How to Needle Felt

Once you learn how to needle felt, you won't believe all the uses for this fun craft technique. To get started, you'll need to assemble a few tools and supplies.

Needle felting does not require a lot of equipment, but you will need a felting tool. Generally, these tools have multiple barbed needles. You can unscrew the back to use a single needle at a time. This is useful for detail work. A felting mat or piece of foam will protect your table from the sharp needles.

Roving is unspun wool. It's very soft and fuzzy, and you can use it to create a variety of projects. You'll find roving at most craft stores, and there are Internet retail shops that specialize in needle felting supplies as well. Make sure your roving is made of 100% wool.

You can also use pieces of old sweaters or wool fabric to needle felt. If your favorite sweater has a hole in it, toss it in the washing machine. When you wash wool products in hot water and dry them in the dryer, the process felts the fibers together. You can then cut the pieces without worrying about them unraveling.

When you're first learning how to needle felt, it helps to start with a simple project. You can make a needle felted bracelet in just a few minutes.

Start by assembling the supplies. You'll need an old bangle bracelet to use as a form, some roving in one or two fun colors, and your needle felting tools.

Begin by wrapping the roving around the bracelet. You can work the wool with your hands a little bit to help it stick to the form.

Now it's time to have some fun! Use the needle felting tool to stab the roving and felt the fibers together. Move evenly around the bracelet, pushing the needles in and pulling them out completely. You can add more roving to show off the design, and you may want to use a single needle for some parts of the bracelet.

Be careful as you use the felting needle. These needles are very sharp.

Your bracelet is done when you're happy with the shape and texture. You can continue to add roving or refine the shape by using the tool.

Now that you know how to needle felt, you may want to try other fun projects:

• How to Use a Knifty Knitter
• How to Make Beaded Bookmark
• Note Card Ideas