Felting

December 9th  
Felting

Needle felted Christmas Robin

Ten years ago one of my dearest friends sent me on a wet felting course with the wonderful Gillian Harris, she of the Fluffatorioum fame, isn't that just a fabulous name for a shop full of yarn and goodness knows what squishiness.  Anyway, I digress, ten years ago the Fluffatorium did not exist, instead, all students were traipsed through Gillian's colourful home into a shed in the garden that just exploded even more colour and joy.  It was here I realised that I love the medium of felt and set in earnest that day to begin and complete a wet felted handbag.  Jump forward ten years and the kit that I bought that day so that I could continue my wet felting journey still sits unwrapped, unloved and definitely not used in the back of a difficult to reach cupboard in the spare room.  What I have endeavoured to dabble in over the years is a little bit of needle felting instead.  Takes us less space and is quite easy to do.  On the con side, it can be painful if you lose concentration and stab yourself.  Those needles are little blighters with teeny weeny barbs all the way down the shaft of the needle.  Vicious I tell, vicious they are.

Needle felted Hare

I urge you if you are the slightest bit tempted to give needle felting a try.  Why am I suddenly championing this craft?  Because I spent a lovely evening with like-minded ladies a couple of weeks ago to celebrate the same friend who sent me on the wet felting courses birthday.  With needle felting the results are quick once you master the basic understanding, you can start and finish in a couple of hours, we were able to chat away and be together without the pressures of day to day life.  There is something about this time of year when the nights draw in that crafting really takes off.  I struggle to just sit and watch TV and would much rather create and chat, my mind in the evening often cannot cope with in-depth chat or difficult construction but something like needle felting is ideal.


Needless to say (see what I did there) there are hundreds of YouTube videos and how to's on the internet.  Grab yourself a sponge (you stab into it and it also protects your tabletop), a felting needle and some wool tops and give it a go.  At the end of the post, I have added a couple of links on how to needle felt and kits that you could buy.  I am not profiting from this, just thought I would help and set those of you off who fancy it!  Also, look out for local evenings of felt courses, they are worth going to aswell.

Wool tops come in many vibrant colours

Cookie cutters are ideal to form shapes

A circular cookie cutter was the base for my Christmas
pudding, place the wool tops inside the cutter and keep
stabbing away at it with the needle to
create the friction to fuse it together.

For next year, I hope to have several more Christmas puddings, I quite fancy a small potted Christmas tree with nothing but felted ornaments.  But in the meantime, as I only have once Christmas pugging, I may just use it as a gift embellishment for a Christmas present...

Needle felted gift tags

 A link for beginners how to needle felt using cookie cutters and the basic principles.  Covers several pages.  How to needle felt

This link although in Norwegian shows you how to use cookie cutters to create certain shapes in just a few photos.  How to use cookie cutters for needle felting

Video link to the tool to use and how to create a needle felted ball Video needle felting

And this wouldn't be a Scandinavian biased Christmas blog without something from Norway, here the link is to Cork 'nisse', the Christmas people from Scandinavia, these have their jumpers and hats made out of felting.  Admittedly they are not needle felted but are wet felted using the friction of hands and water, I am so tempted, watch this space is all I can say!  Cork nisse

♥  How are your Christmas preparations coming along?  ♥