Posted by: gourmetfelted | October 28, 2015

Best Eyes for Needle Felted Miniatures Dogs, Bears, Dolls by Gourmet Felted

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 GOOD NEWS! My favorite eye supplier for my felted sculptures now has New Glass eyes on convenient wire pins!  The wire is cut already so you don’t have to bother with any cutting. The wire pin length ranges from approximately 6mm (approx. 1/4 inch) to 12mm (approx. 1/2 inch) Colors: Solid Black, Clear, Blue, Green, or Dark Amber.
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People are always asking me what size eyes do I use in my sculptures. Generally, I use the same size eye as the inches in height measured to the top of the head. So I use 2 mm eyes in 2 inch, 3 mm in a 3 inch, 4 mm in 4 inch, 5 mm in a 5 inch, etc.

Of course some breeds have larger eyes like a Shih Tzu  or smaller eyes like Chow Chow or Samoyed…see photos.

It’s good to have several sizes,  so you can see how they look. Poke a hole in the head where you want to insert the eyes and the short wire will keep them in place. Check that the SIZE is right.  Be sure to check that they line up before gluing. More on eye placement in this post.

NEEDLE FELTED TUTORIAL~TIP OF THE WEEK~ EYES for NEEDLE FELTED DOGS~HOW?

I get my glass eyes from http://www.glasseyesonline.com

Here are the new glass eyes on wire pins featured in this post. I just love them! I am even including them in my needle felted dog kits!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/185225065/20-pair-3mm-or-4mm-or-5mm-or-6mm-glass?ref=shop_home_active_4

Please tell him Gerry sent you! Thanks!

eyes poodleeyes shih tzueyes chow

Posted in dog, EYES, felted, FELTING, GETTING STARTED NEEDLE FELTING, GLASS EYES, needle felted, needle felted dog, NEEDLE FELTED QUESTIONS ANSWERED, needle felting, wool | Tags: , , , , , ,

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Responses

  1. I have just purchased an “Expression Set” from glasseyesonline.com (via Etsy.com). It’s a set of glass eyes from 3MM to 10MM set on pins. They are removable and help with size choice and proper placement. I have not used glass eyes before and I was agonizing over which size to order. This involves an extra step but allows me to be sure before I order.

    By: JAS on November 2, 2010
    at 2:59 pm

    Reply

    • Great Idea! Welcome to my blog! Those eyes are also great for eye placement which is sometimes overlooked. I have seen gorgeous sculptures with lopsided eyes. It is one of the most important details. That’s great that you have that set as some breeds have eyes that are smaller or larger than usual! I have assorted sizes of eyes so I do the same thing. You can put one size temporarily in place to see if they “fit” and them try another to see what looks best. It’s easy to do before gluing a pair in permenently. Thanks for the tip!
      ~Gerry
      Happy Felting!

      By: gourmetfelted on November 2, 2010
      at 3:46 pm

      Reply

  2. What size eyes would you recommend for a yorkie between 3 and 4 inches tall?

    By: Rae on April 17, 2013
    at 7:24 am

    Reply

  3. Hi Rae,
    I use 4 mm black glass eyes for that size. Of course it would depend on the breed also as some dogs have large eyes and some small. I get my eyes from glasseyesonline.com
    Please tell him that Gerry sent you! Thanks for your question!
    Happy Felting
    ~Gerry

    By: gourmetfelted on April 17, 2013
    at 4:14 pm

    Reply

  4. Hi, i’ve been searching high and low but i couldnt find any answers to it…. Those plastic animal safety eyes that come with washer, how do you insert the washer into your needle felting projects?

    By: ♥ Seraph on May 9, 2013
    at 12:03 am

    Reply

    • Hi Seraph,
      You won’t find a post on eyes with washers as I never use them. If I did, I would make a slit with an x-acto knife and insert it. Then I would add some fresh wool to felt the slit together. Attach the eye and felt more wool all around it to be sure that it stays in.
      Happy Felting!
      ~Gerry

      By: gourmetfelted on May 12, 2013
      at 11:04 pm

      Reply

  5. as for the washer eyes, ive been mounting them on felt first, and felting the structure to my models…..

    By: kevin on January 13, 2015
    at 5:48 am

    Reply

  6. That poodle is precious! I’m new to needle felting and just stumbled across your blog. Thanks for having so much info all in one place. I am looking forward to reading more of your posts. You do beautiful work.

    By: poodle on April 22, 2017
    at 12:48 pm

    Reply

    • Thank you for your comment! Happy felting!

      By: gourmetfelted on June 25, 2017
      at 1:08 pm

      Reply


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