**After you read this post, please go to my main page and if you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page, there is a list of all my posts. Many were designed to help new people to discover “the joys of needle felting!”
I am most happy when I am doing something creative with my hands. I love working with fiber as it is so soft and the possibilities are endless! My passion now is needle felting. I specialize in creating Custom Sculptures of people’s pets! I love how much joy owners have when they recieve their little replica pet sculpture. I have about 100 examples of recent orders that I have done on ETSY. com.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/gfelted
A day doesn’t go by that I’m not stabbing wool with my needle..or my finger!OUCH!!
Yes this is a needle felted pomeranian..not a real dog!
the drool is finally wiped away. I wish I had tour talent. Bravo!
By: Linda on August 29, 2008
at 4:49 am
Thanks so much!
By: gourmetfelted on August 29, 2008
at 5:06 am
Wow, I totally thought that was a real dog…Amazing!!
By: MamaSheg #2835 on September 2, 2008
at 3:33 pm
Just curious Gerry, how did you do thenose on the Pom? It looks sooooooo real…I love the mouth too. you ARE amazing! Cindy~
By: Cindy on September 14, 2008
at 6:24 am
I make my own noses and I am going to have a tutorial on it! Someone in Africa needs noses and can’t find any. They are shaped from clay and cooked for 10 minutes. That’s it. I make a bunch in different sizes so I always have a nose for the size feltie that I make! For making the mouth, I make a regular mouth felted very firmly, then…gasp..take an exacto knife and slice it open!!
By: gourmetfelted on September 14, 2008
at 1:32 pm
Hi, love, love, love your creations. How do you get the brushed look on your needle felted animals?
By: Nicole Coleman on February 1, 2011
at 8:07 pm
Hi Nicole,
Welcome to my blog! Thank you for your kind words on my sculptures! Well, after I have made a firm base and inserted all the fiber for the fur, I take a large needle(not felting) and gently “comb” the fur and trim according to the look that I want and the breed. Grooming usually takes me about 30 minutes, but it is worth the time! After all….we spend hours on creating the sculpture, shouldn’t we take the time to finish the fur? Be sure to trim off any stray hairs. If you take a picture with hairs hanging out then with the scale that they are in, it would be like a dog with 2 foot long hairs sticking out from the rest!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on February 1, 2011
at 9:14 pm
Hi Gerry,
I love your weblog,just found it to-day! I haven’t been felting much lately,but looking at you blog is inspiring me again! I felted another pug a couple of months ago,just wondered if I could enter the felting competition with it?
Keep up the good work.
Best Wishes
Dee (ebay id Adore62)
By: Dee on September 18, 2008
at 11:41 am
I was wondering where one can find the small glass colored eyes? Or does everyone paint their own on a bead?
By: Karen Roesner on October 3, 2008
at 3:55 pm
I buy my eyes from jnc shop. He sells on ebay. I think that the eyes and noses make the dog. When I make my dogs I mark the eyes with pins with balls on them and the nose with black wool and when I put the glass eyes in and the sculpted nose, they are 100% better.
HAPPY SCULPTING!
By: gourmetfelted on October 3, 2008
at 4:22 pm
Hi there gourmetfelted, i am new to this site, i myself am just learning about felting, i have several books and now just need to buy all my supplies! any reccomendations where to purcahse supplies for starting out?
Debra says hello! She told me about this wonderful blog!
I have been making my own handmade soaps for 8 years now, and i just love animals, so i was attracted to learning how to make own felted kitties!
Lisa in Ontario, Canada
By: Lisa on October 18, 2008
at 10:00 pm
HI Lisa!!
I’m so glad that you found me!!
If you tell me what you’d like to work on, I can make a custom needle felting kit for you. I would reccommend something easy like my pumpkin kit. You can read how to do it in my blog and I have the wool, needles, batting, and foam…everything that you’d need to get started! You can purchase it in my etsy store.
http://gfelted.etsy.com/
This goes to my shop and look at the right sidebar for needle felting kit and click on that and it’s there. If you’d like to make something else, I can put some wool together for that also. It’s up to you!
By: gourmetfelted on October 19, 2008
at 12:38 am
Oops I done it again posted in the wrong spot! What is wet felting and how does one do this?
By: Karen on October 22, 2008
at 4:37 pm
Hi Karen, It doesn’t matter where you post! I look at all my new posts for the day so I see them no matter where they are! Wet felting is really wet! You wet the wool and add a little soap and rub, rub, rub, It takes a while. Make sure that it is not superwash wool or roving, This will NOT felt no matter how much you rub it! You can try felting on a bar of soap. You just lay the wool on the soap in a crisscross pattern, wrap it around and wet it and rub, rub, rub. After a while the wool will shrink onto the soap shape and you have soap with a built in wash cloth! Pretty cool!
By: gourmetfelted on October 22, 2008
at 4:50 pm
Go on my main page and go to the bottom and read my” getting started needle felting” and “my tips of the week” have everything that you need. Lots of people have learned felting HERE and don’t even use their books anymore. I have posts”how to felt” “which needle to use” “which fiber to use” “how to make a core” “how to apply long fur” etc. Everything is here and we have lots of fun and fun contests too!
By: gourmetfelted on November 7, 2008
at 6:41 pm
To find out all these posts click on GOURMETFELTED WEBBLOG on the top of the page and go all the way to the bottom and you can see all my posts.
By: gourmetfelted on November 7, 2008
at 6:44 pm
Hi,
I came across your needle felted Maltese. It is so amazingly real looking! I’ve never done any needle felting before… but now I’m very interested. Is it difficult to make a needle felting Maltese? Do you sell a “Maltese dog kit” and instructions?
Thanks for sharing the photos of all the wonderful creations you’ve made! They are great!
Jessie
By: Jessie on November 10, 2008
at 3:50 am
Thanks so much! I’m glad that you left a comment too!
I haven’t gotten organized yet to make a maltese kit, but I do have a pumpkin kit and sheep kit which are both great for beginners. It is a good way to get the feel of felting and they are not to hard. I may be making a maltese kit sometime soon.
By: gourmetfelted on November 10, 2008
at 4:01 am
gourmetfelted,
I just wanted to say thanks from the bottom of my heart for the work you have put into this web sight and your tips and all the help you freely offer us newbies. I really am amazed at the gift you have offered me in the tutorials . I just want to add your work is remarkable and I am humbled and yet encouraged!!! I look forward to many more days surrounded with wool fibers, sharp needles and like gheppeto making my puppets come alive.yours truely, stacie
By: stacie on February 1, 2009
at 3:42 am
Hi Stacie, Thank you so much for your kind words on my work and site!! I am so happy to hear that you have been helped by my site! I enjoy felting so much that I want everybody to try it!!HA! When I was first starting felting it was so hard to find much help and I struggled and struggled with some things, so I figured that wouldn’t it be nice to help people so it would be easier for them. I always try to improve something on each sculpture that I make. I like to make my dogs with a realistic look with a touch of whimsy. It is so much fun experimenting with different fibers. You can never stop learning in this art. Thank you so much for your comment…you made my day:)
HAPPY FELTING!
By: gourmetfelted on February 1, 2009
at 3:53 am
Hi Gerry,
I wanted to thank you for entering my Peter Rabbit into the felting contest. I did notice the criteria you set to distinguish between beginner and advanced..and while I am honored that you put my rabbit in the advanced category..I am merely in beginner status. To date, I have only created 10 needle felted pieces. Every one I have made thus far is located in my Needle Felted-NFEST set on my flickr account..so you are free to check it our ther under Thinkoutsidethebox2008 just for confirmation…Please feel free to contact me with any questions..Thanks so much.
Rachel
By: Rachel on February 6, 2009
at 2:59 am
Hi Rachel,
I moved your bunny to the beginner’s division. It looked so good to me that I figured that you were an advanced felter. Sorry for the mix up!
By: gourmetfelted on February 8, 2009
at 6:33 pm
I do alot of polymer clay but have just started needle felting and am having a ball.I love your blog and have really learned alot just in the few hours I have spent on it. I am having trouble finding a place to put a question and so am trying here. I have had a great time looking at your photos on flickr and noticed how you are able to put the dogs legs in a variety of positions. How do you create your dogs so that they can do this?
