Needle Felting Festive Blog - Feltworld

Hello and welcome to my creative world.

In previous posts, I’ve written about wet felting techniques. Wet felting is where you use soap and water to felt 100% natural lambs wool fibres together to form a durable material, the tiny hooks that are on the individual  fibres link together due to the action of rubbing the wet fibres. This month I want to tell you about needle felting.

Needle felting, is classed as dry felting and doesn’t require water but a sharp needle with barbs /niks in the needle, these little niks with grab the fibres and bind them together to make felt like magic.

These needles come in a variety of sizes. There’s a thicker blunt end that you hold and a much finer end that you use to stab into the loose woollen  fibres. And make sure it is the fibres you are stab, not your fingers, ‘cos they are sharp! But this technique is fun and it never ceases to amaze me what you an make from just stabbing away at the fibres. 

As with wet felting, needle felting will allow you to make flat or 3D items. For flat pieces, the wool is placed on a piece of foam or polystyrene that will let the needle penetrate the wool easily . Further strands of wool are added and joined to this base later using the same technique. Pretty soon you will have either a 3 dimensional animal or  flat picture that can be framed and hung on a wall. 

To get started with 3D pieces, you first make a ball of felting wool and gently stab the needle into it until it becomes a compact mass that holds together on its own.  Once you have this basic ball, you can add to it and begin to give it shape. 

In the pictures, you’ll see how I’ve formed the felted wool into the shape of a rabbit.  Little animals lend themselves to this kind of needle felt sculpture, and you can make small birds or other furry animals. Once you are proficient at needle felting, you can even include wire formers inside the arms of an animal to allow limited movement. 

If you would like to learn how to do needle felting, I offer half and one-day courses. All the materials and refreshments are supplied.  The full-day session also includes a light lunch. 

Why not come along and see how it’s done – or perhaps give a Feltworld gift voucher to someone you love.

Details of all my courses and gift vouchers can be found on my web site:

www.feltworld.co.uk

Feltworld – Creative Art Courses; felt making and other creative skills Feltworld – Creative Art Courses offer a variety of fun creative courses covering wet-felting, needle felting, batik, and textile printing techniques. Based in Penkridge we are easily accessible from the M6 and the Rail network. www.feltworld.co.uk

Have a very Merry Christmas however you spend it.

Barbara 

Winter Woollies – with a difference in the Midlands UK – Please click on previous Blogs

Winter Woollies - with a difference in the Midlands UK

Winter Woollies – with a difference in the Midlands UK

The clocks have gone back, any hope of an Indian summer has faded, and winter woollies are making their annual appearance. But while the weather may be drab, there’s no reason to dress in a boring way.

 

In fact, you can dress warmly and still turn heads with a unique scarf that you’ve made yourself at a Feltworld Creative Art Course.

Feltworld offers scarf making courses several times each year, with a number of them over the winter period. Why not come along and see for yourself the beautiful designs that are possible with felted wool.

You have two options. There’s the traditional warm woolly scarf that’s ideal for keeping out the cold on long winter walks. There’s also the beautiful Nuno felted scarf which allows you to create really stunning and unusual designs. You can even decide what sort to make on the day if you aren’t quite sure which one you prefer.

The word ‘Nuno’ is Japanese for cloth. It is a wet felting technique that merges loose woollen fibres with a sheer fabric such as silk gauze. When felted the wool shrinks during the felting process it leaves a beautifully subtle texture on the silk, unlike any other technique.  This texture and drape lends itself to the beautiful movement required in a scarf. While the warm woolly scarf does not require a base layer, it still allows for beautiful designs using different coloured woollen fibres.

You can make either one of these scarves in a day with expert tuition from Barbara at Feltworld Creative Art Courses.

Why not take a look at the course page on the https://feltworld.co.uk/courses page

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Gift vouchers are available £30 -£65 or £130 if you are looking for a unique and practical Christmas gift.

Details on the website- Up and coming dates: 9th December -16th December and more…

For details visit https://www.feltworld.co.uk/felt-scarf-making

Special offers at Hobby Craft Stafford -£25 Classes

Christmas Needle Felting at Stafford HobbyCraft -Taster classes – Animals and Picture  https://www.feltworld.co.uk/hobbycraft-courses

Discover the fascination of creative felt-making

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Felt – the oldest textile

We typically think of textiles as the woven cloth used for clothes and soft furnishings.  But it wasn’t always that way. Wool has been used in creative ways for thousands of years.

Felt, made out of wool fibre, is thought to be the oldest known textile. For many people, especially those in nomadic groups, it is still a useful material used to make clothing, rugs, and even tents.

For others of a certain age, felt brings back childhood memories of Fuzzy-Felt pictures made out of those colourful pre-cut felt shapes. Sadly, computer games are more popular with today’s kids.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be a nomad or of any particular age to join in the resurgence of felt-making as a very colourful medium for both practical and artistic use. The group of ladies who joined me for one of my two-day Creative Felt Weekend courses were able to discover just how versatile and colourful felt-making can be.

Felt is colourful and very versatile

The Creative Felt Weekends cater for both beginners, and for felt-makers who want to learn how to make more ambitious felt pieces. And the choice of things you can make is extensive.

The ladies who attended this weekend had the choice of making:

A large felt picture

An upholstered footstool

A seamless bag

A pair of slippers

A tea cosy or bowl

A Nuno Felted Scarf

A warm woolly scarf

Needle felted animal or picture

I hired a beautiful converted barn with so much character in a beautiful setting close to Penkridge for the weekend. A couple of ladies stayed in the accommodation there and Janis had travelled all the way from the USA to attend. I ran the course from there, what a treat.

Six ladies attended, many of them were first time felters and jumped in at the deep end and the more advanced level where they made slippers and handbags. I’m happy to say that there were all amazed at what they achieved in such a short time and all of their creations were fabulous.

Many of these items are also taught on my one-day courses.

For details of the next Creative Felt Weekend and all the other courses I offer, please visit the Courses page where you’ll see many more examples of what can be made from felted wool.

Felt picture of a cottage

Handbag made of Merino wool

Felt handbags

Small felt bird detail

 

Felt Slipper and Bowl Making

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You’ll be surprised at what you can make using felted wool!

I love to teach this class and am really looking forward to teaching it again.  My workshops are usually very flexible as I prefer to have people making what they would like to make. I would much rather you make something that you want to use or give as a present. Just ask me any question and I will endevour to get back to you pronto!

Slipper information

We will use the wet felting method to make slippers to fit the shape of you’re own feet.

I am always surprised at the very different shapes and sizes that are put in front of me lol. No seriously, you will make slippers custom made to the shape and size of your feet I promise you.

We will use a custom made template/relief and set to work with my beautiful array of different coloured fibres. We then layer wool to the required thickness before wetting with soap and water.  This causes the fibres to felt together when agitated.

You will be amazed at how quickly you can make your personalized slippers. They make fabulous Christmas presents if you feel the urge to make some for your family and friends. You can find out details of the courses and book online here: https://www.feltworld.co.uk/slippers-bags-bowls

Bye for now 🙂

Barbara.

A selection of felt bowls

Felted slippers and bowls

Making a felt slipper

Slippers made from felt

Working on a felted slipper