The homeland of the ancient craft of felting wool is considered to be Slavic lands, which means that the passion for this technique is in our blood. Therefore, the products are obtained the most high-quality and beautiful from representatives of the Slavic peoples. Having tried to dump something once, you will surely be carried away by it for a long time.
The abundance of felting needles often leads newcomers to a dead end and presents a difficult choice. How not to make a mistake and buy suitable felting needles, thanks to which it will be possible to create a unique and beautiful thing with your own hands? This article will help you with this.
If you look with inexperienced eyes on felting needles, then for most they will seem exactly the same, but this is far from the case. Each of the needles has its own purpose, and the use of inappropriate will only result in a waste of time and resources.
Triangular felting needles
These needles are the most popular. They are most often found in sets. Triangular needles, respectively, have three faces, which contain special roughness and teeth.
If you pay attention, the needles have their own number, which corresponds to the size of the tool itself. Felting needles are both large and small. They are designed for various products - smooth and fluffy. The larger the number on the instrument, the thinner it is, which means that the holes in the product will be smaller, and the finished craft will be smooth and hard.
The most popular among the triangular are needles numbered 36, 38 and 40.
Needle No. 40
Such a needle is used to study small parts that require increased accuracy and caution. It leaves practically invisible holes in the product. Most often it is used in the manufacture of small crafts or as a final step in processing. If you create dolls, then the needle with the fortieth number is better to take for the study of facial plastics. Then the doll will look more believable.
The felting technique itself involves the use of several needles, so you definitely can not do one. Only a skilled craftsman can knit wool with one needle. If you want to spend as little money as possible and save money, then buy sets. For a beginner, felting three or five needles will be more than enough.
If your city does not have a specialized store and you do not know where to buy felting needles, then contact the online stores. Most often, there you can pick up wool for felting, and special literature with lessons for beginners.
Needle No. 38
It will be useful to you as the main needle. Since it is universal and can be used both in small areas and during the initial processing of wool.
Such a needle for felting wool is also useful for joining blanks into a single composition. When creating simple products, it will be enough to use only it.
Needle No. 36
When you just tear off a piece of wool and it is necessary to form it into some figure, then feel free to take a needle with such a number. It is ideal for quickly felting a large piece of wool and will cope well with such work. But to dump a smooth product only with this needle you will not succeed. For coarse wool, such a felting needle is great. With your own hands, you will be able to create a small dense blank from a large piece of wool in a matter of minutes.
Star shaped needles
Due to the large number of teeth on this needle, the wool falls off much faster than on a triangular one. But star needles will not work in smooth areas. When creating soft, fluffy toys, such as animals, such tools are often used, since they well draw the necessary wool for splendor.
The technique of felting dry wool
Making toys with your own hands is a very exciting and interesting activity, the result of which must surely please a diligent craftsman. It is enough to at least once try to dump some figure, and you will certainly fall in love with this occupation.
Anyone who likes to create something with their own hands, to invent and create, will enjoy this activity. Indeed, for a finished toy, you can also come up with an image, clothes, accessories, which is also very exciting.
Felting dry wool is easier to learn, therefore it is with this technique that beginners are advised to start. This technique involves felting untreated dry wool that has not yet been processed. Dry felting needles are no different from wet needles. Therefore, you can stock up on the aforementioned tools and work with them in several techniques at once.
How to use needles
- The needle must be kept just below where it bends.
- We do not recommend distracting during the process of felting, since there is a risk of injury, because the needles are very sharp. To avoid this, you can use a special substrate on which to put the product and roll the wool right there.
- Hold the needle only upright with respect to your work. If you do not follow this rule, then you can break it when the workpiece is tight.
- If it seems to you that the product is still not well enough dumped, but the needle enters the work hard, then be sure to replace it with a thinner one. So you will avoid its breakdown, and the finished composition will be neat.
- If you are going to roll not only dry, but also wet wool, then prefer stainless steel needles or with a special coating that will prevent the development of corrosion. These needles are more expensive than usual, but then you do not have to buy new tools again.
Creating a simple toy using the technique of dry felting
Take a spun wool of any color you like, felting needles, pastel crayons or acrylic paints to work out the details. You can also take the substrate on which the product is fixed.
Draw on paper how you see the future toy. Tear off a piece of wool and take the coarsest needle. Start with an effort to quickly stick it into the wool and at the same time shape the body of the toy. When the workpiece has become dense and hard enough to the touch, it can hold its shape, you can take the needle thinner and process uneven areas.
Create all the details separately. In the place where you are going to connect them, do not felting wool. If you do this, then in the future it will be difficult for you to connect all the workpieces.
When the parts are ready, you can connect them. Take a rough needle and work through the workpieces together. Decorate the finished toy with paints or pastel crayons. You can also sew or knit clothes for toys, make jewelry from beads. Everything that your imagination is capable of can be applied in creating such crafts from dry wool.
About wet felting
Wet felting occurs in an alkaline environment, that is, in water with soap. The technique of felting wet wool is used to create flat products. If you want to create complete compositions, you will need to learn both techniques. But this is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance.