ARTISTIC PORTLAND GALLERY
  • Home
  • SHOP ONLINE
  • Blog

NEEDLE FELTING

12/29/2016

1 Comment

 
This week's blog post was written by Ammi Brooks of Ammi's Art.
I have been felting for about seven years now. I started with pushing a felting needle through shrunken wool to make designs for a Kindle cover. I have gone in many different directions since then, and today I want to show you what can be done with needle felting. If you are interested at all in making art with fiber, take a class (I am giving some introduction to felting classes in February and March at Artistic Portland), buy a book or peruse the many YouTube videos.
 
Needle felting is the art of sculpting wool with special, barbed needles. Stabbing the wool over and over again meshes the wool fibers together, creating a firm, textile object.
 
The Origin of Needle Felting: Felt is typically very strong and industrial, needle felted- felt is used in a variety of ways. From the 1950s, needle felting (needle punch) was originally used to make felt for industrial purposes, for use with musical instruments and as building materials. Industrial felt is made with large plates filled with special barbed felting needles that are mechanically moved up and down to felt wool and other materials together such as polyester or nylon.
 
Different types of sheep yield different types of wool (Merino, New Zealand, Lincoln, Romney,
Drysdale, Rambouillet to name a few); there are many types of wool available, but not all of it is
good for needle felting. The finer the wool, the softer it is; fine wool such as merino is used in the clothing industry.
 
Hundreds of the needles are used in the industrial made felt. Here we use one needle to create dogs, dragon and dolls. 
Picture
Picture
Dragon created by Susie Hart-Walker of Wooly Whimsy at Artistic Portland.
Picture
Fairy by Lucy of Forest Whimsy at Artistic Portland.
Picture
This little guy I found on Pinterest to show you how realistic needle felting can be done.
Picture
This is a freehand flat needle-felted design I made a few years ago. Playing with yarn and fibers is so freeing and relaxing. I had no idea what to expect when I laid out the yarn in this one. Try it! You'll like it.
Thank you!
Ammi Brooks
1 Comment
Jane Ambrose link
7/20/2017 05:18:02 am

My daughter and I are always trying to pick up new hobbies, so I've been wanting to learn more about needle felting and how it works. Before reading this, I had no idea that this technique was originally used for industrial purposes years ago! It makes me feel like maybe what we make can actually have a useful function. Thank you for the tips!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Subscribe to our mailing list

    * indicates required
    Email Format

    Archives

    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015


    Categories

    All
    Art Business
    Art Co-op
    Art Education
    Art History
    Art Studios
    Blue Fox Glass
    Book Review
    Candlemaking
    Ceramics
    Classes
    Clocks
    Coloring
    Drawing
    Events
    Experiencing Art
    Fabric
    Fiber Art
    Fused Glass
    Glass Art
    Health And Beauty
    Inspiration
    Jewelry Making
    Knitting
    Meet The Artist
    Metal
    Mosaic Jewelry
    Mosaics
    Nature As Inspiration
    Painting
    Photography
    Poetry
    Recycled Art
    Sculpture
    Skin Care
    Stained Glass
    Technology
    Watercolor
    Weaving

    RSS Feed

AP on YouTube
Picture
Picture
Picture
©2020 Artistic Portland All rights reserved.
  • Home
  • SHOP ONLINE
  • Blog