Needles, Wool, Mistakes, Advice and the One Tip - Eileen from Littlecrafts Needle Felting

1. What are your favourite needles to use?

My favourite needles up til now have come from Heidifeathers.

2. What is your favourite type of wool to work with?

My favourite wool so far has been carded Corriedale.

3. What is the worst piece of advice you keep hearing for needle felters?

The worst advice for beginners is to use Merino roving/tops to start felting with. All the fibres are aligned in the same direction and it takes forever to felt. Whilst it WILL felt eventually, it's not great for making the initial shape of the sculpture. It's more expensive too so save it for top dressing/decoration/colour/fur.

4. What common mistakes do people make when they start out?

I think a common mistake beginners might make is to continue using the same needle all the way through a project. Start with a coarse needle and when that starts labouring and making holes, change to a medium needle and see the difference. For a smooth surface,save the very fine needles for finishing your project as they don't leave holes.

5. What is the one thing a beginner could learn today that would make a difference to their work?

I often advise beginner felters not to concentrate on projects straight off. It takes a while to get used to thinking in the round if you're working on 3d projects. I often suggest just using core wool to make simple shapes such as a ball or a heart for example. Doing such a simple task is good practice for getting the eyes, brain, fingers, needle and wool all working together in harmony without having to worry about colour or whether it looks like a dog/bird or mouse for example.

So many beginners look at the work of experienced felters who have years and years of experience and feel that their own work is not as good which is unrealistic. Felting is fun, creative and fabulous to do but it is time consuming and it takes a while to build up some experience. Every new project teaches us something new and it's best to find your own style, for example some people have wacky styles that are completely unrealistic but are all the more fabulous for it - just find your own way and enjoy the journey!

Happy felting!

About the artist:

Her name is Eileen and she's been felting for 7 years...According to her, she never heard of it before but she enjoyed it more than any of the other crafts she tried!

People can contact her by message if they wish at: