Introduction to Needle Felting: Your New Creative Obsession

I first learned about needle felting on one of my favorite art apps, Creativebug. I took a class online and absolutely loved it! Needle felting is a crafting technique that involves sculpting and shaping wool fibers using a specialized barbed needle – and it’s making a huge comeback among crafters! It is a versatile and creative process that allows you to create a variety of three-dimensional objects, such as animals, figurines, and decorative items. Needle felting is often used in textile art, crafting, and even in making small toys and ornaments. Once you get started, you are going to be obsessed!

Get Your Material

The process of needle felting begins with a base material made of wool, typically in the form of roving or batting. Roving is a long and narrow bundle of fibers, while batting is a sheet-like form of wool. These fibers can be natural, such as sheep’s wool, or synthetic. Check out this beautiful array of bold colors – pretty much all you will need for endless projects! It’s a set of 50 colors, and is made of soft file wool. If you are looking for more muted, earthy tones, you will love this gorgeous set of roving wool. Both options are high quality and we are sure you are going to love them as much as we do!

Shape Your Design

To start needle felting, you take the loose wool fibers and shape them into the desired form. The fibers are then poked and stabbed repeatedly with a special felting needle. The needle has tiny barbs or hooks along its shaft that catch the fibers and entangle them together, causing them to interlock and form a solid structure.

Add Layers

As you continue to work with the needle, you can add more layers of wool to build up the shape and add detail. By varying the density and arrangement of the fibers, you can create different textures and effects. The process requires patience and precision as you carefully manipulate the fibers to achieve the desired outcome.

Easy Transport

One of the advantages of needle felting is that it doesn’t require water or glue like wet felting, which makes it a more portable and accessible technique. Additionally, needle felting allows for a great deal of creativity and personal expression. You can experiment with different colors, types of wool, and techniques to bring your unique ideas to life.

Tools

Needle felting tools include the felting needle(s), a foam pad or block to protect your work surface and absorb the needle’s impact, and sometimes additional tools like scissors or wire for armatures if you’re creating more complex structures.

As you get going, you are going to need a few more supplies to take your simple creations to the next level. Here’s a shopping list of everything I purchased as I began to ramp up my needle felting projects, including little miniature eyes for my animals (this is a must-have!)! I promise you are going to love this unique hobby and before you know it, you will be taking requests of what to make next!

Basic Tools Needle Felting Kit: This has all you need to get started. It has a nice array of needles and a felting pad too. Though I ended up buying a larger pad later.

Punch Style Felting Needle: Another must-have for this project! The punch style has multiple needles working at once, and is super safe since it has a safety shield built in.

Jumbo Tapestry Needle: This is a super helpful tool that will undoubtedly come in handy for most of your projects.

Mini Eyes: I ended up getting both. I’m telling you, if you are anything like me, you will stop at nothing to transform your precious creations into exactly what you envision! I bought this pack of mini eyes first, and then purchased this 300-piece kit so I had even more selection.

Sharp Crafting Scissors or these Nano Tip Scissors

Heavy Duty Crafting Glue or use whatever crafting glue you prefer. This one was perfect for adhering the animal eyes and dried without a trace.

Final Takeaway

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced crafter, needle felting offers a rewarding and enjoyable way to create beautiful and intricate woolen sculptures. It’s a versatile craft that allows you to explore your creativity and make unique handmade items. With practice and experimentation, you can develop your skills and create stunning needle felted creations.