If you’re following me on Instagram or twitter, you might know that recently I have found a new hobby. A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon some very cheap wool rovings in a local market and bought them in a whim. I played with them for a couple of days, making balls and simple shapes.
Sidra and friend needle-feltingMy husband and Sidra even got interested to join along. And in turn, Sidra’s friends got interested to try as well. For several days, my living room looks like a needle-felting after school workshop with kids sitting around the table poking with needles. They seem happy making little balls to take home. I love that they enjoy other activities beside playing games!
In the evening, Sidra loves to have me around when he’s watching his favorite shows. I don’t really like watching TV shows, so this activity is perfect for me! Sidra can watch TV while I sit next to him poking with my needles for hours. I found this new activity so meditative. Repetitive stabbing of needles, combined with finger pressings, turn the wool roving into any kind of shape.
Here’s some little creatures that I have made!
Doglet, made with Gretel Parker‘s tutorial in Mollie Makes magazine (I bought the digital version).
Penguin, made with tutorial from Japanese book Basic technique of making felt wool mascot.
Bunny with battery-operated LED eyes, made with Techno-Shugei kit (Japanese).
Zombie sheep, made with tutorial from the book I Felt Awesome by Moxie (I bought the Kindle version).
There are many things that I still need to learn. My needle-felted creatures seems so wuzzy with fibers flying around them, unlike those smooth ones that I saw in books and websites. I don’t know why, maybe I didn’t spend enough time stabbing them? If you do needle-felting, I really appreciate if you’re willing to share any tips!
13 Comments
mbak, this is cuteness overload. and the led eyes just kills me. ^_^
He’s a cute bunny trying to be creepy :P
Oh these are so cute! It reminds me of the cuteness of amigurumi (crocheted stuffed animals), of which I have done a few. I love that you put LED eyes in one!
I don’t really have anything helpful to suggest, but may I say that “maybe I didn’t spend enough time stabbing them?” is my new favorite saying :)
LOL! I should say it outloud in public! :P
i don’t do needle felting but these would make for great Christmas ornaments!
I think so! I might make some bells and ornaments as well :)
Oh, these are too cute! Is it bad that I’ve never even heard of needle-felting? I love these and want to learn more about it!
I have only heard of them a few years ago! It is quite popular here in Japan with many books on them, that’s why I started to get interested. Needle felting is done by stabbing wool fiber repeatedly with special barbed felting needle to make the wool tangled and compressed. It is quite like sculpting!
Hello from England! That is a very good doglet, you should be pleased with him. For smoothness, you really do have to work for a long time, to get a smooth finish. Also, it looks as if most of the wool you have used in your projects is a bit coarse – I only use merino, which is very fine and very fuzzy but will go down to a neat, smooth finish. And, a cheat tip, you are ‘allowed’ to trim bits with scissors if you like, I do!
As long as your project has some squidgyness to it, is is likely to be hairy – the harder you make it, the more the hairs are tucked away and the neater it looks. But quite a lot of people like the fuzzy look (I prefer mine to look as smooth as possible though).
Hello Gretel! Thank you so much for dropping by and leaving me a comment! I looove your needlefelt creations and illustrations. I don’t know what kind of wool that I used, still have to learn about the types, will be looking for merino then! I love the smooth look too, so I will try to spend more time and patience on them. Thank you again for the useful tips! :)
Your little creatures are so adorable! I have also done some needlefelting, and find that the more I stab at them the more smooth and dense they become. The surface is still often rather fuzzy though, so sometimes I carefully with sharp scissors trim away any extra fuzziness, which makes them a lot more smooth. You do need to make sure that the needlefelted parts are quite solid and firm before you do this though.
Thank you so much for the tips! I didn’t know you can also trim them. I guess I should spend more time and patience stabbing them then :)