Fiber Friday - Needle Felting
Wow - here it is Fiber Friday again! This week the subject is needle felting, which is a new way to create a very old "fabric". In fact, felt is the oldest known type of fabric. Mankind learned very early on that the wool from sheep (or similar animal fibers) could be matted together using moisture and friction to create a dense, warm cloth. Wool felts because each wool fiber (or hair, if you will) consists of a structure that looks a little like a stack of clay pots nested together. These overlapping scales can be made to "open up" with some heat and moisture. When the fibers rub together, the scales interlock, forming a mat of tangled fibers - felt. Nearly anyone who has ever done laundry has done this by accident to favorite sweater. Human hair has similar properties - smooth in one direction, rough in the other. When we backcomb or create dreadlocks, we are using the scales of our own human hair to interlock and behave somewhat similarly to felt.
So - enter needle felting. Needle felting is a "dry" method of felting - you don't have to work with wet wool such as in the wet felting process. Instead, special barbed needles are used (there is a great description available here) to force the fibers to interlock, or in the case of non-scaled fibers, to embed them into a fabric or similar base. You can easily sculpt 3 dimensional objects by simply poking small pieces of wool to shape them, and then attach them to each other using the same process. For example, here is a picture of my fabulous grandmother modeling a needle felted wool hat with silk ribbon embroidery and beadwork. It's very warm!
It's a great technique for applique - even non-wool fabrics such as cotton flannel will easily felt into one another, as they have a lot of loose fibers. Or for embellishing anything ranging from denim (you can use the needles to "rough up" the fabric, creating a textured design) to silk. The background of my "Fiber Friday" graphic shows silk roving that has been needle felted into a backing of silk noil fabric and silk batting. If you're not comfortable creating your own designs, there are many books and patterns available to help you. So if you're interested in fiber arts - give needle felting a try! It's fast, easy and produces beautiful results.
So - enter needle felting. Needle felting is a "dry" method of felting - you don't have to work with wet wool such as in the wet felting process. Instead, special barbed needles are used (there is a great description available here) to force the fibers to interlock, or in the case of non-scaled fibers, to embed them into a fabric or similar base. You can easily sculpt 3 dimensional objects by simply poking small pieces of wool to shape them, and then attach them to each other using the same process. For example, here is a picture of my fabulous grandmother modeling a needle felted wool hat with silk ribbon embroidery and beadwork. It's very warm!
It's a great technique for applique - even non-wool fabrics such as cotton flannel will easily felt into one another, as they have a lot of loose fibers. Or for embellishing anything ranging from denim (you can use the needles to "rough up" the fabric, creating a textured design) to silk. The background of my "Fiber Friday" graphic shows silk roving that has been needle felted into a backing of silk noil fabric and silk batting. If you're not comfortable creating your own designs, there are many books and patterns available to help you. So if you're interested in fiber arts - give needle felting a try! It's fast, easy and produces beautiful results.
posted by Katrina at
2:13 PM
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