Topic: Needle Felting

[yezitis]

A few years back, I asked my daughter, who is a doll maker,  for a needle and some wool to try and make some hair on a little creature I was making ... The needles are barbed and very sharp and if you poke yourself with them, they tear the skin on the way out     so extreme caution is taken when working on anything.

After putting the bit of wool for hair on this creature,  I had enough wool left that I started working on something, first one leg then another, then a body and a head and if you look in the picture I've attached here, you can see my first little bear(black & white) in the front of this picture along with some of the other little guys I've created, most of them are jointed too.   I do alot of Santa's at Christmas, but recently have had to rest my wrist, having some wrist strain issues and don't want to get full blown carpel tunnel. The Santa I've posted is my first one and I could never part with him, because his face is my fathers. I have no control how these things comes out, their faces are all sculpted and it's a surprise to me when they are finished and I could never duplicate one either. 

I order my wool now from a  farmer in Michigan that dyes it for me into the colors I want and also shears my wool for my beards, sends it to me and I do all my own washing and piece it into the Santa one strand at time.

Does anyone else here do this or any form of felting?  This is dry felting but there is also wet, which I would like to also try one day..

[Dianna]

Those critters are adorable, Donna! How long does it take you to make one?

Your Santas have such a sweet look on their faces. Your dad must have been a nice man to be caught up in your soft sculptures like that...

[yezitis]

Thanks Dianna, they take a very long time.. days/weeks/months, depending on how long I work on them. It's hard on the wrists cause it's such a repetitive motion, that I can only do so much!   I have different size needles that I use too, courser to start out with and finer ones for the features on the faces  and I blend colors for their skin tones. 

Ya, that beige Santa is my dad, in fact before I bearded him and my second daughter saw him, she said Oh Mom! he looks just like Papa    so he is very special to me.  I never intended for him to look like that, it just comes, I have no control ...   I will try and find a pic of some of my other big ones that are no longer with me.. I just hate to get rid of any of them, all the little ones are mine and I enjoy them all the time. That one in the back, with the pipe in his mouth I call Detective Dog   

[Tina]

This is awesome work. I like it. I don't think I have the patience to actually do it (anymore). But I really like it.

[Bonnie]

I have never heard of needle felting. You certainly do beautiful work. I can see where it would take a long time to complete something. Great job!!

[yezitis]

Thank you, if anyone wants to try LMK.. I made some little snowmen and Santa heads this holiday to fit over wine bottles, and they are easy.... Instead of felting the whole ball for the head, I used Styrofoam balls, saved a lot of time and work and then put their noses and hats etc on. Used rusty tin wire poked into the styrofoam for the hangers.    I have to see if I took some pics of them.. 

[Triss]

Beautiful work.  WOW.  I have patience, but there is no way I could do that.  You have some really cute critters there.

[Penny]

Those are great, well done.