A Beginners Guide to Felting

All you need is wool, a needle, lots of patience and endless imagination.

New to felting, never felted before? or just curious how it all works. This page will give you a guide to how needle felt works and what can be achieved.

There are also separate guides containing information about needles and wool.

Leather finger protectors

Silicone finger protectors

A Quick Introduction to what Needle Felting is.

Welcome to the world of Needle felting, so what exactly is needle felting?.

Felting is a fun and addictive hobby where you can make any 2D or 3D shapes out of wool. Needle felting is also sometimes referred to as fibre art or fibre sculpting. Put simply the process works by poking wool repeatedly with a specialist needle. When wool is agitated by the needle it condenses and starts to become firm. With a little patience and experience wool can become a sculpting material that can be used to make complex designs and shapes.

So, how does it work? The felting process works by taking an amount of carded wool, you and then stab or poke it repeatedly with a barbed felting needle. The stabbing action hooks wool fibres on to the needle and pulls, knits, and tangles the loose woollen in different directions. This process starts to bind the fibres together. When, repeated over and over by adding more wool and continually poking the wool begins to shrink down, change shape and become firm. Different sizes and styles of needles can be used to create different effects, various needles are used to work with certain types of wool. There are many sizes and styles of needles to choose from, which can be a little confusing when you’re starting out. What you need will depend on what project you are creating. Check out my guide to felting needles, by clicking the tab below for more in-depth information.

FREE Needle Guide

How do you get started or plan a project?

Felting isn't a quick process, you'll become quicker with practice, but creating even fairly small pieces can be time consuming. It’s important to have comfortable work space where your body is supported correctly and your materials are within easy access.

To get started and how to acquire a good amount of skills, felting kits are an ideal way to kick start your new hobby. They are readily available at good felting retailers and outlets throughout the U.K. or on sites such as Amazon. Kits always come with instructions and the materials you need. The beauty of a kit is, if you feel your first attempt isn't your best work you're able to re-create as many times as you wish.

If you looking to create something original, or want additional practice without the expense of a kit, a great idea to start with simple shapes such as a heart, cylinder or ball. A 40g triangular needle and a batt of Corriedale wool will cost less than £5 and will allow you to create lots of shapes. There are lots of projects for beginners available online to help you pick a place to start. There is a project for beginners and more experienced felters alike, is available totally FREE of charge on this website. Click the link below to get started.

FREE Bumblebee Project

Wire Armature

Make a start - To start creating a piece of fibre art, you can begin either by taking a small amount of core wool and rolling it very tightly into a ball, or by tying it in a knot or roll it into a sausage shape, then stabbing it a few times with a needle to firm it up. This basic shape then acts as a core to build upon, the sculping process starts by adding smaller wisps of wool to the core shape. These smaller wisps will build and eventually start to form the shape you require. This process is ideal for smaller pieces like bumblebees, toadstools, pumpkins etc.

Wire or pipe cleaners can be used to make a frame that adds stability, especially to larger free standing structures . These wire skeletons are used mostly for animals, figures, or very large projects. Core wool is wrapped securely around these frames and felted or glued into place, smaller wisps of wool are then added continually and built on to make the desired shape and size. Depending on what you’re working on and what type of finish you require different wools may be required at various stages. Wools for quick bulk felting are different to wools that create fine smooth finishes to your work. There are also wools to create animal fur or varying textures or colour effects. Check out my guide to felting wool to choose the correct wool for your projects.

How to felt safely - Felting needles are exceptionally sharp. if you poke yourself with one, you will without a doubt know about it and possibly lose some blood. I can guarantee if you pursue felting as a pastime you will at some stage prick yourself, so please take it easy and be careful. Store needles thoughtfully preferably in a sealed container or plastic needle tube.
Leather finger protectors are available to buy if you are concerned about too many needle prick injuries. I would highly recommend protectors if you take medication that thin blood. Alternatively, if leather protectors feel to cumbersome or you'd prefer a vegan version. Rubber thimbles, and silicone finger protectors are also available. A cheap alternative is to add sticking plaster to the fingers on hand you hold the project in, this will also give you some protection. Protectors are available to buy most places. leather versions from all quality felting supplies stores and vegan and alternative versions from ebay, amazon etc.
The sharpness of the needle may make felt kits or projects unsuitable for young children, I recommend 12 years+ with supervision.
Certain wools are very fibrous and do shed. If you suffer form allergies or any condition that can affect breathing, work in a well ventilated area and take regular breaks. The effects will be minimal, but it’s worth monitoring if you’re sensitive.
Finished felt projects are designed to be pieces of art and for ornamental use. They do not make great toys for young children. If over handled, they will lose shape and shed fibres. These fibres can become lodge in a child’s throat, especially if the wool is sucked or chewed and could cause coking or irritation.

FREE Guide to felting wool

Felt covered felting pad, foam block & a 3 needle holder.

How will I know when to stop and can you over felt?

Your finished piece should feel firm, and bouncy. Most beginners make the mistake of not felting for long enough, or not using the correct wool for the project. Under felting causes pieces to lack details, and be too soft with no structure. A successful felt should have the feel of a quality plush toy a bit like a teddy bear, squeezy but not too soft, strong but hot hard.

The more you felt the smaller and stiffer your wool will become. Knowing when to stop can be tricky at first. Over felting makes a piece look unattractive and stiff. If it is too hard, felting additional wisps to a structure or adding fine details becomes exceedingly difficult. Excessive felting breaks down the wool and this can have the opposite effect, where the wool becomes soft and breaks apart. At this point unfortunately it is time to start again. Everyone over felts from time to time firm and bouncy is the desired goal.

Stuff that helps - Using your fingers and hands is also an important part of sculpting your work, pulling the wool taught, holding wisps in place, twisting, squeezing, stretching etc, all help mould and shape the wool. Rotate your project in your hands regularly to ensure an even felt. To give you an additional free hand and as a platform for prolonged felting invest in a felting mat / block. These are normally made from dense foam, sponge, covered rags or polystyrene. It makes felting flat pieces or certain shapes much easier. Holding steady a project on a matt or pad, gives more control, it allows to felt quicker, it also gives your needles some soft to plunge into rather than your fingers. Felting pads are available to buy from most UK felting suppliers and platforms. You may wish to try a couple of different ones, before you find the one that's right for you. I prefer dense foam sponge blocks, be wary of cheap polystyrene blocks, they break down very quickly and blunt needles within no time. Needle holders that can hold 3 or more needles at one time, are a good investment. If you are working on a large project, these are great, they cut down on time and are really labour saving. To find more helpful information visit my hacks page.

Remember small is best, and allow yourself time - adding big bulky pieces of thick wool or long lengths may seem like a short cut and a labour-saving solution, but this can look unsightly and be difficult to manage. It will also reduce the amount of detail you can achieve in your work, it puts strain on your needles often leading to breakages. It is hard to remove unwanted wool, once it’s firmly in place, always easier to add small and gradually. Felting is a repetitive process and as a beginner it can seem to take ages to get anywhere, but experience brings speed. Smaller projects can be completed in a few hours, larger more complex items can take days. The more you felt the quicker you will become.