Juliann's midnight ramblings

The information below includes tips for needle felting foam, needle holders, and needles & roving and are notes from my own personal experience with needle felting. The #1 Rule for needle felting is to have fun with it!

Foam:  High density foam is super important when needle felting.  It should be at least 2” thick.  I use pieces that are 8” x 10” and 2 ½” thick.  It’s dark gray in color and is very firm.  Being very firm helps create your piece. If your foam is spongy it will mush (don’t you love the technical terms?) and your needle felted piece will take longer to work. As you are creating, remember to move your roving on your foam – don’t leave it in one spot!  You will find if you do that the roving will become a permanent part of the foam or the foam will be imbedded in your roving – either is NOT GOOD. Needle a bit, turn the piece over or move it – you’ll have great results this way. Eventually the foam will wear out.  Don’t throw it out – not all of it anyway.  As I said, I work on an 8” x 10” piece, but I park my needles on a 5” x 5” piece of foam.  Using an electric knife, I cut down a worn out piece for this purpose.  I will cut the rest of the piece into cubes.  I use these pieces as armature and erasers (my technical terms). Having a place to park your needles is great.  You know where your needles are and they aren’t parked on your working piece of foam.  If you are working with one set of needles and another set is parked on your working foam you will notice that the parked set “wiggle” while you are felting – this can bend or break that set of needles. If you have created a bear and you are going to attach the second leg, putting an armature block between the legs is like having another hand to hold the leg in place and make attaching it easier.  If you are felting onto a sleeve or pant leg, a long armature piece is a must.  Whether you are flat felting or sculptural felting – foam is a must! If you have created something on your foam using black roving, you don’t want that blending in with your next color.  That’s where the “eraser” comes in handy.  Take one of the pieces you cut from your worn out foam and “rub” it on your working foam surface.  You can do a circular pattern or back and forth – it removes the roving that is left on your foam so your colors don’t mingle.

Tips for Needle Felting

Needle Holders: There are many needle holders on the market.  My choice is the needle holders by CTR.  They manufacture three sizes. They make sizes in #3, #6, and #10.  Shown here are the #3 and #6. As you have guessed, #3 means it holds 3 needles, #6 holds 6 needles, etc.  You will notice one holder has 2 needles.  There are times when it is good to have 2 needles side by side.  You could also have the #3 holder with 1 needle in it. The holders are aluminum so they do have a bit of weight, which in my opinion helps when needling. They are anodized (so the aluminum doesn’t turn your hand black) and are ergonomically designed (so your hand doesn’t tire while felting). The reason I have as many needle holders as I do is the fact that I don’t want to have to stop and change the number of needles I have in a holder.  If they are all loaded with the number of needles I want, I can spend my time felting.  The holders are a “one time investment” and well worth it.  If you bend or break a needle, the holder unscrews for replacement – very simple.

Needles: Needles come in an assortment of sizes and shapes.  When you first start working on your piece, you will generally use a 36T or 38T.  The number denotes diameter and the T stands for triangular. The bottom portion of the needle is where the barbs are.  Each side has a barb facing down and one facing up.  There are six barbs plus the tip on each needle.  The needles are very sharp, so be careful! Frank calls the #6 my weapon of choice – I figure the more needles the faster the felting, but I also felt large things.  You may only need the #3 holder. If you are an aggressive felter you will find your piece will have pock marks.  Use a lighter touch. Remember, the only part of the needle doing the work is where the barbs are.  Also, the larger the

diameter the needle has, the larger the hole.  For finishing you can use a #40T, 42T, or 40S.  Being smaller in diameter, these needles will “erase” the holes left by the 36 or 38.  The “S” stands for Star which is four sided (more barbs than the T) that are concave. As you work with the needles you will develop your own touch with them.  One of the key things to remember is to always be aware of where your fingers are and not have the needles in the same space at the same time.  Having said this, I still stab myself every now and then. Whether you are using one needle or six, have the needles come out of the roving in the same direction they went in.  You can go straight up and down (or at any angle) – don’t go in with one direction and out another, you will bend or break your needles.

Roving: Felting needles may be sharp, but the roving is actually the dangerous part of needle felting. Dangerous may not be the correct wording –

detrimental to the budget is more accurate!   With so many wonderful colors and different wools they are hard to resist! If you are creating something small you can use dyed roving for your project.  If your piece is larger, begin with core roving.  Core or wool batting is roving that has been cleaned and is ready to be spun or dyed.  It is less expensive than dyed roving, which is the reason to use it as the base for your piece and then layer your

colored roving for your detail and finishing. Some rovings will felt better than others.  The more “wire or kink” there is to the roving, the better

it will felt.  If the roving is “stringy” you can do two different things with it. First option is to use two slicker brushes (like used on dogs or cats) and card the roving.  Take a small amount of the roving and comb it back and forth.  You can also blend colors this way. The second method is to steam the roving.  Use a vegetable steamer and steam the roving for 10-15 minutes.  You can let it cool in the steamer or you can drape it to “dry” being careful not to burn

yourself or handle the hot roving too much.  Steaming will put the kink back in the roving (like humidity will do to hair). Even though core, wool batting and dyed roving has been cleaned you will still find pieces of debris in the roving.  For the inner core, you don’t necessarily have to “pick” the debris out (although I do).  I would suggest doing so for the finished surface.  First instinct is to use your felting needle to pick the bits out – but use a regular needle for this purpose.  Generally, if you use your felting needle you will bend it.  If you have bent a needle, use it as your pick. Experiment and have fun with your felting!  The only limits are your own imagination.

