Do you have questions about needle felting? Which wool? what kind of needles? How to felt? ANY question is a good question! Each question is a learning experience, and you may ask a question that others are wondering about but are afraid to ask….so it is a win win situation…please, ask away!!
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Hi there, thanks for asking for questions, your blog is worth it’s weight in gold to us newbie felters. One thing i would like to ask, is that when I am felting on a piece of sponge, when I turn the felted piece over all the felt is stuck in the sponge and then you have to go back over it and its like a never ending saga trying to get all the bits back in. I am sure you have loads of ideas to help me with this.
Thanks alot
Rosie.
By: Rosie Graham on March 4, 2009
at 10:25 am
This may sound silly, but when I am felting following instructions, I never know how firm the felted object should be. Can you advise me? Also, is it necessary to have several different sizes of needles? The kit I purchased only contained one.
By: Nannette on March 4, 2009
at 5:44 pm
Hi Rosie,
Welcome to my blog! I know exactly what you mean about the bits! There are two things that you can do. One, trim them off with scissors, or TWO, don’t push the needle in so much. That way it won’t got through and out the other side felting the wool into the sponge. Me, I usually just trim off the strays. Hope that was helpful! HAPPY FELTING!
By: gourmetfelted on March 5, 2009
at 3:33 pm
Hi Nannette,
Welcome to my blog! You asked a really great question. I always try to felt my sculptures so that they are not too soft and not too hard. If you press your finger into your sculpture, it shouldn’t leave a dent. Softly felted items are quick to make, but don’t have durability and can fall apart when handled.
I like to use a wire armature, so I have to felt firm enough, but not so hard that the legs can’t be bent. Also if you are making a long coated animal, the core has to be firm enough so when you attach fiber into it, it will stay firmly in. * please see my post on making the core.
As to needles, I have lots of different styles and sizes, but usually use one! HA! I felted for months when I first started not even knowing that there were other sizes!
I use a #36 coarse needle because I use a coarse wool for all of my cores. When I use a finer wool like merino or silk for the topcoat, it is helpful to use a fine needle like a size #42 so the holes will be smaller. *Please see my post on Felting Needles for more info.
HAPPY FELTING!
By: gourmetfelted on March 5, 2009
at 3:43 pm
Thanks for you response. I can tell by looking at your cores that they are much firmer than what I was doing. I think that’s what I’ve been doing wrong; making them too squishy. Your work is absolutely beautiful and now I’m inspired to really try this. Love your blog!
By: Nannette on March 5, 2009
at 4:13 pm
No there is definitely NO squishy! HA! Thank you for your kind words on my work! I usually take 1 to 2 hours to felt the core. Of course, I’m felting around wire, so I have to be more careful that I don’t break the needle of the wire armature. Please feel free to ask me any questions, any time. Glad to help!
By: gourmetfelted on March 5, 2009
at 4:29 pm
Hi!
My question is, do you reccomend any books for new felters? Who have NO experience? Thanks!
By: loveorganics on March 6, 2009
at 2:33 am
Hi Haley, Welcome to my blog! That’s a good question!
I used the Fleece dog book when I first started felting, mostly for the wire armature. There is WAY more of a description here on my blog than that book… times ten. I’ve had a few people tell me that they put their books away after they found my blog!
Here there are tutorials and “getting started” is good to start. See also” needle felting questions answered” and “tip of the week.” If you scroll down the page to the bottom, you can see all of my posts. The “wire armature” post is very popular to make the core around. There is a tutorial on adding eyes, making noses from polymer, adding long fur, which felting needles to use, which wool to use, washing your wool, etc etc.
I doubt you would find a book with everything in it that’s right here. I would recommend my pumpkin kit to start to get the feel of felting. If you want to learn how to make a sheep with an armature I have a sheep kit. This would be a little more advanced than making a pumpkin. They both come with everything that you need to get started. HAPPY FELTING!
If you have any more questions along the way, don’t hesitate to ask!
By: gourmetfelted on March 6, 2009
at 3:19 am
I’m not sure which category I need to put this in, For needle felting, does one just need clean wool or alpaca…I’m just learning about the drum carder and the hand carders. Is the drum carder for large quantities? I have purchased raw fibers and have dyed them and washed them, now what do I need to do to prepare it for needle felting? Thank you! Laurie
By: Laurie on March 19, 2009
at 5:38 am
Hi Laurie,
This a the right place to ask questions. Actually you can post anywhere and I will see it. I wash my wool and use it. Nothing fancy. This is called raw wool. When I sell my core wool, I lightly hand card it to get the curls out so it is smoother to felt. If you wanted to make a curly sheep or poodle, it would be better to use the uncombed(uncarded) wool.
