Needle Felted Friends

Objectives:

Students will work with the art medium of wool fibers
Students will gain knowledge and skills in the technique of needle felting
Students will plan and create their own needle felted "friend"
Students will create a 3 dimensional form through needle felting, and include at least 5 characteristics of their "friend" in their work

Felting predates the creation of woven fabric, and is still used in some cultures for the basics of living, most notably Central Asia, The Himalayas, and Baltic Countries. It is a low-tech solution for creating very warm and heavy fabrics for the creation of housing and clothing (Mongolian Yurts, Nepalese clothing, felt rugs, etc.).

Today's basic techniques have been used since before the 6th century B.C. Some of the oldest pieces of felt have been found in tombs and burial grounds in Siberia, Scandinavia, and Germany. Theory holds that cold climatic conditions of these areas helped preserve the fibers through time.

Felted wool yurts have provided shelter for thousands of years.

Scythian Saddle Blanket with Gryphon Attacking a Mountain Goatfrom Pazyryk, 4th century B.CE.,

Needle Felting Supplies:

Felting needles — These are very sharp barbed needles (ouch!) that are available in a variety of sizes, from very fine (about 42 gauge) to coarse (32 gauge). A 36- or 38-gauge needle is a good all around one to have. You can use a single needle or a holder that houses a few.

**Be careful: it's easy to hurt your hands with needles, especially when felting miniatures or miniature details. For some reason, felting needles hurt more than regular ones.

Foam pad — The pad will support your project and protect your work surface and your needles.

Wool roving — Any fiber that felts can be needle felted (some more easily than others), but wool fiber is the standard.

Wool batting — Wool batting is wool that has not been combed or carded; it is coarser than roving and good for the core of your projects.

Scissors (to cut the wool....)

Merino Sheep

"Friend" Inspiration

Project Steps

Step 1: Planning

Open your sketchbook and brainstorm what kind of friend would make you happy to have around
- - - Animal (Wild or Pet)
    - Anthropomorphic Something or Other
    - Monster, Imaginary Creature
    - Fairy, Elf, Goblin...
    - ABSOLUTELY NO COPYRIGHT/TRADEMARKED ANYTHING
Once you have some ideas, pick one.
Find at least one reference photo for your final choice (you can look online or take your own)
- - - You can take inspiration from someone else's art, but DO NOT COPY IT. Make it your own.
Draw out your "friend" TO SCALE, meaning, the actual size you will be making. (Think 4 - 5" or so)
Make sure you plan out at least 5 characteristics of your friend
- - - Legs, Arms, Fins
    - Tail, Horns, Antlers, Wings
    - Facial Features (eyes, nose, mouth...) & Ears (usually different from animal to animal)
Lastly - plan out your color choices by coloring your plan, or writing out the colors and the areas they will be.
Turn in a photo of your sketchbook work on Google Classroom

Creating an Armature:

(For More Interesting Forms)

The basic shapes for sculptures are a ball, an egg, and a cylinder. The cylinder has a fuzzy section that helps attach it to other shapes

Insert the needle in at different angles to shape the form, like these angles used for an egg shape.

Step 2: Body Form

Wool can be matted even without a needle, just by rubbing, so to keep its fiber structure intact, it should be handled carefully before being felted.

You start by making a tight ball of Fiber-Fill form

Start with the head, as is easier to size a body to a head, rather than enlarge a head later

You can wind a piece of wool on your finger tightly, then pull it off, wind some more and fix it with a few needle strokes, then just keep adding material by winding it onto your shape and needle felting until you get the basic shape, such as an oval, or a ball, depending on what you're making.
Continue rolling it around so it doesn't accidentally get stuck to your felting pad, and so it retains it's sphere shape.
The more you poke the ball with the needle, the firmer it will get. Try to make this shape tight enough by winding wool tightly, that will save you a lot of needle felting work later on.
1. - The base shape should not be felted too hard. As you felt the base shape and then add layers of wool on top, the felted material gets harder and harder with each needle stroke. It's possible to make wool almost rock hard by felting, after which you won't be able to further shape it with a felting needle.

Step 3: Details

After you have your basic shape, you start more detailed felting work.

Limbs

Limbs can be created separately and then needle felted to the body at any moment. Just leave (or add) some unfelted wool at the end of a limb to attach it to the body with.

It may be recommended to use wire in legs for heavier animals as even hard felted limbs will bend under a heavy weight over time. Leave some wire at the end of the limb, make a hole in the shape using an awl, put some glue on the limb wire and stick it in the hole, then felt a bit of wool over the junction to hide it.

Thin Legs

For thin legs, I create limbs from pieces of wire (you can create a whole wire skeleton, but I find it more difficult).

I apply some glue to a leg 'bone' and then wind a piece of wool around it tightly.

Avoid using rusting wire as it will stain your sculpture if you wash it. Copper wire is recommended for wireframes.

Bird Legs

To create bird legs, do the same as above, but use a thread instead: apply some glue to the wire leg, then wind thread around it tightly.

Hooves

Hooves for both odd- and even-toed ungulates can be made from polymer clay or carved from wood and then optionally painted. To attach a hoof to a leg wire, heat a knitting needle or a piece of wire and burn a hole in the hoof with it. Then apply some glue and stick the tip of the leg wire into the hole.

Indents

To make a hole in your shape (e.g. for a nostril), just poke the same place a few times.

https://feltingsupplies.livingfelt.com/free-needle-felt-pattern-realistic-claws-and-fingers

Useful How To's:

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