Felting Tools
with instructor Steve Butler
Class 143
What is it? – Question. What can you produce creatively with wool roving, a felting needle and a felting pad? Answer. Anything you want. Put your own special touch on art, jewelry, fashion, fashion accessories, quilting, home décor or even stand-alone projects. What you can fabricate is truly limited only by your desire for creative expression. What is needle felting? In its most basic form, the process of needle felting transforms wool or other carded fiber roving materials into a dense cloth or three dimensional shape by bonding those loosely held fibers together into any desired form. The specialized felting needle is a long, barbed needle that entangles the roving fibers as it is manipulated in and out of the intended design. In this way felting needles allow us to apply layers, colors and shape to our project in any way that suits our creative design. Best of all the creative potential of needle felting transcends age, skill, physical ability or talent. Even mistakes can lead us down surprising new avenues of creative discovery. For either amazing embellishment options or striking stand along projects, needle felting opens up a whole new world of creative potential for us. Let’s not keep it waiting.
What does it do? – Needle felting allows an amazing range of creative expression. Needle felting tools enable that process. Using quality, application specific tools makes that process and the result even more satisfying.
Needle felting mat – Available in two sizes (small and large), the needle felting mat is a necessity. It provides a stable platform for our felting project while allowing space for needle penetration without damage to the needle point.
Needle Felting Tool – The needle felting tool sports five needles attached to a comfortable handle with an articulating protective shield. This tool is perfect for larger projects where a more “macro” or filling component application is required over a large area.
Pen Style Needle Felting Tool – The Pen Style tool is fitted with three needles to enable more detailed application of wool roving. It is fitted with a protective cap to shield the needles when not in use.
Claw and Mat Cleaner – This is a very handy, multi-use tool. One end of the tool is fitted with spring wire “claws”. The claws hold the felting fibers in place without restricting our view or needle access. Most importantly, however, it keeps our fingers far away from the very sharp needles while felting. Safety first! The other end of the tool is fitted with plastic grooves. Their function is to clean excess roving from the bristles of the felting mat, preventing stray fibers from becoming a de facto part of our creative vision. Trying to pull that single chartreuse fiber out of the purple field without disturbing it is frustrating and time consuming. Just don’t go there.
Needle Felting Tool Refill Needle – It’s inevitable. Felting needles eventually break due to routine wear and tear. Sometimes they strike a solid object (hopefully not a finger). No problem. To keep your creative process in motion, Clover provides replacement felting needles in two sizes. Regular size refill needles are perfect for finer felting materials and applications. For heavier, more dense fibers or applications, a heavy weight replacement felting needle is available.
How do I share it? – Needle felting is a fun, fast one evening class. Put together some kits with felting tools and a simple, introductory design. Provide a wide selection of roving colors for students to select from. The resulting excitement is contagious. Everyone will want to join in. Few people can see the tools and envision the process. Put he student projects on display for others to see. Once your friends see how simple the felting creative process is they’ll be hooked. The kids love felting too. They can create all of their favorite cartoon or fictional characters as standalone projects or as embellishments on all of their clothes and bags. Paint the picture for them to increase their awareness of the creative potential of needle felting for everything from art, jewelry and toys to embellishment options for fashion, home décor or quilting and you’ll build a following.
Lets Begin!
| Do’s and Don’ts: Needle Felting for Beginners Hello everyone! Elizabeth here, and I am the DIY and Craft blogger behind Country Peony. Today I am so excited to be back on Clover’s blog to discuss a really fun topic: Needle Felting. One of my favorite parts of my job as a DIY and Craft… Read more blog.clover-usa.com |