What is Needle Felting

Needle felting is relatively new compared to the ancient art of wet felting. Both processes transform unspun wool (be it raw or carded, in batts or rovings) into a durable fabric by interlocking the individual fibers.

Industrial flat felt is made by machines which house hundreds of felting needles to punch holes in the wool until it is a dense fabric. These felting needles are small, about three inches long. It is not their size that does the important work, but their structure as each is notched with a series of barbs. It is the action of these barbs going in and out of the fibers that pull the wool into felt.

Needle felters like me use an individual needle, or a tool that holds any where from 2-24 needles to create the shapes we want. The needles come in a variety of sizes designed for slightly different tasks, and each artist discovers the ones that work most easily for her. I enjoy using larger needles for rough shaping, and smaller, star-shaped needles for finishing. In between I may use smaller triangle needles or some of my needle tools, depending on the project I am completing and the look I am trying to achieve.