Traditional Cotton Pipe Cleaners

Cookie Cutter Felting

Join the felting community

Stress less, create more 

  • Never throw away left over wool from projects or kits. Store it in an airtight bag or container to keep moisture free and use as core wool for future projects, saves waste and money.

 

  • Start to learn varying techniques by buying kits, there are so many great UK companies selling kits ideal for beginners and more experienced felters. I would avoid cheaper imported kits, from sites such as Temu. They tend to be very poor quality with synthetic materials and tricky instructions. Often they have no instructions or they haven't translated very well. You can also find instruction only kits to download on platforms such as Esty, if you already have a big stash of wool and equipment. 

 

  • Keep bought kit instructions and supply lists once you've completed the original piece, buy your own equipment to keep on recreating the same piece or tweak to create your own special design. 

 

  • To practice shapes, or just to get a feel for felting. Use cookie cutters laid on top of a felting matt, fill the void with wool and felt until you have a firm shape, once the cookie cutter has been lifted away hold the shape in hand and finesse. There is a whole world of cookie cutter felting with many books available to help inspire.   

 

  • To achieve an altra fuzz free finish rub a very small amount of clear lip balm, Vaseline or hair pomade over the wool and felt in. Or invest in felters wax. If you are Insure what type of finish a felting project should have or when to stop felting, look you want should resemble a tennis ball.  

 

  • Pipe cleaners or chenille craft stems, make a fantastic alternative to wire for building a armature, the cotton coating is great for the wool to cling to, plus they're cheap and readily available to buy. I prefer traditional cotton pipe cleaners, they tend to be sturdier and the wool clings better.     

 

  • Keep small nail scissors and tweezers handy, use them to trim or pull off any stray strands or fuzzy bits that you can't tame, they're also useful for pulling out any unwanted debris from the wool. 

 

  • Felting can be repetitive, especially in the early stages of a large project. Its important to take regular breaks and come back to a project another time if you are finding it frustrating. Regular breaks will also rest your fingers and hands and prevent RSI. It should be a leisurely stroll not a sprint.

 

  • You tube and google are full of tips, instructional videos etc. The internet is a great place to advance your hobby and learn new more complex techniques.

 

  • There loads of needle felting pages and groups to join on Face Book and other Social Media sites. Make new felty friends, share your work and harvest new idea's.

 

  • Above all have fun and enjoy what your doing, needle felting is an immersive, stress busting hobby with limitless possibilities. Please share your creativeness, there is no such thing as bad art.