In last week’s Craft Corner column, we showed you the basic tools needed for needle felting, along with instructions on making felted Easter eggs and a shamrock pin.
This week, we’ll focus on making a jointed teddy bear from a kit, as well as patches that can be used separately as decoration on clothing or joined together to make a variety of items.
Let’s start with the patches. We made a number of felted hearts for Valentine’s Day, using the cookie cutter method described in last week’s column, planning to make pins, but we decided to put them on patches so we could do more with them (see photo illustration).
Making the patches requires covering a lot of surface area, so if you don’t have a felting tool that holds multiple needles, we strongly recommend that you invest in one before attempting this project: It can be done with a single needle, but it’s very time-consuming.
As we mentioned last week, you’ll need to go online to find felting tools. While we were able to find a starter kit and some wool packs in the area, we had to search the Web for the rest of our felting supplies.
The patches shown in our photo illustration were made by needle felting wool on a 5- by 5-inch square foam block.
Cover the entire surface of the foam block with wool and felt it (punch it with the needles repeatedly) until it holds together well and is smooth. Carefully remove it from the foam and repeat the felting process on the other side until it is smooth. Fill in any thin spots if necessary by adding more wool and felting it until blended into the original piece.
Lay a heart or other felted shape on top of the square and attach it by poking gently with a single needle until it’s secure. Finish it off by poking a single line around the edge of the shape repeatedly until the line is well defined.
We haven’t decided what we are going to do with the patches yet, but we’re leaning toward making a tote bag by hand-stitching six or eight patches onto a fabric base.
Other suggestions for using the patches include making a set of coasters by backing each square with a piece of purchased felt and finishing the edges with a blanket stitch in yarn; making pockets by backing each square with a fabric of choice and machine stitching to a jacket or other garment; and attaching a row of patches to a long piece of fabric to make a decorative table runner.
To make a felted critter such as our teddy bear you’ll need either a kit, or a book or set of instructions and separately-purchased supplies. The kit is probably the best way to go if you’re trying needle felting for the first time.
Our completed teddy bear was made from a kit called “Snutki,” designed by Barbara Allen of Cobweb Cottage, www.cobwebcottage.co.nz. Kits cost from $15 to $20.
We found the instructions fairly easy to follow, but we’ve had lots of experience with written instructions. If you have a hard time following written directions without illustrations, there are other kits you can order.
Our finished product looks nothing like the picture on the front, but that’s what we like about the felting process: each piece is an original.
One kit with excellent instructions and illustrations is the “Beary Best Friend” teddy bear kit, designed by Marie Spaulding, purchased from Blue Goose Glen online at www.bluegooseglen.com; cost $19.95.
The kit comes in several colors and contains the basic felting supplies required to make a bear. We started the process of making the head by felting a strip of wool into a ball to get a feel for the technique.
Take a strip of wool, roll it into a tube, begin felting with the needles to secure, tuck in the sides to form a ball, then continue felting until you have a smooth ball shape. From there, form the head by needle shaping and adding pieces of wool as directed in the instructions.
When we started making our teddy bear, we found it hard to believe that we’d end up with such a delightful finished product, but with patience – the time for making a bear is three to five hours, regardless of which kit or instructions you choose – and care, the wool became shapes and the shapes joined together to form a bear.
Take your time and browse through the books and kits available online until you find one you want to try. Keep in mind that some of the kits, as mentioned above, contain only written instructions with few illustrations.
If you want step-by-step illustrations along with the directions, we recommend the “Beary Best Friend” kit or a video titled “Introduction to Needle Felting: Sculpting a Doll With Sharon Costello.” Once you’ve gotten your feet wet with one of these, you should feel comfortable enough with the needle felting process to work with most kits and instruction packets available.
In a future Craft Corner, we’ll introduce you to another felting technique: wet felting. It involves knitting or crocheting a piece, then either working it in soapy water by hand or using the washing machine. We’re reading up on the procedure and look forward to trying it and sharing it with our readers.
Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com.
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