Today I’m sharing some DIY needle felt art inspiration and also sharing the basic of needle felting for anyone interested in getting into needle felted crafts.
I love easy wool crafts! My most recent project is this trio of easy, needle felted abstracts. It’s hard to capture on camera, but the abstracts are three-dimensional, with a sculptural feel.
The wool I used is really vibrant, so these are a fun pop of colour on plain white walls. I’m sorry the photos are so bad!
I used my favorite of the three paintings I made for the bedroom as my color inspiration:
You can needle felt much more densely than what I wanted to achieve with the pieces above. For examples, here’s another felted wool art piece I made:
Here are the needle felting basics:
Needle Felt Art Supplies:
- Piece of Foam or Wool Felting Pad
- Felting Needles
- Piece of Felted Wool (you can felt an old wool sweater, cut up an old wool blanket or buy felt sheets)
- Wool Rovings
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| Felting needle and foam block |
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| Wool rovings |
How to Needle Felt:
Needle felting is actually super simple.
- Sketch out your plan/design on a piece of felted wool (or free-hand it).
- Lay your piece of wool on your foam block/wool pad.
- Tear off a small chunk of wool roving (tear like you would cotton candy – you want the ends ragged, not cut).
- Lay the wool roving on the piece of wool.
- Use the felting needle to pierce the wool roving through the piece of wool, using the foam as a surface to stop the needle.
- Just keep piercing again & again (& again & again – this is a good craft for tension relief!).
How Does Needle Felting Work?
The felting needle has barbs and it catches the wool roving, pushing through the piece of wool which tangles the fibres and locks them. Like paint, you just build up layers of rovings – you can layer different colors to create depth or just to mix new colors.
Here is what the back of the wool will look like after you have been needle felting for a bit:
A warning about the barbed needle: it is very sharp and will tear you skin going in and out, so be careful not to poke yourself with it.
Here are my finished needle felted wool art that I was working on above:
How to Needle Felt Faster and More Densely:
Here is some more needle felted wool inspiration. You can see that on the piece below, the needle felting was done much more densely. This is achieved by piercing it more times. To speed up the process, you can put a few needles in a wood holder like this.
You have a bit less control, but it can really increase your productivity so I suggest switching to something like that once your design is done and you’re just working to make it smoother.
You can also use needle felting practically, as an artistic way to mend sweater holes or just to add visual interest!
And you can needle felt different materials (although I recommend starting with wool). I used a Styrofoam base and made the cutest needle felted eggs!
These look very nice. I actually couldn't believe it was felt until I saw the how to pictures.Beautifully done 🙂
Those are so cool! I love them. Thanks for the tutorial.
I love the color and the texture. They're spectacular. I'm really fascinated by the next-to-the-last one. It must have taken an unbelievable amount of patience to felt that so tightly and intricately.
Thanks everyone!Dana: yes, the middle one did take a while. More free form shapes are easier to do. But the sharp edges were tricky – I had to pay attention a bit more. My mom has it now, and plans to turn it into a tote or pillow, or something with her nifty sewing skills.
Tanya, those look great! You have such a good eye. P.S. Where were you able to find that great mid century chair in one of the photos?
Thanks, Amy. I found the chair by posting a want-ad on the online classifieds. I posted a photo of a similar chair and a mid-century mod collector emailed me. She hadn't thought about selling the chair until I asked! BUT it sure didn't look like that when I bought it. I picked the upholstery & had it professionally done. Check out this post to see the "before"
Wow, talent you have! Have you ever thought of selling them on easy. Or maybe you do?
Thanks Barbara! Nope – don't sell anything. Well, I do sell Christmas spider ornaments (like the wedding favors I gave away – see them under the "Mawiage" tab) but not online. Etsy overwhelms me.
Thanks Tanya, never thought to post a want ad. Instead I'm always pouring over craigslist looking for the right chair. Going to go look at the before right now…
I've been interested in doing these for quite some time. I think it's time for me to just do it. These look fab.
Leone: Thanks for your kind words. I promise this craft is super easy & super satisfying. You will love needle felting!
Wonderful! I usually do photography and have a number of "texture" shots that are great inspiration for a felted piece. Can't wait to give it a try.
Hi Jaci – using a photo of your own as inspiration would be amazing! I'd love to see your work – esp. if you tackle a project like this.
Wow these are really beautiful! I love the texture (texture addict here), as it adds so much interest to the pieces.
Beautiful! I was thinking I could make a seascape out of wool felt and then as I read I saw yours… GORGEOUS pieces! Thanks for sharing. I might have to try this. If I do I'll send you a picture.
Hi Mary,Thanks!!Definitely send me a photo of your project! I'd love to share with my readers (and just ogle the gorgeousness – I loved felted wool).
Hi Tanya. Thanks for sharing your tutorial on needle felted art. These tips will be appreciated by our readers. We’ve included your post in our latest craft inspiration roundup. https://craftylikegranny.com/too-many-ideas-not-enough-time/ Cheers Jodie 🙂
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Thanks so much for sharing, Jodie! I have another great felting post where I use needle felting to repair a sweater hole: http://danslelakehouse.com/2013/05/stylish-fix-for-damaged-or-plain-sweater.html