Lesson on the correct selection of needles for different types of felting, for dry felting out of wool, how to choose the right size of the needle for felting by photo and description.

December 12, 2017 handmadebase

Dry felting uses special needles,having notches on the sides that allow the fibers to grab onto each other. The modern market of handicraft items is represented by such a wide range of needles, differing in types, size categories and lengths, that it can be difficult to immediately figure out at what stages of felting they should be used. In this master class, we will figure it all out together. Felting needles have their own numbering. It is inversely proportional to the thickness of the needles. Thicker needles contribute to faster felting of fibers with each other, but they leave large holes in the products. The use of long thick needles, as a rule, is relevant when forming the original appearance of the product, and for the purpose of "smoothing" the surfaces, thin and short needles are ideal.In your work you will use 3-4 needles. The most popular are star needles No. 38 and triangular needles No. 36, 38, and also 40. You can also find sets of these needles in needlework shops.Each of these needles has a specialpurpose: #36 is used at the beginning of the process, when the rough and accelerated part of felting occurs; #38 is the needle used to connect layers of wool and felt the felt parts together due to its versatility; #40 is used for working with small elements, as well as for “smoothing” the surface. This is an excellent option when felting merino types of wool.The star needle is equipped with 3 or 4notched edges, for which it received the additional name "three-beam" and "four-beam". The number of notches is directly proportional to the number of edges, so it is faster and more convenient to felt wool with this needle. Star needle No. 38 is designed for the fast and fine part of felting. "Three-beam" is used when felting wool to a fabric base, as well as in the process of felting flat products (ears, tails). "Four-beam" are used for basic and finishing work. Above we have provided descriptions for the main types of needles for felting, but in shops for needlewomen you can also find other types.Crown needle (No. 36, 38, 40, 42) hasThe cross-section is also triangular, but it got its name from the crown-shaped notches on the end of the needle. Such needles are convenient for working on surfaces. They do not fall deep into the material. As a rule, a crown needle is used to felt curls to dolls' heads, wool to fabric bases. A reverse needle (No. 32, 40) is used to pull the pile out of felted products. This is usually how toys are fluffed up or an unusual play of shades is achieved by mixing deep-lying fiber with surface fiber.Twisted needle (star #36 and triangular№40) is distinguished by a spiral-twisted working surface and the arrangement of notches along the diameter. Due to this, they win over other needles in strength and speed during operation. A puncture when working with such a needle is practically unnoticeable, because it perfectly smoothes the surface.Finally, let's talk about needle holders.Their use makes the felting process more convenient. The first advantage is reduced finger fatigue; the second is the ability to use several needles (from 3 to 7) at the same time, which significantly speeds up felting. Needle holders allow you to change and alternate needles as you wish. It is not necessary to buy them in a store. You can make them yourself. A wine bottle cork will do, or you can wrap several needles with an elastic band, additionally wrapping them with tape for convenience. After studying this master class, you can choose the optimal set of needles for felting, which means you are completely ready to create your first masterpiece!

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