Sculpting needle vs wet felting

[Ali Iceloff]

So, while waiting for my fiber to arrive for wet felting ...I've been doing some reading about needle felting. WhT do you see as the pros and cons of each method for sculptural work? Anyone use them in combination? 

[zed]

It's a lot easier to get a hollow shape with wet felting for sculptural felt. I don't often get my needles out, I've tried a few abstract landscapes, but anything sculptural was as bad as my drawing.

[lyn]

I agree with Zed - it is easier to get a hollow shape with wet felting.

It would depend on size too as large wet felted sculptures are limited by:
their weight in the making - as anyone who's tried fulling a large amount of wet wool knows,
and their weight when finished so they need some external or internal support.

Needle felted sculptures can be very dense because layers can be added easily so they can be made stronger and needle felted sculptures are easier to construct because the process can be done bit by bit so size wouldn't be a problem.

It's far easier to get detail and definition with needle felting, so maybe a combination of both methods would work well.

[koffipot]

Needle felting can be useful to apply more detail to a wet felted piece. My fingers don't like the needles - obviously my aim is very poor!

[Shepherdess]

I know people who do all 3 ways. I think try it and see what you like. There is no rule. you can needle felt anywhere along the wet felt process too.

[Shana]

Mar 9, 2015 3:53:48 GMT Ali Iceloff said:

So, I'm waiting while waiting for my fiber to arrive for wet felting ...I've been doing some reading about needle felting. WhT do you see as the pros and cons of each method for sculptural work? Anyone use them in combination? 

Hi Ali,

I often use both methods in my sculptures... it's all a matter of getting the desired result and knowing what's going to work best to achieve it.

Needle-felting solid forms and then wet-felting can give you a really dense object. Wet-felting hollow forms and then adding needle-felted elements is another method for complex multi-layered objects. There really are no rules except to make sure you have enough loose fibers to make the connections binding.

In this piece, I wet-felted some prefelt to make the "petals" then needled them onto a purely needle-felted core. Then wet-felted the whole shebang (then needle-felted again to make some adjustments, and wet-felted again because I'm nuts!!)

[Pandagirl]

Ali, I use needlefelting along with wet felting to get more specific textures or colors both before and after wet felting. Here is an example of my rooster project:
feltingandfiberstudio.com/2014/11/22/a-colorful-rooster/
Experiment as previously stated there are no hard fast rules. Find what works for you. Have fun!

[MTRuth]

I do mostly wet felting but occasionally do needle felting as well. I'm glad that Shana answered as she makes some very complex sculptures and I think most people who do that kind of work, do a combination of both.

[Ali Iceloff]

Shana...that's fabulous ..and sort of what I was thinking....make the pod using wet felting, but then needle felt a caterpillar to go inside it, or use needle felting to add detail. just wasn't sure if it was counter productive to try to learn both techniques, but now I see how they can be use in conjunction.
BTW..I'm sorry about the typos, my keyboard is broken. ):

[Shana]

Ali, if you have any technical questions don't hesitate to ask. For starting out, get yourself a 38 needle or two (or five) and some needle-friendly wool: Rambouillet, Corriedale, C-1, basically anything with a 2"-3" staple and a good crimp. Once you get the hang of it, it'll be easier to graduate to longer staple wools (which are generally better for wet-felting)

I think it's kinda funny how felters generally fall into Needle or Wet mindsets. While I won't name names, there are some very high profile wet-felters that stick their noses up at needle-felters... and acclaimed needle-felters that wouldn't dare to get their hands wet.

[Ali Iceloff]

Well at first, wet felting seemed more organic...with a bit of serendipity and that helps counter my tendency toward symmetry. But I just came off a stint with hot glass, and what I loved about that was the ability to sculpt objects..esp. Critters. I realized that I use could some of the same sculpting approaches using needle felting.

As far as people being snooty about one or the other, here in the states fiber in general is seen as a 'craft' ...most painters here look down on any fiber! Years ago, I was pretty much told that if I wanted to be in a juried art show, I should avoid fiber (but somehow handmade paper is okay). I think the whole art vs. craft thing is kind of silly anyway. In Europe, nobody makes a fuss about it and they have some of the best fiber artists in the world. I've finally got to the point where I realize it's okay not to make things that will sell, it's okay to use whatever material I love, and who cares if someone doesn't think my lilac cats with purple stripes is art or not. I need to make things, I love fiber, and well that's why I'm back! (: and boy, oh boy, what a tangent I got off on. (:

I'm so glad I found a fiber friendly group to 'hang' out with.

[Pandagirl]

You go girl! I hate when people don't respect the work of others because of preconceived notions of what is art. Do they not know the definition of art? If not, they shouldn't consider themselves artists.

[lyn]

Well said Ali.

[zed]

Yeah, very well said, Ali.

Being an artist or creating isn't some elite talent, (or competition as Lyn reminded us!) it's a compulsion. It doesn't have to 'be' anything or have a purpose. If creating it is enjoyable, that is the main thing

[luvswool and dyestuff]

Ali, I am fond of both needle-felting and wet-felting and often combine the two in 2-D felt landscapes or seascapes. I started out as a self-taught needle-felter, then took a wet-felting workshop and loved it! Both methods are challenging but easily complement each other, whether in 2-D or 3-D artwork. Plan to spend a bit of time experimenting, as both methods require practice, practice, practice.