By: CJ on February 11, 2009
at 1:17 am
Hi CJ. Welcome to my blog! I’m glad that you were helped here.
Some of the best new felters I noticed were the polymer clay people. You have such an advantage working in 3D already. I had to train my mind to think 3D instead of flat like a painting. I make a wire armature inside of all my dogs. See TOP POSTS on the right column and the second one is a tutorial on making a wire armature. It’s like a stick figure inside the dog. You have to be careful when you are first wrapping the wool around the wire and felting in on. You have to be gentle with the needle so it doesn’t snap as felting needles are very brittle. HAPPY FELTING!
By: gourmetfelted on February 11, 2009
at 5:19 am
Thank you for your reply. After I sent the question, I found the subject area about amatures. It is very clear. Thank you.
By: CJ on February 11, 2009
at 5:32 am
I hope it’s ok to say “hello” and introduce myself a little here? I just found your blog; I’ve been glued to the screen reading all the posts for the last hour.
What a wealth of information! It is so very kind of you to share your knowledge and the beautiful work you have done. It is all lovely.
My first encounter with felting was a little pumpkin I saw in a friend’s magazine. It was love at first sight! I had no idea what I was doing but bought some needles a small bag of coriedale roving (which I’ve found is a bit laborious lol but so far the only thing I’ve tried, oh, other than the poly stuffing which worked great!) and went to play. I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands and usually have several projects going. :} I enjoy learning to work with new mediums. Even at that, this is something different and really wonderful.
I live in a small town out in the desert and local resources are shall we say ‘limited’. The lady at the one and only store which might carry felting supplies looked at me like I’d asked for fish sweaters when I asked about supplies. So the internet has been a real boone in my search to learn. I’ve been devouring youtube and anything else I can find (and fit into the slim downtime I have after the kiddos go to bed
Sorry this has turned into a novel. I’m just so excited to find your blog and the information! Thanks again for being so generous in sharing.
By: kiku on July 13, 2009
at 1:49 am
Hi Kiku,
Thank you for your appreciation. When I started needle felting a few years ago I had to flounder around and learn things on my own..sometimes by the hard way. I thought that it would be nice to help people ENJOY felting more! I will be hosting a needle felting contest in the fall open to all with lovely prizes!! Keep an eye out! Please feel free to ask any questions that I may not have covered. I’d love to hear from you! Thanks so much for your comment!!!! You made my day!!
By: gourmetfelted on July 13, 2009
at 6:19 pm
I will eagerly watch for the contest– I’ve loved seeing everyone’s entries! And continue to scour your blog for all the good info
I’ve admired the little dogs and yours are so beautiful! My hubby was watching me scroll through the posts and kept asking, ‘Is that one real?’ lol
I’m eager to learn the techniques and apply them to animals of all sorts.
By: kiku on July 13, 2009
at 8:04 pm
Hi Kiku,
Thank you so much for your kind words on my sculptures. I would LOVE to see one of your dogs. You could send a photo or two to my email address and I can post it on my blog if you don’t mind.
gfelted@verizon.net
HAPPY FELTING!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on July 21, 2009
at 3:39 am
Oh, I don’t have any dogs I’ve made. . . yet
. I just admire them in general because they look so real! And the details are fantastic. I figured those same techniques can be applied to so many things.
I just felted my first figures last week (a little fairy & a mouse). Not very realistic but my kids have enjoyed playing with them. And I enjoyed making them. My skills are limited but I’m learning!
By: kiku on July 21, 2009
at 3:46 pm
Hello, I am learing SOO much from your website!! THANK YOU!!! I have really jumped in with both feet by purchasing thirteen kitchen garbage bags of raw llama fleece. I have been really busy washing and carding it to try my hand at needle felting. Now I have lots on natural colors.
Most of the fleeces are very wooly but some are more like hair. I thought they could be perfect animal tails and manes.
Would you be willing to share your techniques for adding the fur to the squirrel tail? Thanks for such a great site!! marsha
By: marsha kay on July 29, 2009
at 1:22 pm
Hi Marsha,
Welcome to my blog! I’m so glad that my blog could Help you to enjoy felting more! I did something similar when I first started felting but not that many bags! You must be VERY excited! Llama is nice to work with!
