Tuesday 26 February 2013

Needle felting workshop

 Last Sunday afternoon, I spent a very happy two hours learning how to needle felt little animals and birds.  A colleague at work had arranged for a feltmaker called Eve Marshall to come and give a workshop at her house.  I had seen a bit about needle felting and of course, Robyn from America had made me a needle felted Scruffy, so I knew what it was, but had never tried it.  Our first project was to make an owl and Eve took us through each stage with a lot of patience and help. Apparently, if you can make an owl, you have all the basics to make anything else.  (That seemed a bit ambitious, but I went with it).
 Needle felting does have some benefits over wet felting.  It is not messy and doesn't take up a whole table.  You don't need so many pieces of equipment either - felting needles (which are barbed and do hurt if you inadvertently get your fingers in the way), foam and wool, preferably natural and not dyed and in this case, merino is not quite as good to use as it is too soft and slippery, as natural undyed wool, which is a bit coarser and binds together more easily. We used Shetland wool for our menagerie.  At some points, my owl resembled a penguin, but it all came together in the end.  To bind the wool into shapes, you push the felting needle in and out of the wool into the foam (for basic shapes) and move the shape around to create a rough sausage which you then refine using the finer needle and just going into the wool, not the foam underneath.  It is much easier to do, than to explain!
 Feeling a bit more confident, I attempted a rabbit, or possibly a hare, as the ears were rather long.
 He did seem to develop a character as I went along.
 The pupils in his eyes aren't the same size as I did find putting little dots for details, such as eyes and noses, the trickiest part.
 The back view of my rabbit - he ended up looking quite sweet.
 The finished owl...or was that a brown penguin?
Here they are together, the owl looking rather startled to see such a huge rabbit in relation to himself!
I really enjoyed learning how to needle felt and can see opportunities for adding detail and texture to the surface of a piece of wet felted work, but I am not sure whether I shall make any more animals...although, never say never!

9 comments:

  1. Ellie, they are so sweet! And full of character! You can't give up now, you're on a roll! I love their expressions. E x
    Ps have sent you an email as well this afternoon - thank you so much!

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  2. Dear E
    Thank you. They are quite sweet little things and their character developed through the making process - I can't really take much crdeit for that because the wool decided where it would go (just like wet felting!) I may have another go to see whether I can improve the more detailed effects. I have got loads of wool so there is no shortage of material to practise with.
    Thank you for your email too - much appreciated and you're welcome.
    Best wishes
    Ellie x

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    1. Of course, I meant to say 'credit' not crdeit!
      Ellie x

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  3. It shows in your work that you enjoyed doing it. They have such character, well done Ellie.

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    1. Dear Toffeeapple
      Thank you for your very kind comments. I did really enjoy making these little creatures and they do have their own little characters, which developed as I went along.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  4. Very nice, Ellie. I tried needle felting last year and loved it. We are still buried in snow but spring is just around the corner. Wishful thinking maybe?

    Julie

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    1. Dear Julie
      Thank you. It is trying to be Spring here, but the cold temperatures(not your sort of cold, but our sort) just won't go. Hopefully March will herald better weather for us all.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  5. They are lovely, Ellie! I particularly like your rabbit/hare. I've often been tempted by needle felting but I should probably concentrate on mastering a few other crafts before starting more.

    Gillian x

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    1. Dear Gillian
      Thank you. Chris really liked the rabbit/hare too. I know what you mean about crafts - I have several I am in the process of learning, all to do with jewellery making and then I would also like to try crochet, then there is more needle felting...So many choices, so little time!
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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