Needles by WizTik

Dynamic Needles Lime Green

Lime
Needle description: 32 gauge / 3x3x3 barbs / 3.5 inch / coarse, fast

Use Lime for cross-bred and coarse wools, such as Romney, Leicester or Lincoln, and fibres of similar or coarser diameter, such as Mohair, human hair and Hemp and Linen.
Lime is a thick needle and should not be used with medium and finer fibres, (such as Merino or Alpaca)

Pick Lime

• to secure fibre designs on thicker batts with a vertical stabbing action and to cross-link layers of wool in a pile prior to wet felting.
• to define design outlines prior to wet felting using an angled stabbing action.
• for speedy initial felting during early stage felting of sculptural projects, use both stabbing and jiggling actions.

Once fibres begin to form felt this needle resists penetration and becomes harder to use, so change to needles such asPinkor Mauve to form felt farther or Brown to create indentations.

Needle description: 36 gauge / 3x3x3 barbs / 3 inch /  fast; Use Green for early stages of felting coarse (cross-bred) wools. Green can also be used with medium wools such as Corriedale and Halfbred where the presence of pronounced puncture marks is not an issue.Green has close barb spacing for fast action.

Pick Green

• for quick securing of unfelted fibres in thinner batts and 3-D projects.
• for quickly forming deep depressions in softly felted balls.
• to quickly draw fibre right through flat felt and leave a “hairy” texture on the underside.
• for rooting hair on a plastic (vinyl) doll’s head, also Blue

Green has high penetration resistance and becomes difficult to use as felt becomes firmer, so change to needles such asPinkorRed

TealNeedle unavailable

Everyday NeedlesPink Red Mauve Burgundy Peach

Needle description: 32 gauge  / 3x3x0  barbs  /  3  inch

Use Pink for cross-bred and other coarse wools, such as Romney, Leicester or Lincoln, and early stages of medium wools such as Corriedale and Halfbred. Pink is strong, penetrates easily,  works over a wide depth range, and rarely breaks.

Pick Pink

·for increasing felt density with deep asymmetric action especially in 3-dimentional felting.  A finer similar needle isGold.

·when working from the ends of a sausage-shaped ball to shorten it. Use a jiggling action.

·for joining balls togetheror when adding additional pre felted wool in sculptural felting.

·for situations where it is desirable to work over a wide depth range. This is most likely in 3-dimensional projects.

·horizontally in flat felt to draw fibres into a thin area, using an
individual stabbing action where each insertion is carefully placed.Thisprocess can be supported with Blue

If the Pink needle is too coarse or it’s action too aggressive, tryGold, which works in a similar way to Pink, but is finer.

Needle description: 36 gauge  /  2x2x2x2 barbs  /  3 inch  /  star

Use Redfor  both medium and coarse wool. Star needles with four sides have high barb density, but still penetrate firm felt easily.

Pick Red

·to easily penetrate firmer felt.

·to harden light and moderate density felt in both sculptural and flat felting projects using both stabbing and jiggling actions to the full depth of the felt.

·to form balls for early stages of sculpturing and to quickly get finer fibres started.

·to blend flat felt pieces together, including patching holes, using a shallow stabbing action.

·for joining thicker yarns

A finer similar needle isPeach.

Needle description: 36 gauge  /  2x2x2 barbs /  3.5 inch  /  sturdy

Use Mauvefor medium wools such as Corriedale, and firming stages for coarser fibres, such as Romney, Leicester, Lincoln and Mohair.

Pick Mauve

·for children, when breakage is an issue.

For deeper, easier penetration change toBurgundy to form or firm 3-dimentional felt in a stabbing or jiggling action.

Needle description: 38 gauge  /  2x2x2 barbs  /  3.5  inch  /   all-purpose

Use Burgundy for medium wools,such as Corriedale and Halfbred, and initial felting of fine wools and similar fibres, such as Merino, Angora, Alpaca, Silk and fine manmade fibres such as Rayon, Soy silk, Ingeo, if they are being used for the bulk of the project.
This needle is not recommended for attaching fine fibres as an embellishment.

Pick Burgundy

·for deep penetration when felting thicker layers of fibre or for in depth  firming of a sculptural project.

·for 3-dimentional projects and securely attaching blobs of wool as eyes on felted animals  For less penetration change toOrange.

