Needle Felting Tips

Learn how to needle felt (for beginners and experienced felters)

Needle felting is a fun fibre craft where you shape wool fibres with specially designed needles. Its also quite inexpensive to get started. The felting supplies you will need to get started include:

• Wool fibre (Corriedale and Merino are popular),
• a foam pad or block
• felting needles.

To begin, place the wool on the foam pad or block and poke it gently with the needle. Keep repeating this until it holds its shape.

The felting needles have tiny barbs that tangle and intertwine the fibres together the more you poke. Be careful not to poke your fingers!

To shape the felted wool, keep poking in the desired area and add more wool as needed. This creates layer.

You can create animals, flowers, or any design you like. Remember to work slowly and patiently, as it takes time. When you’re done, your creation will be firm and solid. So, grab your wool and needles, and let your imagination run wild!

We have a free needle felting guide with pictures that you can download here

You can also read more tips for beginner needle felters

What Can You Make with Needle Felting?

One of the joys of needle felting is its versatility. The only limit is your imagination! Some popular needle felting ideas include:

• Animals and Creatures: Needle felting is perfect for creating adorable animals, from bunnies and birds to mythical creatures like dragons. With practice, you can sculpt lifelike details, adding layers of colour for a truly realistic look.
• Home Décor: Want to add a personal touch to your living space? You can needle felt decorative items like coasters, ornaments, or wall hangings. Little felted succulents and planters are a hit for those who love greenery but aren’t blessed with a green thumb.
• Wearables: From felted brooches and pendants to embellishing scarves or bags, you can incorporate needle felting into fashion accessories. A colourful, felted pin on your jacket adds a unique flair!
• Seasonal Decorations: Holidays and celebrations are the perfect opportunity to create themed items like felted Easter eggs, Christmas ornaments, or pumpkins for Halloween. They make great gifts, too! Our Christmas & Halloween Felting kits are incredibly popular all year round

Tips for successful needle felting

Read our Top Tips for Needle Felting. Although an easy craft to learn, and there are lots of needle felting starter kits available, there are lots of little things that can make needle felting become frustrating. Especially for beginners. Below I have compiled a few tips for the most common question I am asked.

What is Needle Felting?

Why am I breaking my felting needles?

Choose the right felting needle

Choosing the right wool for your needle felting project

Your needle felting project isn’t looking smooth or finished enough

Should I buy a needle felting kit?

What is needle felting?

Needle felting is an easy to learn fibre craft. It is a wonderfully creative and fun outlet that allows you to bring your imagination to life. In essence you are creating a beautiful 3D object from wool. You start by simply continuously poking a barbed needle into wool. Then, you can sculpt and shape it into adorable creatures, decorative objects, or personalised gifts.

To get started with needle felting, you really dont need much. In fact our Ashford Needle Felting Starter kit is all you really need. Then, when you have learnt the basics, just grab yourself a needle felting refill kit to keep going. You don’t need any prior experience or expensive equipment. Plus, it’s an incredibly portable craft, allowing you to needle felt wherever you like.

Many of our ‘The Good Yarn online craft group’ members describe needle felting as a great stress-reliever. As you repeatedly poke the wool, you can channel your focus and concentration into the process, providing a calming and therapeutic effect.

Needle felting allows for endless possibilities. You can experiment with different types and colours of wool, blend fibres, and add embellishments like beads or embroidery. Whether you want to create small ornaments, animals, or even larger sculptures, needle felting empowers you to explore your artistic vision.

In summary, needle felting is a delightful craft that offers creative expression, stress relief, a sense of accomplishment, community engagement, and endless possibilities. So grab some wool and a felting needle, and let your imagination run wild!

Why am I breaking my felting needles?

There can be a few reasons for this. These can include the angle at which you’re pulling out your felting needle. It’s not straight, you risk weakening your needle with each felting motion. Also make sure you’re not pushing down with too much strength. This is a sure way to get breakages.
You may also be felting too deep. As felting needles have different barbs on the tips, short and quick stabs will do the trick. Stabbing too deep and needling sideways will give you broken needles more than you would like.

Choose the right felting needle for the project

I have heard many instances where the wrong needle has been chosen and therefore the desired results are not being achieved.

When starting out, you may be surprised to learn that not all felting needles are the same. Different needle shapes and sizes are used depending on the type of wool, the details of your project, and the stage of the felting process. Understanding your needle felting tools will help you achieve the best results.

