned into a craft I love.

Why do you Needle Felt?

It's super fun!

How do I start Needle Felting?

Very glad you asked! It's honestly not that difficult! You are going to need a felting pad, needles, wool, and some desk space or even floor space to get started. I’ll get into more detail below!

Wool

We live in the age of e-commerce and it is easy to look up “needle felting kit” on amazon and buy the biggest one with the most reviews. After all, this is what I did at first! The issue is that most of these sets include “tops” or “tops wool” which is cheaper acrylic wool that is used to embellish your projects and doesn't felt firm.

It is important to differentiate the types of wool!

Core Wool: There isn’t any particular definition of core wool. I know very helpful, but as a casual felter I would define core wool as a firm wool used as the base or “core” of your projects. This can be anything you prefer, but I lean towards carded wool. I just like something that pokes firm in an efficient time frame! I mentioned tops wool earlier and you can definitely use this as core wool, but it is a bit more time-consuming and can make your work a bit flimsy! You can still work with it!

Carded Wool: Thick, coarse, multi-directional wool. I prefer this as core wool because it felts firm much faster!

Roving Wool: Fine, singular directional wool. It can come in a variety of colours and is thicker than tops wool.

Tops Wool: Very fine, light, singular directional wool. You usually get this from amazon kits and it works well for embellishing a piece.

Price

Recommendations

Woolbuddy

Heidifeathers

Felting Pads

Just like wool there are many different felting pads. I have worked with foam and polystyrene pads. Price can range from $5-15 USD (might be more or less if you are looking at sellers on Etsy that ship internationally!)

Types

Foam: Classic. You can get these from anywhere in multiple sizes for decent prices. I have a small foam mat from a kit I got. My main cons with these are that the dark foam can flake off onto your projects, and sometimes wool can get stuck within the “bubbles” of the foam. It does have some dimpling issues over time. Otherwise great, no gross noises while you poke either! They are good for holding needles.

Polystyrene: Usually what you will get in amazon starter kits. This was my first mat. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this mat! It does exactly what it needs to do. My only issue is the sound it makes if your needle pokes a bit far inside. Gross! The other issue is that the mat does become dimpled after a fair bit of use, making it less dependable as a firm surface. They are very cheap though and get the job done!

Brush: I have not used these, when I do I will update this page. These are for 2d felts which I haven't done!!

Self-Made: I have not tried this before so I can not speak from experience, but many felters make their own mats! These can be made from scrap wool felted firm, or cushions filled with stuffing.

Needles

I am no needle genius. I do know that a good needle makes all the difference in that sweet sweet felting time. Instead of letting a novice explain the intricacies of needles I will give you some links and tell you what I have!

My collection

I have some Woolbuddy needles of different gauges and an assortment of needles from an amazon kit. The Woolbuddy needles are much higher quality, but the amazon needles get the job done when needed. I also got some needles in my clover pen which work well! I want to buy some needles from Heidifeathers

Links

Tools and Decorations

Tools

Clover Pen: A 3-holed needle pen for efficient felting. I use this when I’m trying to get a general shape done quickly. There are are great for big spans of wool and you can take out a needle or two if you prefer. I find it ergonomic and the needles have not broken on me yet! This cost me about $5 USD (on a crazy sale) but is usually about $11-15.99 USD

6-8 needle wood prong pen: You usually get these in starter kits. The are thicker than the clover pen and a bit easier to hold in my opinion, but all the needles are egregious to me. I usually just keep 3 needles inside at a further distance than the clover pen. Not bad but no need for all those needles! (price:)

1 needle wood prong pen (I'm making up these names! Just search tool!): Also something you usually get in a starter kit! These are good and depend on your preference. I prefer to hold the needle instead of using the pen because it lets me get to the intricate details easier with more flexibility. All up to preference! ( around $2 USD)

Thimbles: I do not wear mine, but you should, especially as a beginner. I should too because I am no expert and I always poke the hell out of myself! Needles are sharp. Protect your fingers. You usually get these in starter kits and they can be silicon or faux leather. I prefer silicon because the material ones smell odd.

Punchit: I have no experience with this tool, but I see it used for 2d felts, I will add more once I gain some experience ($15-20 USD)

Awl: For poking in holes for decorations like eyes. I have one from a kit I got and it is fine! ($3-9 USD)

Wool Carding Brush: To make your wool carded! ($8-10 USD)

Kits

Decorations

Eyes: decorative plastic or glass eyes that come in all forms! You will need an awl to place these inside your felts. You can get these in variety sets or just a specific type. The plastic eyes usually come in kits. ($1-15 USD)

Tips, Tutorials, and Inspo

Tips

KEEP POKING: POKE. POKE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT DAMN IT. Seriously. Keep poking that sucker until it is firm. Squishy felts can't take details well! With good needles and wool, the poking won't take as long and you can get to the fun part faster!

Don’t get discouraged!: I know that's easy to say, but seriously. Needle felting is a craft that is so amazing because your creation will always be unique even if you follow a guide. It's so versatile as well. Don’t get upset if your felt doesn't look like the picture you followed, that's the point! You could make a felted cat 5 times the same way and they would still all manage to look a bit different! Don't give up on what you do because it's so beautifully unique to you!

Invest in quality tools and wool: This will change your poke time and finish of your piece. A lot of the felts I’ve posted so far are very old ones I made with shitty needles and tops wool. My better, firmer felts (that have also come with experience) are much smoother and hold together better! I also get to make more in less time and spend time on more details!

Experiment!: Do whatever you want. Felting is not just limited to cute animals, it's so versatile and expansive!

Tutorials

There aren't many “tutorials” for felting per se, but there are many youtube channels that specialize in felting along and beginner-friendly tips and tricks!

Inspo

There are so many fantastic needle felting artists out there who do beautiful things with the art. I have some of my personal favourites, but I just love seeing what people make! I want to find some more artists as well and I’m going to keep adding more to this list