A Guide to Felting Needles

Lets start at the beginning, what are felting needles? 

Felting needles are approximately 7-8cm long and made of steel and have a thinner, pointed shaft at one end where the barbs are located and a thicker top with a bend, a bit like a walking stick. They come in different gauges and styles, the small the gauge number the thicker the needle. The style determines what finish you'll achieve and the gauge or size determines the thickness of the needle and the size of the barbs. A thicker heavier barbed needle is often used to felt thick course wool and for sculpting shapes before finer details are added. They do your base work, the large barbs quickly knit fibres together giving a sturdy core shape to work with. Finer needles with smaller barbs add finesse to your work and help to create details.  

You can felt just holding these needles as they are between your fingers, while you stab up and down. It is my preferred way. This however this method of felting is not popular with everyone and can cause stress on your hand, so a holder is normally recommended. Holders are usually wooden, but plastic examples are available. They hold just a single needle or multiple needles at one time. A Multiple holder is ideal for large bulky projects, it’s usually holds 3 needles and can felt a large area quickly, it’s a great labour saving tool. Multiple needles are not great for adding detail or finer work. For this I would stick to a single needle holder. They are available through most UK needle felting suppliers. Holders are said to sit more comfortably in the hand and give more control. 

Do I need to own every needle, and do they blunt?

You don't need to own every size needle, I tend to only use 3 sizes 38, 40 and 42 and I find these suitable regardless of what I am making. It is all about trial and error and finding what you're happy using. Small projects rarely need a heavy gauge needle. I find a 40g needle is a good all rounder for small projects. Check out the gauge guide at the base of this page to choose your type.

Needles do over time blunt, it depends how often you use them to how quickly there'll wear out. You'll know when a needle is blunting because it will stop picking up fibres as well and the process becomes harder and slower. Breakages can also happen as needles wear, try and felt in a vertical movement rather than diagonally, it puts less strain on the needle and can prevent frequent breakages.  Felting needles aren't terribly expensive, so replacing them isn't too painful. The average price is around 60p per needle.  I would recommended buying your needles from a good needle felting supplier my preferred suppliers are world of wool or simply felting. 

Always store and dispose needles thoughtfully and keep away from young children and pets.