Felting Needle – Cream

What is a Felting Needle?

A felting needle is a special needle with barbed blades. When you punch the needle through a bundle of fibers, it bonds them together to form a dense non-woven fabric such as wool felt.

What is Felting?

Needle felting (also called wool felting) is the process of turning raw fiber into a sheet of fabric, or a 3D object. Unlike wet felting, it’s quick to do and not messy at all. Working with a barbed needle is really easy. In fact, you don’t need lots of talent or creativity to make beautiful felted items. If you can imagine it, you can make it – everything from teddy bears and fuzzy animals to decorative items for your home. You can even make wearable art and felt jewelry.

What Supplies do You Need for Needle Felting?

• Raw felting wool, also called wool roving or batting.
• Felting needle.
• Felting surface. This can be a foam block, or a special felting brush.

How to Make Needle Felted Objects

Gather your wool roving into a bundle on your felting block and start punching it with the felting needle. Use a straight downwards movement and don’t use too much force or you will bend and break your needle. Also, always be careful of your fingers, the needles are really sharp!

Shortly, you will see the wool bundle starting to firm up and take shape. By turning the wool and punching in certain areas, the barbs start interlocking the fibers and the wool bonds, or felts. You can shape the wool into almost any form you like. As the wool starts taking shape, it will become more compact and dense. Then, when you’re happy with the shape that you created and it is firm enough, you can use small sharp scissors to tidy any stray wool threads sticking away from your creation. Viola, you’re finished!

Still not sure how felting works? Watch this quick demo video!

HELP! There’s a Rust Spot on My Needle

Unlike sewing needles, felting needles are not chrome plated or treated against rust and even brand new needles sometimes look corroded. With the slightest humidity in the air, you might notice rusty spots on your needle. However, don’t worry, it won’t affect the usefulness of your needle at all. Dip a cloth in vinegar and gently wipe away the rust and your needle is as good as new.