There are many interesting types of handicrafts that can not only develop your creativity, but also bring in a good income. One of them is wool felting. For novice craftsmen, you can advise simple products that will not be difficult to create. The HouseChief editors have prepared for you several such step-by-step instructions that will help you master this process in different techniques.
Read in the article
- 1 Before You Get Started: Felting Materials and Tools
- 2 Dry felting
- 3 Wet felting
- 4 Mixed felting technique
- 5 How to use a washing machine for felting
- 6 Felting from wool for beginners: master classes
- 6.1 Toy bear
- 6.2 Keychain - a book made of wool
- 6.3 Painting as a gift: poppy from wool
- 6.4 Acorn-shaped wool brooch
- 6.5 Wool ball ring
Before You Get Started: Felting Materials and Tools
Felting from wool requires preparation. The basis for any crafts is natural wool, which is not difficult to buy. This handicraft has already become so popular that the material for it can be purchased at any handicraft store.
For felting, sheep or camel wool is usually used, which manufacturers specially prepare for sale: comb, bleach and dye. The material is sold in combed ribbons or cardoches.
The ribbons are usually so well "combed" that the material must be deliberately entangled before felting. But there is no need to confuse cardoons - it already looks like cotton wool, in which all the fibers are tangled, but not felted.
How much wool is required for the product? When working, the volume of material is reduced by about a third, so you need to take it with a margin.
Advice! If you are going to make fluffy toys or souvenirs, then you should use fibers of the same quality and thickness for the base and decoration.
To work with the dry method, you need special needles, the ends of which are serrated, they cling to the fibers and entangle them. The needles are thick and thin. Thick ones (# 30-36) are used for base preparation and rougher work, while smaller needles (# 38-42) are useful for fine finishing.
A beginner should be advised a three-beam instrument. Complicated work is done with a star.
Advice! Experienced craftsmen recommend purchasing needles from European manufacturers. Chinese and domestic products are inferior to them in quality.
To make fluffy wool on toys, reverse needles are required, they stick well and pull the fibers out. In order not to tear the workpiece, use thin models of this tool.
In order not to damage the skin of the hands and the surface of the table when working with a needle, craftsmen use a hard brush or a special mat.
If you use a brush for felting, cover its surface with a piece of loose fabric so as not to damage the workpiece of your product with bristles.
A beginner can be advised to use soft silicone or leather finger thimbles. From habit, it is the fingers that suffer the most from the needle.
How to decorate finished products is a matter of your taste. But if you take up toys, it makes sense to buy ready-made eyes.
Dry felting
For the manufacture of products in a dry way, you will need coarse or semi-fine fiber. Too fine wool breaks under the needle and this process results in felting that is too dense and cannot be reworked.
To dry the wool, you first need to rub it a little in your palms, and then roll it up and then process it with a needle. The needle is stuck into the workpiece and slightly rotated. With the advent of experience, you can use two needles at the same time, this will greatly speed up the process.
The workpiece will become denser, acquiring the desired shape. Work continues until, after pressing, the figure stops changing its shape. To create irregularities, the needle is often stuck in the place where you want to make a depression.
Wet felting
Wet felting is considered a classic method, as opposed to dry felting. This is how felt boots have been made for a long time. To make the product, wool is laid out on a template, moistened with a hot solution of water and soap, and then iron and wipe in different directions: first lightly and carefully, then with effort and pushing. It is so good to make pictures and things to wear, like scarves.
To mechanize the process, you can use a vibrating grinder or even a hand-held massager. The result of the work is a felt canvas. With this method, the shrinkage of the starting material reaches 40%.
Mixed felting technique
Opinions differ on this issue. Some craftswomen recommend using mixed media to first make the blank with a wet method, and then finish it with a needle, and part claims that the best result can be achieved by acting in the opposite okay.
Try it yourself and decide which is best.
How to use a washing machine for felting
Even a washing machine can be used to speed up and mechanize the process. Fine work will not work, but the result will undoubtedly be. How it happens: the felting mold is wrapped with wool fibers and covered with a nylon stocking. Then they are put into a delicate wash mode without spinning. An example of felting such a product in a typewriter in this small video:
Felting in a typewriter can be used to make slippers or other similar products.
Felting from wool for beginners: master classes
The most popular felted wool products are toys. They turn out to be very pleasant to the touch and so cute that no one remains indifferent. This can be called a real art.