·For joining balls together by inserting needle through one ball and jiggling across the join area before withdrawing the needle to change its position.

·for creating spots within a smooth surface.

Needle description: 38  gauge  /  2x2x2x2  barbs  / 3 inch  /  star

Use Peach for medium and fine wools. This needle is a finer version ofRed.

Pick Peach

·to blend pieces of flat felt together instead of using a seam, including patching a hole, using a shallow stabbing action.

Companion NeedlesBrownCreamYellowGoldOrange

Needle description: 40 gauge / 3x3x3 barbs / 3 inch  / fast

Use Brownformedium wools, such as Corriedale and Halfbred, and other fibres of similar diametersuch as human hair and Hemp, and for fast, early-stage felting of fine wools such as Polworth and Merino, and other fibres of similar diameter such as Alpaca, Silk, and fine manmade fibres such as rayon, Soy silk, and Ingeo if they are being used for the bulk of the project or surface irregularity is not an issue.
This needle is not recommended for attaching fine embellishing fibres.

Pick Brown

·forsculpturing prominent depressions whenLimeis too coarse and for sculptural projects when forming nostrils and eye sockets with a jiggling action. For similar but softer action change toCream.

·forpreparing and positioning medium wool fibres prior to wet felting in a similar manner to recommendations for theGreenneedle and coarse fibres.

·forquickly adding rough surface textures and embellishments in medium and fine wool projects, but is more inclined to leave a pitted surface than other 40 gauge needles.

Needle description: 40 gauge / 2x2x2 barbs /  3.5 inch / Merino

Use Cream for early and firming stages of felting for fine wools or for fast deep action with easy penetration on medium wool. The cream needle works particularly well for Merino when other needles seem to not grip the fibre. This needle tends to bend easily.

Yellow
Needle description: 40 gauge / 2x2x2 barbs / 3.5 inch

Use Yellow  for coarse or medium wool projects and as a finishing needle for coarse wools such as Romney, Leicester and Lincoln and fibres of similar diameter.  Leaves less pronounced puncture marks thanBrown.Close barb spacing likeOrangebut works over a greater depth.

Pick Yellow

·for attaching embellishment fibres and creating patterns on balls and eggs prior to wetfelting.

·for firming of medium wool.

Needle description: 40 gauge / 3x3x0 barbs / 3 inch

Use Gold for firming and finishing of fine wools such as Merino and Polworth, and fibres of similar diameter such as Angora, Alpaca, Silk, and manmade fibres such as Rayon, Soy silk and Ingeo.

Pick Gold

·for thickening areas in flat felt with a gentle horizontal action  to ease more fibres into a thin area

·for firming, sculpturing and finishing 3-dimensional projects.

·to secure fibres wrapped around wire or pipe cleaner.

Needle description: 40 gauge / 2x2x2 barbs / 3 inch

Use Orange  as a finishing needle for all fibres, but particularly medium to fine wools.

Pick Orange

·for forming a denser surface skin in 3-dimensional projects, for securing a surface veneer, and for minimizing puncture marks on the finished surface of both flat and 3-dimensional projects.

·for attaching fine and delicate embellishing fibres to any project. It causes the least amount of distortion in the embellishing fibres, and minimizes puncture marks.Use with a gentle stabbing action, which only penetrates to a shallow depth.

·to attach and secure wool in a loose way without making the wool look felted as in wool pictures.

·to secure fibres wrapped around wire or pipe cleaner.

Delicate Needles White

Needle description: 42 gauge  /  2x2x2  barbs  /  3  inch

Use White for working with fine wool and other delicate fibres.
This needle bends and breaks easily.

Pick White

• as a merino finishing needle
• for the finest details

Grey
Needle description: 42  gauge  / 1x1x1  barbs  /  3 inch

Use Grey for fine wool and other delicate fibres. Grey is a finer version of Orange.This needle is especially fine with less barbs than White

Pick Grey

• for delicate felting and finishing touches
• for forming teeth in faces or life sparks in eyes
• for fine, slow motion, delicate finishing

Special Needles BlueAqua

Needle description: 32 gauge /  8x0x0 barbs /  3 inch

Use Blue for coarse and medium fibre. This needle has all eight barbs on one side in very close barb spacing, concentrated on one edge. This needle is particularly prone to breaking if side pressure is applied.

Pick Blue

·for forming eye sockets.

·for splicing two pieces of felt together.

·to move wool sideways holding the needle parallel to the surface.

·for splicing yarn.

·for adding coarse and medium fibre.

·for rooting hair on a plastic (vinyl) doll’s head.

Use Aqua for fine wools. This needle is a finer version of Blue

Aqua
Needle description: 40  gauge  /   6x0x0  barbs  /  3  inch

Pick Aqua

• for finishing touches.
• to move wool sideways.
• for attaching pre-felted embellishments.
• for adding fine fibres.
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