Video: Needle Felting Basics

Things you’ll need:
Wool roving
2-3 inch thick foam piece
Felting needle or felting tool
Wool felt, knitted piece or wool scraps fabric

Things to do:
1. While you can felt roving to roving to created layered images, it’s best to start with a backing fabric. Wool felt, an old sweater (felted if you care going to cut it) or wool fabric work well.
2. Lay your backing over your foam in a single layer. If you are working on a tube shape (such as a sleeve) push the foam into the tube so that you are only working on one layer. For safety, you may want to work on a second piece of foam, a thick pillow or another soft surface until you get the hang of the felting needles.
3. Pull a small piece of roving out and shape it, folding or winding it to create a small, flat ball or shape. Lay the roving in place. Start with a small piece and work up from there. Although you can needle felt thick pieces of roving, it’s easier to start with smaller bits.
4. Plunge the felting needle into the roving, through the backing and a little ways into the foam. The needles are VERY sharp and are barbed so make sure you don’t go all the way through and NEVER hold the foam in your hand.
5. Continue to plunge the needle in repeatedly, the barbs on the needles will pull the fibers form the roving into the backing, locking them in place.
6. Using this technique you can add detail to knitted or crochet garments, repair holes, add patches or just create small pieces of fiber art.

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