Continuing with exploring needle felting in January. I read a few more books, and have tried out more techniques. My favorite book so far has been “Needle Felting for Beginners” by Roz Dace. I decided I didn’t like the tiny felting pad that came with my kit. I saw that what was recommended was a 2 inch foam pad.(Regular cotton pillows are not good because they are too squishy) I could get one for about 15 dollars, but then I had a flash of ingenuity. My lap desk has a foam pad to protect my lap. So I flipped it over and voila! A foam pad attached to a nice flat surface. It’s a beat-up old thing, so if I ruined it, it was no big deal. It worked great.
My next project in her progressively harder projects was making a robin. I made bird legs from wire and floral tape. I was supposed to make a beak from polymer clay, but I tried using more wire and floral tape. It was ok, but I see why I was supposed to do it with clay. I also didn’t do some of the finishing touches she suggested, like using a marker to add shading, or painting over the legs. The color isn’t covering the base in some spots, like the bird is balding, and it won’t be mistaken for a real bird unless you are very far away and the light is dim.
One of the lessons from trying out new crafts is giving yourself permission to be awful. It’s not going to look like the picture, or what you want. It’s a beginner piece. If you hate it, throw it out. I was at a librarian meeting making crafts (yes, I know, my job can be cool sometimes) and the presenter was talking about process art. This is art you do to learn about the process, not to have a finished product. For example, your story time children finger-paint, and they experience how the paint goes on the page, what the colors do when they mix together, how the paint feels, how their caregiver reacts to them having paint in their hair… but the product is not important.
Using a wire structure under the felt is my next step- to create figures. Felters also use weighted filling for some creations to make them more stable and not blow away like a tumble-weed.
More Books read:
- Needle Felted Tapestries: Make Your Own Woolen Masterpieces
- Woolbuddies: 20 Irresistibly Simple Needle Felting Projects
- Sweet Needle Felts: 25 Projects to Wear, Give & Hug
- Cute Needle Felted Animal Friends: Adorable Cats, Dogs and Other Pets
- Sweet & Simple Needle Felted Animals: A Step-By-Step Visual Guide
- Wee Felt Worlds: Sweet Little Scenes to Needle Felt
Other resources I’ve found:
- My Pinterest page on “Try a Craft”
- The Felt Hub – blog and video tutorials
- Susa_Sachiko on Instagram
- Bear Creek Felting
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