Toy bear
An option for creating a toy-bear with your own hands, consider a master class:
| Illustration | Description of action |
 | Prepare a piece of white wool, roll it and roll it on a foam sponge to shape |
 | The finished result should look like an egg - with a pointed tip on one side and a flat pad for easy planting on the other. |
 | Prepare the neck from a roll thinner, roll it to the body |
 | The next detail is the head. It should be oblong |
 | To avoid seeing the joints of the parts, put thin pieces of wool on these places and roll |
 | Each leg is made of three parts: an elongated base, a rounded thigh and a small round heel. |
 | Legs rest against the main workpiece |
 | Bear handles - two oblong pieces |
 | Ears - small and round, with a seal in the center to shape |
 | Tuck the ears to the head, carefully concealing the joints |
 | Make a nose, eyes and a smile with colored wool |
 | The fish is made of two parts - an oblong body and a rounded tail |
 | Imitation of fish scales and eyes - made of contrasting wool |
 | Pin the fish to the bear as if it were holding it in its paws |
 | The final touch - pink heels |
 | This adorable teddy bear is a great toy: eco-friendly and safe |
Keychain - a book made of wool
And here is an interesting version of a keychain made of wool:
| Illustration | Description of action |
 | Use bright wool to make a book. |
 | Felle a flat workpiece and cut an even rectangle out of it. This will be the cover |
 | Pages can be felted with white wool in the same way. |
 | Fold the pages in half and secure them with thread |
 | Sew the pages to the cover by threading the needle through and leaving the stitching with contrasting thread. |
 | It will turn out to be such a small book. Make a couple of these with different color covers. |
 | Prepare your ring and key chain |
 | Decorate books with decorations and hot glue |
 | Attach books to rings and a chain |
 | Such a keychain will be a lovely gift for a loved one. |
Painting as a gift: poppy from wool
You can create a masterpiece to decorate your living room or bedroom. For example, create a painting.
| Illustration | Description of action |
 | To make a picture, you need a frame with glass, wool of different shades of red, black, green and white wool for the background |
 | Apply a layer of white wool to the base of the picture. |
 | Mix Red and Orange Petal Fiber |
 | Cut petals out of wool and place them on the background |
 | In the center of the flower, place a few fibers of black or dark brown tone. |
 | For bright highlights, add pieces of orange wool, it is convenient to do this with tweezers |
 | Now form those petals that are closer to you using the same cutting method. |
 | Straighten and loosen the workpiece |
 | Use highlights again. They are very well obtained from silk fibers, it shines a little, which gives an excellent effect. |
 | Form a stem from a thin strip of black and green wool |
 | Bright stamens are obtained from pieces of purple and white wool |
 | Be sure to add highlights on the outer petals, and rare dark fibers from the bottom of the flower to add volume |
 | When all the details have taken their place, cover the painting with glass |
 | Frame the finished work - you will get a very original wool pattern |
Acorn-shaped wool brooch
The procedure for creating wool jewelry for those who are interested in this technique.
| Illustration | Description |
 | For acorns you need green, brown and beige wool |
 | Felle the oblong base of the beige fiber acorn |
 | Attach a brown hat. Make two of these acorns |
 | Make a flat blank of green wool for the leaf. Add some ginger fibers |
 | Use scissors to cut out the oak leaf |
 | Fasten a thin wire through the acorn caps |
 | Disguise the wire with green wool |
 | Secure the leaf and tint it with pastel crayons for contrast. |
 | Acorn caps can also be shaded with bright crayons. |
 | Decorate the brooch with bright original beads |
 | Hot glue the back of the clasp |
 | This brooch can be used as a hair ornament or for a New Year's composition. |
Wool ball ring
Alternatively, you can consider jewelry in the form of a ring.
| Illustration | Description |
 | Choose wool in bold, contrasting colors |
 | To make a ring, you need a base - a blank of your size |
 | Take as a basis one color, for example, red, roll fibers of other colors to it, creating a pattern, at the same time rolling into a ball |
 | Try to keep the borders of flowers clear, without smearing |
 | To accentuate crisp edges, draw thin lines with contrasting fibers. |
 | Use hot glue to glue the ball to the ring blank |
 | Press the ball firmly against the workpiece and wait for the glue to cool completely |
 | Such an original ring will definitely draw attention to your outfit. |
As you can see, felting from six is a fascinating type of needlework, which is not as difficult to master as it seems. Learn from master classes, and you will definitely succeed!
Try it and be sure to write in the comments what you got!