If you’ve thought about branching out and trying some different crafts with yarn, then felting may be a great fit for you. This is not the type of felting where you knit a bag and then throw it in the wash to felt it. No, these techniques take raw fiber and felt it into beautiful shapes, creatures and designs.
Dry Felting vs Wet Felting
Dry felting is a technique also referred to as needle felting. This is where you use needles to break down the fiber so that it sticks together. You can use this technique to sculpt dolls, animals and other figures. Or, it can also be used to create pictures and landscapes.
Wet felting is a technique where you wet the fibers and then massage them together and form them into different shapes and designs. This technique can be used to make jewelry, accessories and clothing.
Needle Felted Ideas
You can sculpt some really cute animals and figurines using needle felting. These are great gift ideas for the holidays and are perfect for teachers, friends and family members. You can either create a pretty Christmas decoration, or how about an animal that looks like their favorite pet? The design ideas are unlimited, but here are a few to get you started.
Image of needle felted cat courtesy of karen.tkr CC 2.0
These needle felted dolls by YaxchiArt are definitely professional quality dolls, but hopefully they give you an idea of how creative you can get. You may not be able to make dolls like this right off the bat, but give it time and you’ll be able to create intricate designs and figures.
This needle felted fawn by TinyApartmentCrafts is such a cute gift idea. It’s perfect to put on display, or it could also be used as a pin cushion.
A needle felted bear is a cute gift idea for a new baby, or for a baby’s first Christmas. Image courtesy of Karen.tkr CC 2.0
Image of adorable bird, flowers and nests by Karen via Flickr CC 2.0
Needle felting can also be done to create pretty accents and designs on fabric. Here are a few ideas for designs that could be used on a decorative pillow or handbag.
Image of needle felting with beads courtesy of frykitty via CC 2.0
Needle felted tree on fabric created by Nico Nelson Image available via CC 2.0
Now that you have some ideas, here are some of my favorite resources for needle felting. I hope you enjoy creating some fun and creative designs.
