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 Felt
is created by agitating fibres until they mat together to
form a non-woven fabric. The fibres can be laid flat on a
surface or molded around a former such as a hatshaper (see
how), cardboard or even a ball.
Most commercial felt is made in a dry process by simply
tangling the fibres of almost any material. This is carried
out with felting needles; each about 8cm long with a number
of small tags on the needle surface to catch the fibres, driving
them through the fibre mass. Commercially thousands of needles,
set into a bed, are used in one machine, passed through the
fibre bed many times.
 These
needles
are available to hand felt makers to use in attaching fibres
to the surface of felt, adding non-wools such as silk, applying
felt designs, sculpting a surface and repairing weak felt.
They can be used alone or set into a handle
and used as a 'bat'. They are used on dry fibres.
A felting needle is very sharp, with tiny notches cut near
the tip of the shaft. They are cut at an upward angle, so
that fibres catch in the notches, and carry into the mass.
When the needle is retracted, the fibres stay in place.
Needle Felting Technique
- Both the angle and the depth of the 'poke' are important
for shaping. The fibre goes exactly where poked; directly
down from the surface carries the fibres straight down,
and at an angle, they are carried sideways. Poking only
a small distance works only the surface fibres. This toughens
the top layer and forms a 'skin' while the interior fibres
stay loose and fluffy. Deep poking (burying the needle ¾
of its length) forms deep indentations. This is the key
to three dimensional felt shaping.
- Do the deep shaping first. Too much shallow work locks
the surface fibres, and they are then resistant to moving.
Start by deep basting using deliberate, deep pokes spaced
0.5 to 1 cm apart along the shaping line. Have a foam pillow
under your work to take the end of the needle stroke. Go
back over the line with deeper pokes, until it is the depth
you want and stays roughly in place. Then get down to the
line holding the fibres on each side with the index and
middle fingers in a
 'V'-shape
and the needle with the other hand.
- Now start detailing. As you poke, some of the initial
shaping may soften; go back over it later. It helps to rough
shape the entire outline, then go back a second and third
time to refine and define the shape, rather than needle
a single feature from basting to finish before starting
the next feature. Poke with 'angles' to give depth to a
feature; for a nose, poke all around aiming at an imaginary
centre. The details of Santa's face and beard were created
using a needle.
- After the deep basting, use a 'shorter stroke' for the
refinement. Finish up with a very short poke all over to
give the final 'skin'. Apply any final colour with mid-strokes
to attach, followed by short strokes to push/pull it into
shape along the edge and finish.
- Where stubborn fibres stick straight up, work the needle
in a small circular motion around the fibres, and then poke
down so that they catch in the needle's notches. If there
are still fibres sticking up, trim them with scissors.
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