This week we thought we would share a few fun facts about needle felting as we are spotlighting our Christmas needle felting workshop.
There are actually two ways to turn fluffy wool into felt. The first is the wet method using soap and water and the second is the dry method using a barbed needle. What binds these methods together is that they both tangle the wool fibers to create a solid fabric or 3D shape.
Wet felting is something that many people have tried by accident… If you have ever added a woolen jumper to the washing machine by mistake and it has shrunk to fit a child, you have been wet felting as it is the soap and the friction that has matted the wool fibers to create felt.
Felt has a long history, in fact a very long history as it goes all the way back to the Neolithic period. So not only has it been used to make gorgeous ornaments, it also has the more practical applications of clothes, tents, car engines, armour and more. So once you have learnt the basics you really can create anything!
Needle felting is the new arrival in comparison to the ancient wet felting as it was first invented in the 1980s by artists David and Eleanor Stanwood. It always seems like magic that you can take fluffy wool and a barbed needle and create the most amazing figures, but if you are inspired to learn the secret of this craft check out our COURSES tab to book your place in our December workshop. Goodbye for now and we will be back next week x
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