To do the squirrels tail you have to study a real squirrel closely. I layered the colors one by one and carefully trimmed it. It took about 4 hours just to do the tail. The trick is to copy a real squirrels tail and you have to notice every detail. I was quite surprised at the colors in a squirrels tail!! They totally don’t look like what you would guess them to be. Look carefully~
HAPPY FELTING!
By: gourmetfelted on July 29, 2009
at 2:02 pm
thank you. Is the tail fur added to a wire armiture that has a felted covering? Do you start on one side with all the layers and then felt the other side in layers> Or is it felted all the way around? thanks again. marsha
By: marsha kay on July 29, 2009
at 2:17 pm
The tail has wire in it and then it has wool felted on as a base for the long fiber. I did one side in many layers and flipped it over and did the other side. Felting all around could work too. Best to experiment sometimes and see what works best for you!
HAPPY FELTING!
Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on September 10, 2009
at 5:24 pm
Hi Gerry,
Thank you for telling me about this wonderful site! What a lot of great advice and photos to see. It’s so generous of you to give up your time to help others to enjoy the art of needle felting!
My 11 year old son Logan attempted his first needle felted guinea pig yesterday! He tried to make it tiny like my felted animals and I think that was his mistake! He had a few poked fingers (I did tell him the needles were sharp!) He wasn’t happy with the resuly, but I am going to encourage him and shall show him this great site when he gets home from school,
Thanks so much for sharing your advice and tutorials with everyone.
I think your felted creations are fantastic, you are so talented,
Katie
By: Katie on September 10, 2009
at 12:09 pm
Hi Katie,
Welcome to my blog! Thank you for you rkind words on my blog and work! I’m always glad to help a fellow felter!
That is such a wonderful thing to teach your son crafts! My mom always encouraged me to be artistic! My whole adult life has been involved in art and crafting and I have her to thank!
I think that kids should have thimbles when they start needle felting. Felting Needles are very sharp and painful! It is too easy even for ADULTS to poke their fingers, and kids may have less dexterity. Better safe than poked, especially in the beginning!
I use a wire armature and felt the wool onto that, so the needle is pointing inward mostly. Less pokes that way!
Keep up the good work!
HAPPY FELTING!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on September 10, 2009
at 5:31 pm
Hi Gerry,
That is very good advice, I bought some thimbles when I first started felting, but couldn’t get on with myself, my little felted creations tend to be too tiny. I told my son to put on the thimbles, he did have one on, but still managed to poke himself. Luckily he didn’t stab hard, but a child could easily hurt themselves so it is a good idea. The needles are SO sharp!!
Logan is very artistic and follows my passion for painting and crafting, he is very good at drawing and spends every day practising. He thought your needle felted animals were amazing by the way! He couldn’t believe that they weren’t REAL dogs. He kept saying ‘WOW’ to every animal!!!!!
What sort of wire do you use for the armatures?
Love this blog
Katie (and Logan)
By: Katie on September 10, 2009
at 6:17 pm
Hi There!
I think it is fantastic that you share so much information of your craft with others! I find that there are 2 kinds of people in the world – those that hoard their knowledge (which only helps themselves) and those that share their knowledge (so that everyone might benefit from this person and go on to expand the knowledge so that the craft or whatever can grow). I truly appreciate you being the latter!
That being said – your artworks are an inspiration. I have made needle felted mice in the past but all my roving is a natural cream colour. Where do you get that pure white roving? Is it really as white as it seems? What kind of roving is it? I find a sudden desparate need for pure white roving!!! (my fingers are just itching to make a fox)
Thanks from Katlin in Canada
By: Katlin on October 12, 2009
at 8:45 pm
Hi Katie,
I use 22 gauge stainless steel wire for my armatures. I figure it is less likely to rust that way. For larger sculptures I would use thicker wire or double the 22 gauge.
HAPPY FELTING!
By: gourmetfelted on October 13, 2009
at 3:12 pm
I wrap all my armature wire with Floral Tape to help keep it dry and rust free, even stainless, it also helps keep it from snapping if wrapped tightly from repeated bending (my grandchildren are hard on my fairies).
