Needle Felting and the Ahhhhh Feelings

The Therapeutic Nature of Fiber Art

A chipmunk and Sarafina Fiber Art’s infamous Core Wool

I have been in the business of fiber art for over fifteen years now. I transitioned my art career from fine art/painting when I discovered needle felting in 2008.

Good tools are part of the fun and a must

Aside from this art form sustaining me financially, one thing is for sure, it is therapeutic. From the natural fibers, to the repetitive stabbing, to the satisfying results, needle felting can cure what ails you. This is not a false claim or hope; we hear it over and over again via email and comments. Personally, it has carried me long and far.

In fact, one of my most popular creations began as a anxiety relief fidget tool. The Hedgie lived in my car. When I felt anxious about whatever I used to feel anxious about, I would play with the bouncy locks, letting my fingers feel the curls on his coat and ease my mind.

Snowshoe hares became a favorite subject

No wonder so many people fall in love with it (as with pickleball but that is another story). From the moment they handle their first fibers of wool, the truth settles in, “This is goodness.” And once they have stabbed their first little something into shape, accessing the miracles of wool’s characteristics, another truth settles in, “I need more of this.”

Scoured locks, shorn from the sheep without further processing, are magical

Next we begin to learn. Soaking up information like a sponge. If we are lucky, we find a good source for wool. (Of course that’s Sarafina Fiber Art.) and then off we go…

… months later we have amassed many colors and textures of wool and a pile of small creations. We are taking over the dining room table and thinking about a dedicated room. We give away our creations wherever we go, yet another aspect of how this craft feeds the soul.

If I were scientific or properly trained, I would find a way to “prove” and quantify this. Instead, I know it to be. I have lived it. I have grown the craft for thousands. And all this is because it is good and true.

The Good and True List:

Wool is a natural and sustainable fiber and creative medium unlike anything else.

Get Sara Renzulli’s stories in your inbox

Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.

Remember me for faster sign in

We realize we ARE artists after all and that the call to create fulfills our souls.

We are taking time for something concrete and making space for something we love.

The stabbing soothes our nervous system. It is not aggressive; it is rhythmic, tribal, and organic.

The tactile aspect offers sensory stimulation and releases anxiety.

The smell of wool is so pleasant, fiber artists are prone to shoving their faces in it.

What we make we can sell or giveaway, extending the good farther.

Needle felting fosters community. Gathering with like minded people, in person or online, creates a camaraderie and forges friendships.

But don’t take my word for it:

“Needle felting is a sustainable art, teaches you patience, endurance, and pushes you to think differently. At least with sculptures you start from the inside and build out, which is a great metaphor for life and living a life of love! The intertwining of wool scales is fascinating to me. And how with a little agitation you can interlock those scales into something solid and firm. Another life lesson. lol”— BN

“Needle felting is very therapeutic. The more you stab the wool the more you relax and forget about every problems. Then when it starts to take shape you get the beautiful feeling of making something! “— KG

“When my husband was as going through cancer treatment kept a go bag ready to keep my hands busy. So many were interested in what I was doing- young and old alike. I made so many hedgies. When I finished one I put it on the window sill shelves or gave it to the patient being treated next to my husband. I learned a lot of things. Doing something fun, meditative helps you, but it also helps others to focus on something new or different for a brief moment.

Laughter helps. I was making a camel. I wanted to make a nativity. We were in the large waiting area at the cancer center. Someone asked me a bout what I was doing, then an elderly man burst out with I do not know what she is doing but she has been stabbing that dog in the a$$ for the last hour. Everyone laughed and you could feel the tension lift in the whole room.

I have many more stories. Many more. Maybe we need a chicken soup for the felter’s soul?” — SW

“The ‘earthy/farmy/sweet’ smell of the wool takes me — ever so slightly — right back to my horses. The shuush shuush sound is soothing. The fun anticipation at the start of every sculpture, followed by the “ugh this has gone hopelessly wrong I should give up on this one” of EVERY single piece even the 2,307th freaking little mouse, followed by the reluctant conviction that if I just keep stabbing and look at my reference photos it will be alright, followed by the abject delight when not only does the sculpture look great, it’s taken on its own peculiar ‘shine’ and it makes me abundantly happy. It is meditative accomplishment. It got me involved with our local Art Guild and contributes significant income in my impoverished retirement. I get to teach other folks and let them see that they can make something adorable from nothing but a hunk of sweet wool. And when I stab myself — arthritic fingers seem to do that with increasing regularity — after swearing like a sailor, I laugh and remind myself that it’s worth bleeding for. That everything worthwhile involves a little pain. And that after all, I’m giving birth to my creativity.” — PCR

If you want to learn more about this amazing craft or wool, please visit the Felting For Beginners page at Sarafina Fiber Art.