My first attempts to needle felting...

[han]

and my first steps in the world of felting  There are so many things not good with these figurines, felting wise (they are so fuzzy!) and design wise, however I am not ashamed of these.

This is the first:



Whoops, the picture is a bit large, sorry....

[han]

And this is the second:



PS. My daughter (3,5 yrs) calls this a fox. Can you guess what dog this is meant to be?

[MTRuth]

Looks like a Corgi to me. What type of wool are you using? A lot of the fuzziness depends on the wool and how hard you felt the pieces. They both look great for first attempts.

[han]

Thank you Ruth, and yes, Corgi is correct  I used Merino roving (hope this is the correct english term, it was not carded in batts), that's only wool I knew of then how to get. I made these figurines in August and September or October, and I have learned since then that wool carded in batts is probably easier to needle felt, as wel as a bit courser wool, like Norwegian C something. These figurines do still need a lot more felting, but as the design is also not that great (see the positioning of the front legs on the Corgi, poor thing), I will probably start a new figurine rather than finish these guys. I have learned from these, and it was very much fun to do, that's most important.

[lyn]

Bless her. I think most little children would say 'fox' but to me it's obviously a Corgi. And the penguin is very sweet.

[Shepherdess]

I think they are great first attempts. there are a couple of things to help the fuzzies. you can needle with the needle almost flat to the figure. you can put the tip of the needle into where the fuzzies are and do tiny circles to gather them up and then poke them in. and when you are don you can always trim them off with scissors or shave it with a disposable razor.
I find courser wool works better. I like coriadale. Norwegian C1 is very nice but very expensive. Is there a spinners guild near you? They are often a great place to find out where to buy wool locally. World of wool in the UK has a good choice of wool. I don't know what shipping to you would cost but it is still good for me and I am in Canada.

[Karen]

Han i think you did an awesome job on these, there adorable, to help with the fuzzies to if you put your needle down on a sideways slant it helps to gather those stray fibres and tuck em in Well Done

[koffipot]

These are brill. first attempts and the corgi certainly looks like a corgi. The penguin is cute too. I can't needlefelt for toffee, my fingers seem to get more needling than the wool!

[han]

Thank you all, you give such kind comments! I will definitely try holding the needle almost flat and tuck the free fibers in. Perhaps I will do some more work on these after all

[zed]

Wow, they are great for first attempts, especially with Merino tops.

[MTRuth]

Yes, merino tops is hard to needle felt. Do try some other wool breeds if you get the chance. Then you'll find the one that works best for you.

[jufergu]

Well, I am no expert on this, but I think they look great.

[han]

Thanks!

[mrsplop]

I think they're great first attempts too. Merino wool is poop. Specially for the sheep. Sorry but it's not exactly produced in the nicest way for the animals (and that's an understatement) but you didn't know that. Neither did I when I first started! Looking forward to seeing more of your felting journey

[zed]

Do you mean mulesing? World of Wool only source from non mulesed sheep.