feeling silly.... Newbie here..

[siker]

hello, Im new here. I like to do other crafts, like sewing, and using my cricuit for vinyl.... i currently make dog collars, and stickers for people.. .. 

but i stumbled across needle felting while pintresting for inspiration... It looked interesting, so i took my gift card i got from joaan fabrics i got for my birthday, and went to get some supplies..

Well they didnt have any kits or anything related to needle felting, so me not knowing what the heck im doing, decided to grab some yarn, i think part acrylic, part wool, (i brushed it out to get it to the fluffly like i saw in videos and pictures.. it worked nice with the pet fine bristle brush) and i grabbed what needles i thought would work.. i think they are smaller knitting needles.....   


well, it didnt work. so i stumbled across this site.. while waiting for my account to be approved,  i noticed someone said that needles had barbs, or notches on them?!?!? Sigh.. can someone give me an intro on what i need, and explain the tools, so i dont mess up trying this on my own again...  


also, i dont knit.. can i make shift these needles to work for needle felting? Somehow cut in notches or something?

thanks for the help.

[siker]

Also, i would like to know if its possible to make your own "wool" out of dog hair for these projects? Sounds kinda weird but i would like to use this second dog i bush out from my pooches if possible. lol

[Pandagirl]

Hi Siker! Welcome! I’m not an expert needlefelter nor have I used dog hair, but some folks have and depending on breed it may or not work. Check the forum there was recently a thread on just this subject.

As for needles, I doubt you could make shift these barbed needles.here are some examples. So you can see what they look like. Also, most felters use a variety of wool roving for needle and wet felting.
www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=needle+felt+supplies&tag=mh0b-20&index=aps&hvadid=78202832783690&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=t&ref=pd_sl_72ldfod7bh_e

Joann should have these needles, they tend to hide them among nest other things. I had seen needlefelting kits at Joanna. Also Michael’s carries them. Check online first some items aren’t in stores. Good luck and have fun! Be sure to post your creations and ask more questions if needed.

[MTRuth]

Welcome! Here's a little guide to the different types of needles.

www.hawthornhandmade.com/pages/guide-to-felting-needles

And from the same site some photos:

www.hawthornhandmade.com/collections/needle-felting-tools

Needle felting is nothing like knitting and is really very easy to do.

There are lots of Youtube tutorials, here's one that is kind of cute:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkQSwUg5J5A

But just search for needle felting tutorials and you'll get tons of information.

You can buy supplies easily online but I would avoid the big box store kits as they sell inferior wool and for the amounts, they are very pricey.

[Shepherdess]

Hi and welcome. You do need the right needles. They are very fine. Some yarn stores carry roving or top or batts. Roving and top look like a rope and batts a flat sheet rolled up. You can use pet hair and well just about anything for needle felting. I know people that use cotton batting for the core of their pieces and wool on the outside. So the fiber fluff you made will work fine. For wool I recommend Corriedale because it felt up quickly. Merino is a another common wool but it is very fine and takes more work. If you can't fine it locally there are many sources on line. I am guessing you are in the USA. the is Living Felt in Texas that has many kits.

[siker]

Thank you. Sadly Joann is the only craft store close to me... I think the are a few yarn stores I could try too... 🤔

I felt silly trying the knitting needle not realizing it was a special needle need to felt...

I decided to order a kit on Amazon to start me out with... Comes with wool and needles etc... I know that it might not be quality stuff but I want to try it out and make sure I like it before investing to much right off the bat...

Thank you for your suggestions and help!

[Shepherdess]

Dive in and try different styles. I prefer a combination of wet felting and needle felting in pictures mostly. I was not very good at 3D needle felting.

[siker]

Thank you.. I'm planning on 3d... I have a bunch of Pinterest inspiration already saved that id like to attempt. I'm really excited and can't wait for my kit to get here to try it out.

[siker]

Wanted to say thank you again for those who posted... and wanted to share My first Needle felt! I made it for my Hubby who adores penguins. I think it turned out pretty well.. A little fuzzy, wish i could get it smoother.. but im still happy with it! 

[MTRuth]

Great job on your first try. It turned out well. What I do to get things smoother is to put the needle almost parallel to the surface and barely jab the needle into the surface. It catches the surface hairs and then puts them into the felted piece without hardening it too much. Also, you can take a razor or sweater shaver and trim the surface.

[Pandagirl]

Nice work Siker, he’s a cutie.

[lyn]

The penguin is so cute! You've done a good job on him.

[lindsay]

Fabulous. I hope he’s really pleased by the thought, time and care you’ve put into making this lovely penguin.

[Antje]

Brilliant first effort. Your penguin is soooo cute.

[Shepherdess]

He is very cute. My suggestions are the same as Ruth's.