Drum carders can be small enough to fit on a tv table. I know someone who uses one to blend colors to make batts of wool for spinning that she sells by the oz.
When I use alpaca, I do use a hand carder to comb out any debris BEFORE I felt it in. If you comb or brush needle felted fur, you could pull it out, so it’s better to do it first. I just hold the ends of a pinch of fiber tightly and comb it from the center to the end. Then I flip it and do the other side.
Roving is the wool that has been carded(combed) into straight fibers lining them up and pushing them together some. You can easily pull on the end to see the original length of the fibers that went into making the roving. Roving is pieces of wool that looks like this.————–
It’s best to experiment to see what YOU like better. For me, I love working with curls, so my wool is washed. You do need it smoothed down some for felting a flatter surface to there are less bumps in it to felt down.
I hope that this answered your question. Feel free to ask anytime!
HAPPY FELTING!
By: gourmetfelted on March 19, 2009
at 4:53 pm
Love the adorable felted bird pin cushion shown above! How does one go about felting something like that as a pin cushion…thinking of a pretty cup or small 50’s type planter specifically? You have a wonderful site with so much information, thank you very much.
By: michelle on July 19, 2009
at 10:23 pm
Hi Michelle,
Welcome to my blog! You can make pretty much anything into a pincushion if it has a hole in it like a planter or cup. You just stuff it with wool and carefully felt it into the hole, adding more if needed. When it is firm, but not hard..it’s done! Stick in your felting needles for a pretty display that will protect your needles as well. Please feel free to ask any more questions that you may have! I love to help! Thanks so much for your comment!
HAPPY FELTING!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on July 20, 2009
at 6:05 am
Hi, I just started felting and I have made a naked doll… now how do I put clothes on this doll?I made the entire doll out of flesh color and when I needle felt the flesh color pulls through the red color. Is there a special needle I use or do I just keep needle felting? What is the secret?Can’t wait for the answer my doll needs clothes.
Paulette
By: Paulette Bomberger on September 13, 2009
at 5:58 pm
Hi Paulette,
Welcome to my blog! That’s great that you are felting! A doll is a challenging project for a beginner. That’s wonderful that you made one. You have 2 options for clothes. One easy, one harder.
hard way
1) lay down some wool thinly and felt it into a thin sheet and then cut out the pieces, felt them together on the seams, and put them on. This way the clothes will be removable.
easier way
2) Just felt the wool on to the body in a thin layer. Use the tip of the needle so the color doesn’t pull through. If you look at your felting needle, you can see that the barbs are about 1/4 inch from the tip. Be sure that you push the needle in about that much.
If you are making a tiny doll, you could wrap the wool around each part and felt them together where seams would be in real clothing!
If you push the needle through the pink while applying another color, it is because you are felting too deeply. If your doll is too small to avoid that, you could take advantage of that so there is two colors in the clothing. Trim off all the wool ends sticking out.
I hope that helps! Please feel free to ask any more questions that you may have.
If you look below you can see all of the posts that I’ve done. I have lots for beginners.
HAPPY FELTING!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on September 13, 2009
at 6:41 pm
Thank you very much …your comments helped a lot and now I off to put clothes on the Santa doll the easy way.I live in Savannah, Georgia are you close to me.
Thanks again,
Paulette
By: Paulette Bomberger on September 14, 2009
at 12:34 am
Thanks for all the information – very helpful. My question is simple. I have recently started wet felting and adding detail by needle felting. However, I’m not sure sometimes whether I should add a ‘dry’ detail and then wet felt it in – or just leave it dry? Also, if something has been needle felted – what is the best method to wash/clean it? Sorry of this seems a little dense – the whole concept is new to me – and totally fascinating. Thank you
By: Natalie on November 15, 2009
at 12:57 am
Hi Natalie,
Welcome to my blog! You can do either technique depending on the look that you desire. If you ‘dry’ detail, the detailing will be crisp and sharper. If you felt a detail and wet felt it, you will get a more muted edged, softer look. I have seen beautiful felted items with both the wet and dry detailing and they are both stunning! It really is up to you! Experiment to see which one you like.
As to cleaning needle felted items…The best thing is to keep them in a cabinet to they don’t get dirty in the first place! If it is a non furry item, you can use a soft brush to lightly renew the surface. Or you can spot clean if necessary. You have to be careful wetting a felted sculpture too much if it has wire inside. The wire can rust and bleed out onto the surface especially if something like pipecleaners are used. This is why I use stainless steel or galvanized wire to prevent rusting. Also they are more durable. I hope that was a help!
HAPPY FELTING!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on November 16, 2009
at 2:05 am