Felting Needles
Four - Medium (36 gage) triangle blade
$5.00
This is a dry felting technique, no water needed! Using a single, barbed needle, attach raw fibers as though painting a
surface. All needling is done from the top of the project with a quick, jabbing action of the wrist. Fibers can be attached
to any fabric; felt, fleece, wool or cotton. Build up surface texture and design on ready-to-wear, quilts, pillows, purses
or wall hangings. Once you get a felting needle in your hand, you will want to needle felt designs on everything!
Use with a minimum 2 inch thick, foam work surface
There are many sizes of felting needles. Some prefer a smaller gage needle
because it leaves a smaller hole in the finished project. A smaller gage needle will actually slow the felting process though,
because not as many fibers will be caught in the smaller barbs. The barbs are on the sides of the needle, starting about a
quarter inch from the tip and about 1 inch up the needle. You may not see the barbs but you would feel them along the needle.
When you pierce through a bit of raw fiber into a backing foam, the needle drives the loose fiber through the backing fabric
into the foam. When you withdraw the needle, the fibers are left in place. You will notice, the needle is tapered and driving
the needle deeper than necessary will leave larger holes. Usually, after a couple days the fibers will relax a little and
the holes will go away over time.
The needles are very sharp and they will break or bend if you needle at an
odd angle or needle through the foam into the underlying table surface.
There are needle holders on the market that will hold multiple needles. Often
the needle spacing on these holders prevents the needles from penetrating the surface tension of your project. It may be helpful
to remove some needles to increase the spacing. I usually find that I get the best detail using a single needle in my hand.
Sincerely,
Elsa Leyden,
Felt Craftsmen, Alpaca Farmer