By: Sandra on March 10, 2010
at 4:46 am
Hi Katlin,
Welcome to my blog! Thank you soooooo much for leaving such a lovely comment! You made my day! So many people read my blog and never say thanks!
When I first started needle felting a few years ago, it was so hard to find any help…I had to struggle a lot. So I thought that it would be fun to help other people so they would enjoy felting more.
Everyone has their own style, so even if several people felt the same thing, each will be unique and different from the others.
I am so glad to be an inspiration! That is so heart warming
I do have white wool that I carefully wash with organic peppermint soap and dry in the sunshine! I have it in my shop and I do have red fox colored fiber if you need it!
http://www.gfelted.etsy.com
Please feel free to ask any questions that you may have about felting or wool! I’d be happy to help!
HAPPY FELTING!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on October 13, 2009
at 3:20 pm
can any one tell me where to buy glass eyes for felting thanks
By: jean on March 8, 2010
at 3:31 pm
I get them from glasseyes.com. I usually use 4 mm eyes for a 3 to 4 inch sculpture. It is good to get a few sizes as eye size differs depending on the breed. Please tell him that Gerry sent you! Thanks!
By: gourmetfelted on March 9, 2010
at 6:09 pm
What are the best fabrics to use when doing a soft sculptured body and a felt sculptured head! I will have to attach them and it would be nice if I could hide any stitching by felting over them. The head is almost done and almost 2′ long this is going to be a rather large Dragon when done.
I am hoping to auction him off and give the money to ST Jude’s.
Since I have never mixed the 2 mediums any advice would be greatly appreciateed
By: Sandra on March 10, 2010
at 4:40 am
Hi Sandra,
Welcome to my blog! I am a needle felter so I have no clue about attaching a felted head to a soft sculptured body?? Sorry that i couldn’t be more help!
By: gourmetfelted on March 20, 2010
at 4:40 pm
Hey Sandra– sounds like an ambitious project! And fun
Maybe this is late in coming and you’re already finished? :} I’m no expert in needle felting or fabric craft but I have done a couple of projects where I needle felted into plain old cotton trousers and I KNOW I’ve seen lots of books with projects on jeans. Maybe just take a small square of the fabric you are thinking of using and a clump of wool and see how it felts into it?
By: kiku on March 20, 2010
at 9:10 pm
Hi Gerry,
Hard at work here on my Yorkie with the fibers I got from you! Something occurred to me though, do you use anything to keep the hair in place after you’ve finished and groomed a long hair dog? Hairspray comes to mind but I’d be worried it would possibly discolor/yellow over time. Obviously they aren’t meant to be played with but just the incredible appeal of such a little replica begs to be touched and held!
Thanks,
Chris
By: Chris Shaw on April 17, 2010
at 7:22 pm
Gerry, Do you take custom orders from folks? I have 4 pommies and am looking for some kind of keepsake / remembrance item for each. One is black with uneven front white socks and a little bit of white on his chest, one is a ‘beaver parti-pom’ (white with carmel spots and grey ticking), one is a red sable and one is an incredible chocolate merle. I stumbled across your page today and fell in love with the parti pom you have on your site. Please advise if you do work for others. Thank you kindly, Mary
By: Mary on July 10, 2010
at 3:45 pm
Hi Mary,
I would love to create miniatures of your poms! You can even send me some fur and I can add it to each sculpture! They would be a fun group to needle felt with all those unusual colors! Here is a link to my shop. I do offer discounts for more than one sculpture and take payments! I am currently published in Teddy Bear Review Magazine!! Thank you for your interest in my sculptures!
http://www.gfelted.etsy.com
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on July 10, 2010
at 5:32 pm
Hi Gerry,
Thank you so much for sending me the link for your wonderful blog. I’ve spent the last couple of hours reading it and enjoying everyone’s amazing work. I can’t wait for the fibers I bought to arrive so I can get started on my little raccoon family!
I’ve been wanting to make them for quite a while now but kept putting it off because I don’t know what I’m doing & didn’t know where to go for fibers or advice – until I found you! Thank you!
Chris
By: Chris on October 19, 2010
at 6:52 am
I absolutely love your work. I couldn’t find how to subscribe to your blog, unless I just check the box to notify of site updates.