Here are the most common types of felting needles:

• Triangle Needle: The most widely used needle, perfect for beginners. Its triangular shape has barbs on each side, which efficiently tangle the wool fibres as you poke. It’s great for general shaping and felting wool quickly.
• Star Needle: This needle has four edges instead of three, which makes it work faster than the triangle needle. It’s perfect for refining your work or for when you want to speed up the felting process.
• Spiral Needle: A unique needle with a spiral design, it creates a smoother finish. As the wool gets denser, this needle is ideal for smoothing out rough areas and refining details.
• Reverse Needle: Unlike other needles, the barbs on the reverse needle pull fibres out rather than pushing them in. This is useful for creating a furry or fluffy texture, often used in creating animal sculptures.

The key is to start with a basic needle and then experiment with different types as you progress with your projects. If you’re just getting started, we recommend our needle felting tools set, which includes a range of needles to suit various stages of your project.

• Fine Felting Needles

Gauge 40; A fine triangular needle that suits more detailed projects and gives you a lovely neat surface. Works best with smoother fibres and not recommended for rougher, sculpting needle felting projects

• Medium Felting Needles – Gauge 36

Gauge 36; A popular triangular needle that has barbs on 3 sides. Works well when wanting to create the bulk of a 3D project or when needing to attach pieces. Not recommended for detailed work.

• Reverse Barb Felting Needles – Gauge: 40

Gauge: 40; This is a wonderful needle when wanting to create a fluffy finish on smoother felted projects The barbs work in the opposite direction with the end effect being the fibre pulled out

• Coarse Felting Needles – Gauge 32

Gauge 32; This is a sturdy, triangular needle that has barbs on 3 sides. Popular when working with courser fibres and needing to attach pieces firmly. Not recommended for detailed needle felting projects or when requiring a neat surface.

• Star Felting Needles – Gauge 38

Gauge 38; This is a popular all rounder style of felting needle. It has barbs on all four sides. It can be used for finer felting projects or with finer wools. Also popular for bulkier sculpting projects.

• Spiral Felting Needles – Gauge 36

Gauge 36; The spiral needles are twisted. This results in being able to create your felting project faster. It also reduces the surface holes that other needles would create.

Choosing the right wool for your needle felting project

When it comes to needle felting wool, you’ll want to use a type of wool that is easy to felt. Coarse wools like corriedale and merino are popular choices for beginners because they tangle and bind quickly, making the process easier. Merino wool is particularly soft, which makes it a great option for projects that involve a lot of handling or for creating soft, lifelike textures.

Many times, those new to needle felting start by choosing the wrong wool for their project. The most popular wool, especially for beginners, is Corriedale. It has a defined, even crimp and is smooth and to felt. The colour range of Ashford corriedale wool fibre is huge, which means you can keep creating your woollen felting projects until your heart is content.

Another option is Ashford Merino wool. Merino is renowned as the world’s finest and softest wool It is the perfect wool for those special needle felting projects, that require that extra little something.
Of course there is a wide range of fibres you can use in your needle felting. Jump into out online craft group and see what some of our other felters have used for their projects

Your needle felting project isn’t looking smooth or finished enough

Most times, this just means that you’re not quite finished. Keep going with your felting needles. Also consider which needles you are using for the required smoothness. It may be time to change to another gauge.

Should I buy a needle felting kit?

The great thing about needle felting kits such as the Ashford starter kit, is that they come with all the necessary fibres, foam and needles needed to learn and complete a specific project. The Ashford Needle Felting Starter Kit also includes the incredibly popular Ashford Book of Needle Felting. All of Ashfords felting kits are designed with beginners in mind. They provide step-by-step instructions that clearly explain how to create your favourite animal or Christmas decorations. Our kits will help you learn the basics of needle felting, understand the process, and allow you to build your skills gradually.

Our fun needle felting kits include some of the cutest animals. Take a look at our rooster, seal, kiwi, beagle, bugs, panda, sheep and more. We also have a gorgeous little flowers and butterflies kits

Getting Started with Needle Felting: Our Top Recommendations

If you’re ready to jump into needle felting, we recommend starting with one of our curated needle felting kits for beginners. These kits include all the needle felting supplies you’ll need to create your first project, and each comes with clear instructions to guide you through the process.

Don’t forget to check out our needle felting tips for more advanced tricks and suggestions on improving your techniques. We also carry a wide range of needle felting wool to experiment with once you’re ready to explore new projects. Whether you’re crafting for fun or looking to create personalized gifts, needle felting is a wonderful way to tap into your creativity.

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