Our Needle-Felting Class

Needle felting is the process of felting/tangling one piece of wool to another using barbed needles. The needles take the wool fibers from one piece and drag them through the other piece where they tangle and attach the two pieces. There are two types of needle felting:  creating or embellishing fabric and creating a three-dimensional sculpture

Felting needles are a special kind of needle that have tiny barbs on the end.  The barbs are going in one direction and when the needle is stabbed into the wool the barbs pull the wool in, but not back out again. The needle felting needles are extremely sharp – please be careful.

Wool Roving is wool that has been washed and run through a carding

Wool Roving

 machine.  When carded the wool fiber is all going in the same direction.  Carding is like combing in that it is taking the fiber that is in small locks and combing it all smoothly together.  The carded wool comes out in a long “roving” of wool that is easy to spin into yarn.  It is also fluffy and easier to felt with.  There many different types of wool (like there are many different types of sheep). Romney felts very firmly so that you can have a very solid piece when you are finished.  Other wools stay somewhat squishy no matter how much they are felted.   Merino, Corriedale & BFL are softer.

A Wool Sheet

Tips…

·         The best approach for needle felting is a straight up and down motion with the needle. Try to go in as straight as possible; this makes it less likely you'll break the needle.

·         Always work with thin layers.

·         Before you really felt the fibers together be sure you like your design.