By: Linda Salisbury on January 14, 2011
at 10:04 pm
How do I subscribe to this Fabulous blog!
By: Scheri on April 2, 2011
at 2:41 am
Hi Scheri,
Welcome to my blog. No subscription needed. Go to the end of any post and you can see a list of all my posts.
Please feel free to ask any queations any time!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on April 2, 2011
at 2:57 am
Hi
A quick hello from the UK. I recently discovered this hobby and having been doing it for a couple of months now – three teddies under my belt, a penguin and a rabbit! I am now attempting my labradoodle Milo with a wire armature. All going so well so far but am starting to feel a little daunted now that I am doing his head! So glad I found your blog – it is very generous of you to share. Your tip on making noses is just brilliant and so simple – lucky I have lots of Sculpey to use from when I did a sculpture of Milo. Will be putting you in my favourites and dipping in regularly.
Sue
By: Sue on May 7, 2011
at 12:19 pm
Hi Sue,
Welcome to my blog! I’m so glad that you discovered my blog. Thank you for your kind words! You made my day! I always save the head for last so I can make it the right size for the rest of the body. When I didn’t do that, sometimes I would have to cut the head off and start a new one!!LOL!
I would love to see a picture of your felties. You can send it to my email if you like.
gfelted@verizon.net
I have to make a new batch of noses myself! Please feel free to ask any questions if you get stuck
Happy felting!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on May 22, 2011
at 9:04 pm
You are fantastic! I just discovered the absolute joy of needle felting! I will have to “favorite” your blog so I can always read it. Of course now my kids have put in a huge list of requests on what they want next…now I just need to find a good source for wool! Thanks for your blog…!
By: Goldberry on July 2, 2011
at 8:13 pm
Thank you for your kind words on my blog! You made my day! I have felting wool in my shop that I use on all of my sculptures.
http://www.gfelted.etsy.com
Happy Felting!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on July 2, 2011
at 11:20 pm
Hey Gerry I’m a fan of your work and probably the youngest needle felter. I just sold one of my pieces for $40.00! I know it’s not much compared to your amazing work but I still don’t even have my learners.I’ve been felting for a year now but I’ve been interested in art since before I could walk. I love felting and am currently making good money as a part-time artist. I’m currently working on a Dalmatain puppy for a store in my community and I was wondering if you could give me some tips. Thanks for inspiring the young little felters like me!
Your littlest artist
By: ThelittleArtist on July 19, 2011
at 4:13 am
Hello my littlest artist!
How old are you? Congrats on your $40 sale! That is REALLY great!! I was so excited when when I first sold something on ebay years ago….$14.99!!! LOL! I never made a dalmation sculpture before, but I did make 101 dalmations out of posterboard. I have made a AHT sculpture. I just posted a picture on my blog. I would suggest making the spots not so perfectly matching and be careful to make the base firm enough so when you add the spots, they don’t make dents. Thank you so much for your kind words! Please feel free to ask any questions anytime!
Happy Felting!!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on July 19, 2011
at 5:00 am
Thanks for the help Gerry! I Love your felting!
By: ThelittleArtist on July 19, 2011
at 6:34 pm
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Loved reading a lot of the posts and picked up some great hints.
What would you suggest for joints in larger felted teddybears? 16 in or so. I am currently using dental floss but would like a joint with a bit more movement.
By: mmp41en Poole on July 20, 2011
at 7:02 pm
Thank you for your kind words. I have no clue about jointed bears. I use wire in all of my sculptures. I double the wire in larger sculptures, but I have never made anything larger than 8 inch. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on July 24, 2011
at 8:56 pm
Thanks for your reply. I’m about to try wire armatures for the first time. I’ll try in a small teddy first, and if I get brave, then I’ll try bigger. Again, thanks!!!
Maureen
By: mmp41en Poole on July 25, 2011
at 12:09 am
Hello gerry thanks for the tips the Dalmatian puppy looks great! I had one more question…I seem to be having a great deal of trouble finding other fibers for sale because I’m the only felter in my community I was wondering who your supplier is and if u order online. U don’t have to answer if it gives away the method to your magical sculptures…thanks again for the pointers
The littlest artist:)
By: ThelittleArtist on July 25, 2011
at 6:12 am
That dog is an American Hairless Terrier or AHT ..not a Dalmation. It does remind you of one with the spots. lol. I have wool for needle felting in my shop.
http://www.gfelted.etsy.com
Just click on the wool section on the left side. I also put together packages to make a certain breed!
