BRINDLE AFGHAN HOUND NEEDLE FELTED~SHAMU
This is a sculpture of my first dog. I bought her myself when I was 18 and she cost quite a bit especially for a teenager to pay, but little by little I paid for her until she was totally mine! She loved to race the wind and would run for hours! I used to take her with me when I rode my horse and she loved it. Of course if she ran into the bushes with that long fur…oh no what a mess!!! TIME FOR GROOMING!
SPEAKING OF GROOMING…HOW DO YOU GROOM A NEEDLE FELTED DOG?
NEVER BRUSH OR COMB!!!
Felted fur is only felted in, not glued so it can be brushed or combed right out of your core. Oh no!! One safe way to groom your dog is to use a large sewing needle or a broken felting needle.
GENTLY “comb” the fur with the needle. Trim as you go. If you cut a chunk out that is too short…don’t cry…just pull it out and felt in another piece! No problem! Wool is very forgiving and changeable!
Remember that dogs fur is thinner on their tummy so be sure to trim it there. Also inside of the thighs usually has thinner fur. If you felted in too much fur, just carefully pull a little out. Comb it down and blend your fur together. I try to trim the ends so they are wispy instead of straight across. If you do trim straight across, just “comb” it more with the needle and it should blend in better.
My afghan fur was made with wool batting that was specially blended to be brindle. Isn’t it just great! I have more if anyone needs some! That saves lots of work and blending time to create a multi shaded look! I made her teeth individually and they glow in the dark!!LOL!! I had white clay but my hubby said it was too white for dogs so he mixed me the perfect color and I didn’t realize until I was done that her teeth glowed in the dark!!! This is a larger sculpture at 5 inches tall and 5 inches long. It takes a long time to make larger sculptures, but you can but more details on them. I ended up keeping her for myself:)
I hope this is helpful. Please post your questions if you have some! Thanks for your comments!
By: gourmetfelted on November 3, 2008
at 10:51 pm
Well, knowing the quality of your sculptures this must be a near perfect replica of your dog and was she ever gorgeous!
Love the tips but also love getting to know a bit more about you, too!
By: cka on November 4, 2008
at 12:40 pm
Thanks so much! She wasn’t a show dog with a long coat, but she was perfect in my eyes. And the length coat that she did have required lots and lots of grooming!
She had a personality like a cat. She would only come if she felt it and doing lots of tricks was beneath her. I love how they prance when they walk. She always got lots of attention when I took her for a walk! I used to take her to work with me everyday as I worked in a ticket booth and that way she didn’t get lonely:)
By: gourmetfelted on November 4, 2008
at 2:49 pm
Hi i would love to learn to needlefelt..is there away i can join this forum?????……..
By: nicole on December 14, 2008
at 7:20 am
Hi Nicole,
Welcome to my blog! You commented, so you just joined! Do you have any questions? It’s good to get a starter kit to so you can get the feel of the needle and felting. I do have a pumpkin kit that is designed to help people learn felting. You can see what it’s like in the post below named “Needle felted pumpkin tutorial.”
By: gourmetfelted on December 14, 2008
at 5:43 pm