Needles, Wool, Mistakes, Advice and the One Tip - Sarah Brown - Needle Felting UK

1. What are your favourite needles to use?

Definitely my 38 and 40 gauge triangle! They are such great "all-rounders!" I use my 38 to start with and then move into my 40 as my project begins to firm up.

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

Easy question, I love, love, love NZ carded batts!! I use them for 90% of my beginner's workshops. It's so easy and quick felting and firms up really nicely.

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

When people ask where to get their wool from they are directed to the cheapest materials and places to shop. After nearly 6 years of felting, I'm a true believer that you get what you pay for!! Yes you can buy cheap man-made fibres to Needle Felt with, but they do not Needle Felt as beautifully as the wools you will find from independent traders. You can not trace cheap wool back to it source and know it is ethical or even if it is truly wool. I will always direct people to the quality wool providers, even if it's not "cheap," as I guarantee you won't be throwing it in the bin. For me it's definitely quality over quantity when it comes to wool.

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

Getting supplies from huge stores or giant online retailers. These companies are not specialists in Needle Felted and supply beginners with producers that often put people off felting again. Stabbing acrylic wool, with a giant needle into a polystyrene base is enough to put anyone off, surely?

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

Don't try to be like everyone else? Just be yourself and make what inspires you. I see so many people try to recreate realistic works of art. We're all different and some can do realistic, others can't! It's not a failure. You'll find what you are good at and you'll enjoy it. Don't stress and try to copy. Needle felting is a wonderful hobby so just enjoy and don't get hung up with what everyone else is making.

About the artist:

She created and have been running the Facebook group Needle Felting UK for almost 6 years. She has been Needle Felting for nearly 6 years, she is a member of The International Feltmakers Association, and she has been teaching needle felting for over two and a half years. She had written articles and reviews for British Fibre Art Magazine, as well as the Foreward for Steffi Sterns latest book, “Making Simple Needle Felts.” She also has a regular column, "Ask Sarah, in the new Needle Felting Magazine.

You'll find her running the Needle Felting UK Facebook group or on her business page at Facebook feltingwithnature or feel free to contact her at feltingwithnature@yahoo.co.uk