I don’t mind sharing! That’s why I made this blog in the first place!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on July 25, 2011
at 4:41 pm
Thanks for the help I was referring to MY dalmatian sculpture that u gave me tips for.LOL(AHT looks amazing though too!) thanks for sharing I hope one day my art can be seen like yours even though it’s not nearly as great!
Sincerely your littlest artist
By: ThelittleArtist on July 25, 2011
at 7:37 pm
Hi there Gerry!
Thank you in advance for any information you can provide. I am new to this absolutely addicting hobby & I was lucky enough to stumble upon your blog while searching for supplies. I am not only excited & inspired after spending several hours pouring over every post & photo, but I’m also completely awestruck by your talent. Your work is just amazing!
I have two quick questions I was hoping to ask. First, I read in several places that you prefer romney roving for your core, but what do you generally find the easiest type of roving to work with as your outermost layer?
Second, sometimes I seem to get a lot of visible “pin holes” when I’m felting the outermost layer. Other times, I don’t notice this at all. What causes those visible pinholes sometimes, but then not others?
Thank you so much again for sharing your beautiful work & your wealth of knowledge. It is so appreciated by u’s “newbies!”
xoxo Patty
By: Patty on December 8, 2011
at 6:57 am
Hi Patty,
Welcome to needle felting! You’ll love it! THANK YOU for your kind words on my blog! Just don’t get discouraged if you poke your fingers a little when you are learning. Soon you will be able to felt the wool and not your fingers!!lol!Romney isn’t the only wool suitable for the core. Any coarse wool would work! As for the topcoat…that depends on what breed I am making. I use alpaca for fluffy long fur. I use silk or silky fibers for shiny silky fur. I use curly wool for curly coated dogs, etc.
I rarely use merino which is the most available wool. Once in a while I may use is for a smooth furred animal that is a little shiny like a horse. It does show the needle holes. Use a FINE needle like a #40 or # 42 which is much thinner than a #36 coarse or #38 medium. After you have gone over the surface with the fine needle, you can gently brush with a soft brush or rub with your hand to “erase” the holes!!
What size needle do are you using now??
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on December 8, 2011
at 8:12 pm
Hi Gerry,
Great blog site, and as everyone else has said before, beautiful work. I first saw your work on your etsy shop.
I have just recently started needle felting and really enjoy it. I’ve done 2 sheep, a pig, and 2 alpacas with one still in the process. I am hoping to start doing dogs to make for people at the animal shelter that I volunteer/Intern at (I’m a newly graduated vet tech
), but I still leave time to do my other forms of art.
I saw that you have contests for beginner and advanced felters that I would love to take part in! Please let me know if you have one coming up.
Also, for anyone who wants to see a great felted piece by one of your contest winners I have to say that the cat named Penelope made by Helen is a must see. Happy felting!!
Hanna
By: Hanna on May 20, 2012
at 6:56 pm
Hi Hanna,
Welcome to my blog! Thank you for your kind words on my Needle Felted Sculptures! Isn’t Needle Felting fun? Sounds like you have a needle felted farmyard going on there! LOL! That’s great that you volunteer at the animal shelter. I love creating custom sculptures of peoples pets. You’ll have fun with that! The first thing that I ever made was a Pomeranian dog.
Yes I agree! I loved that cat made by Helen. She did an amazing job!
Yes I am planning to have another felting contest and am waiting for cool prizes to come in the mail. Be sure to follow my blog and get an email whenever I post.
Just click on FOLLOW right under my blogroll links.
Happy Felting!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on May 20, 2012
at 8:43 pm
Thank you I will be sure to follow
Hanna
By: Hanna on May 21, 2012
at 12:26 am
This may sound silly but what did you use for your background of your Bedlingto Terrier? Is it just a mossy area or did you make something? This helps to make the felted animal look like it is at real scale. I think this is one of yours that is my absolute favorite
Thanks Gerry!
Hanna
By: Hanna on May 22, 2012
at 1:40 am
Hi Hanna.
It is moss. I try to be sure that things near the dog are the right scale to add to the realism! Thanks for noticing!
Happy Felting!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on June 5, 2012
at 1:22 am
Gerry, I have done colored pencil drawings of dogs for several years. I have a friend who did some flat needle felting and thought I might like to try that. Purely by accident I happened to see your work yesterday and fell in love. I have never worked in 3 dimensions before but was inspired to try. I saw the pins you had created and wondered if they would be easier for a 2-D person to start out with than the full body sculptures. How do you attach the pin backs to the piece?
By: jerilynw on June 7, 2012
at 7:12 pm
Hi Jerilynw,
Welcome to my blog!
I think that a semi 3 D pin would be MUCH easier to start if you are used to drawing. I had to do the same thing and teach myself to think 3D as I always sketched flat. After a while you get used to thinking that way and it gets easier to sculpt it. Whenever I see a real cat or dog I study the angles and feel the shapes of their body so I can reproduce them more accurately.
I glue the pins on the back and felt wool over it so it doesn’t show as much. Please feel free to ask any more questions!
Happy Felting!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on June 12, 2012
at 12:43 am
Where do I post questions…… I am new to this group
Thanks Joan
By: Joan on September 2, 2012
at 4:45 am
Hi Joan,
Welcome to my blog! You can post a question anywhere as I directly get every email right away. I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have if I can!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on September 2, 2012
at 1:06 pm
Hi there!! Your dogs are amazing… and your blog is so, so informative!!! I just love all of the tutorials and the advice! You are a wealth of information!! Thanks for sharing all of that!!! I read that you make your own polymer clay noses… do you add wire loops to the back of them or are they just flat backed?? I have used noses that I purchased that have a wire loop on the back and I used that plus a little glue, I just wasn’t sure if the noses are hard to get to stay on without a loop???
By: Kenya on May 4, 2013
at 11:48 am
Hi Kenya,
Welcome to my blog!
The noses are just flat backed. I use Krazy glue with a brush to glue my eyes and noses. Actually it is the purple Krazy glue so I can see where it is applied. I usually put some on the wool twice and stick the nose on. I do it twice as the glue usually wicks right into the wool. Be sure that you have it lined up straight as it sticks on pretty quickly! I like the purple as you can see where it was applied in case you need to wipe a little off that was applied where you didn’t want it to be. I also like the control that you have with the brush as you can apply just the amount that you need and moved it around a little with the brush bristles especially good when gluing the eyes on. Thanks for your question!
Happy felting!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on May 4, 2013
at 2:14 pm
Hi Kenya,
Thank you for your comment on my dogs and blog! I do not add loops to the noses. I put Krazy glue on the nose area 2 times and then stick the nose on pressing it for a few seconds. I put the glue on at least twice as it soaks right into the wool so sometimes it is too dry to stick well!
Happy Felting!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on May 12, 2013
at 11:08 pm
Hi I just started needle felting and just not sure what size eyes to use for my dogs and cats my dog is 4 inch’s long and need to know about my dogs size on it’s nose… thank you Joni
By: Joni on June 9, 2013
at 5:06 pm
Hi Joni,
Welcome to my blog! I usually use 4mm black glass eyes for 4 inch sculptures. I get the ones on the straight wire and cut the wire leaving about 1/3 inch on. Then I make a hole with the felting needle to push the eye in. I get my eyes from glasseysonline. Please tell him that Gerry sent you! Thanks!
As to noses, I make my own and I would use a 1/8 to 1/4 inch nose for that size depending on the breed.
Thanks for your question!
Happy felting!
~Gerry
By: gourmetfelted on June 9, 2013
at 9:29 pm
Thank you that will help me oh what size needle do you use or what is the best I know they have a lot of different size..
By: Joni on June 10, 2013
at 3:38 pm
I always use the #36 coarse for the core and most everything else. Sometimes I use #38 medium star also. I use #40 once in a blue moon when I use something fine like merino wool which I can’t stand!
By: gourmetfelted on June 11, 2013
at 2:29 am