Needles, Wool, Mistakes, Advice and the One Tip - Felt Pixie (Lisa Dearnley)

1. What are your favourite needles to use?

Because I make a lot of miniatures my favourite needles are spiral ones as they leave smaller holes which is important for miniature pieces. I like to use a spiral 40 mainly.

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

I like new zealand wool for larger pieces but for my miniatures I use new zealand for the core and then I absolutely love the short fibre merino you sell at the felt box for the top coat as you can get a lot of details with it even with something so small.

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

I think the worst advice is telling beginners to use wool tops, these are fantastic for fur or hair and not too bad as a top coat but so many beginners give up because felting a wool top is so hard especially if it is a fine wool like merino.

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

I think it's important for a beginner to find a good core wool, my life was changed when I realised there were fast felting wools out there that would speed up what I find the boring part of building up the core.

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

Also don't be afraid to experiment, especially if you are doing a larger piece, I’ve heard of people wrapping up old jumpers to make the bulk of core. There is no rules when it comes to art. I hope this helps you.