My Top 5 Needle Felting Tips for Beginners and Long Time Felters!
- theawalk6
- Mar 16, 2022
- 3 min read
Hi Felty Friends!
I wanted to share my top 5 Needle Felting Secrets, whether your a beginner or a long time felter - read on!
TOP FIVE NEEDLE FELTING TIPS: Felting Needle Holder – Have you ever tried a holder for a felting needle? I’ve tried the wood holders and find that they feel awkward in my hand. I do use them occasionally but they are not my favorite. I also like the multi-needle felting pens. But the 3 needles at once aren't always convenient. What I finally found to be the most comfortable is putting my single felting needle in a muti-needle pen! If you do not have a felting pen, you could try using an old papermate pen etc. To do this, remove the insides from the pen, put the needle down in the pen until it comes out the bottom and fill the rest in with packed wool. A multi-needle holder is my favorite though!
Felting Cushion – I have tried DIY burlap sack cushions which work well but do not last very long. I do like the look of the burlap mats though! I also have tried the Clover brush felting mat - which I prefer to only use when 2d felting. I highly recommend this one for 2d flat felting as the wool doesn't get stuck on the mat as much compared to say a foam mat. In a pinch, I have used a foam sponge from the cleaning section from the Dollarama! My all time favorite cushion for needle felting I have found is a charcoal high density foam mat! I prefer to buy mine from Fibre Craft in Canada - but I have seen them many stores.
Armature – I love using wire armature in my needle felted creations. There are various sizes of wire - thinner wire being good for fingers, and feet. and thicker wire for larger body armatures. Small figures under 4", I don't typically use an armature. I like to wrap my wire in pipe cleaners, this helps the wool stick to it when you wrap it around. Another thing I like to use to help the wool stick to the wire is beeswax! I melt the wax in my wax warmer and dip the wire in or use a toothpick to apply the wax to the wire.
Using A Felting Kit - If you are a beginner needle felter or a experience expert, felting kits are super fun! I actually started needle felting from a learn to needle felt kit! Felting kits and Felting starter kits are great because you are not left with a ton of extra wool and materials if you decide felting is not for you. I have created a variety of beginner DIY felting kits. They are available on my website. The kits contain everything you need to complete a project. The kits are designed by myself for beginners, aimed at anyone ages 9 and up. They make great Waldorf homeschool projects.
Felting Thin Pieces without poking your finger - I made a felting tutorial for this on my Instagram, and show you how to use 2 small pieces of cardboard and a binder clip to felt thin pieces without poking your finger! Head over to watch!
Tell me your felting secrets in the comments if you care to share!
Thats all the tips I have for now! Thanks for joing me,
Thea
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