Little Felted Animals, Marie- Noëlle Horvath and Richard Boutin
Needle felting is a process originally developed for making industrial felt. Barbed steel needles are moved in and out of loose woolen fiber to create a matted felt fabric. Now, felting is a hobby that can be practiced by anyone with the right materials, interest, and passion. Instead of fabric, little animals, cute foods or other accessories are made.
You will need to collect the materials needed in order to properly start your felting. You can buy these supplies from craft stores such as Michael's and JOANN, or even just Walmart! Personally, I already owned most of the materials, but I purchased my wool from Daiso Japan. There are two different types of wool used according to the different projects: combed wool and carded wool. "Combed wool fibers are longer and have been cleansed by the combing process. Carded wool fibers are more tangled and often contain impurities (scraps of straw, seeds, ect.), which must be removed before felting." (Marie- Noëlle Horvath 6) I chose to use combed wool because removing impurities seem like a hassle and it was easier to get my hands on it since it's more popular.
In addition to wool, you will need felting needles, which are thicker than sewing needles and have a handle. The reason using felting needles is more effective is that they come in different sizes and having a handle on the needle makes it easier for one to hold while felting. "The special barbed felting needles come in several sizes. Use the finest ones for felting different parts of the body and the coarsest ones for fixing them together." (Marie- Noëlle Horvath 4) You also need sewing needles, sewing thread, scissors, cotton piping cord, and a foam felting pad. Sewing needles and thread is used for sowing on facial features and other small details that you cant felt in. Scissors are used to cut the thread and pieces of wood when necessary. A foam felting pad serves as a base for you to work on. It provides support for the needle felting process. The cotton piping cord is used for embedding inside the wool to reinforce the arms and legs of some of the animals.
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| Here are the materials I collected |
Once I had all the materials, I started attempting to practice felting. I decided to re-create the Welsh Corgi.
(Marie- Noëlle Horvath 34) (Marie- Noëlle Horvath 35)
I decided to start off with making the cute little corgi legs since it seemed simple.
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2. I used my felting needle and moved in and out
of the fiber in a straight vertical motion until it held
together. I started with deep jabs to make sure I was felting
the inner fibers, slowing shaping the wool into an oval shape.
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| 3. I cut a piece of the cotton piping cord, and placed it on top of my wool. |
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| 4. I took another piece of wool around the same size as the first piece, and placed it on my foam pad. |
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| 5. I continued to jab the wool with my needle until it became an oval shape, like my first piece of wool. |
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| 6. I placed my second oval over my first oval, and started jabbing the edges of the 2 with my needle to combine them and cover the piece of piping cord. Then, I shaped it into a foot and leg shape with my fingers and continued felting the wool into shape. |
That's my finished leg, and I made 3 more. Felting really takes a lot of concentration and focus, because it's easy to accidentally poke yourself with the needle, so I have to be very careful. It might be a struggle and take a while and hundreds of jabs before the wool actually starts to hold together, but I'm sure it is easy to get used to, and I'll improve. Also, I believe this will be rewarding in the end when I'll have completed my adorable felted corgi! That concludes this blog for today, stay tuned for my future blogs, where I'll be creating the other parts of the corgi!
My questions: What part of felting do you think is the hardest? Does felting interest you? Would you ever try felting yourself? If so, what would you attempt to make?
Marie- Noëlle Horvath and Richard Boutin. Little Felted Animals, Watson-Guptill Publications, 2008.
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ReplyDeleteI think for me, the hardest part of felting would be to handle the needle. I've sewn in the past, and getting a good grip on those things are a real hassle. Felting seems like an interesting hobby, which can really be a good way to pass-time or for a present to someone, which can be quite useful. I think I would attempt felting, and I would probably attempt something simple, like a chair?
ReplyDeleteThere are different types of felting needles! Some have a large handle so that it's easier to use, and some have a small handle. Those are a little thicker than the needle and they're harder to use. I agree! It's good hobby to take on if you're bored and need something to do.
DeleteHi Cynthia! I love what you're doing with the corgis. I would say that the hardest thing for me was getting the wool dense enough to stay together. I haven't felted in a while and want to get back into it. What tips would you give a fairly new felter and where do you get your supplies?
ReplyDeleteHey Kelsey, I agree. Since needles are so thin, it's pretty difficult to jab the wool until it holds together in the shape I want it to. If I don't poke it enough times, it's really flimsy and doesn't hold together the way I want it to. I'm a new felter myself, but most importantly, you need to be patient to achieve success and you need to hold the needle vertically.
DeleteShiba inus are so cute! I like that they're so delicate and small when finished and I could just put it on my shelf as decoration. Felting really tested my patience and I think at the end of this, I'll be a more patient person.
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