An Ode to a Thousand Stabs
How this is better than acupuncture
Breathe in.
Poke
Breathe out
Poke
Rinse. Repeat.
Does this sound relaxing to you? Perhaps you might have thought it was acupuncture. And for sure, acupuncture is therapeutic and requires poking, but that’s not what this is describing.
Welcome to the world of needle felting. This craft allows you to combine stress relief with the violence of a thousand stabbings. In the form of a needle poking into wool.
Follow me as we dive deeper into this world.
Needle felting?
For the beginner, the initiation into this world requires two things:
- A ball of wool
- A needle
Now, you can’t just use a sewing needle, as it is too smooth to grab the wool fibers and tangle them together as you poke the wool. You would need needle felting needles which have barbs on their ends which can catch wool fibers and knit them together as you push and pull. Fortunately, the cost of needles is cheap, approximately $5–8 on Temu. (Yes, I know people may not like Temu, but it is good for crafting supplies.)
The next thing the initiatee needs is an idea. A form of what their wool should look like. One may take a needle felting kit and create something like a deer or dog. Or, you may not have a particular idea and just want to stab wool. And that’s okay. The important thing is that you need a purpose for the wool.
Finally, the initiatee can begin the process. All they need to do is to poke the needle in and pull the needle out. Soon, the wool will become firmer and take on the shape you want. Granted, this does take experience, but it will be gained over time.
How not to rage
Once you start the felting process, you may be frustrated over how the wool isn’t shaping to what you want. And that’s okay, it doesn’t need to be perfect the first time. But this is supposed to be therapeutic, not something to get mad at. That’s the reason why we’re doing it. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of needle felting: to craft something while calming down.
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With some tips, you can be more assured in your journey.
- Wool type
Too smooth a wool, and your needle won’t do any shaping quickly. Not only frustrating, but too many pokes can lead to tired arms. Try some core wool which is very rough and thus have more places your needle can get caught on. Your needle should have no problem getting it to shape.
If you want to have a smooth finish or need small details, then you wrap your core wool with the finer merino wool, which also can come in a bunch of colorful shades. The image above has merino wool which has longer strands than core wool and appears more smoother.
2. Needle type and pressure
Likewise, if your needle doesn’t have enough barbs on it, it won’t get much wool and thus take longer to felt. I have three types of needles: small, medium, and large. Experienced felters may know them by their classifications and numbers, but the needles you can get online in kits should be enough for general use.
Use longer needles to get the general shape of the wool and shorter needles for finer details and increasing firmness. Also, don’t poke too hard or at an angle. Wool is resilient, but not that resilient. If you use too much sideways force or don’t poke straight down, then your needle runs the risk of breaking. So, rotate the wool around such that you can still poke lightly but firmly straight into the wool. It will also make the project less bumpy since you are working on all surfaces of the project.
3. Felting mat
There’s nothing worse than accidentally poking yourself with the needle. On top of the pain, you might bleed into your project, which can also be a drag. Investing in a basic foam mat, a styrofoam mat, or a soft wool object can soften the pokes into the project. Moreover, if you accidentally poked through your project, it will be your felting mat that takes the needle, not your hand, legs, etc.
Also, don’t use a table as your felting mat! The hard surface makes the needle not go into the project as far as it could have been which makes felting harder. Moreover, if you stab too hard, you might break a needle when you strike the table. Not good if the needle breaks and the broken part flies off randomly or, worse, it gets stuck in your project. The table can be used to stabilize your felting mat instead so you can felt sturdily.
Congratulations!
Congratulations! You have made your first journey in the wonderful world of needle felting. I hope that you are more relaxed now than when you were before you began.
And if you have doubts that your project is any good, take a look at mine:
If it isn’t obvious, it is Rookidee. It probably has everything wrong with it: too fuzzy, the beak appears too loose on its body, and it doesn’t really look like him. I also lost 5 needles to it due to too much sideways force and accidentally poked myself numerous times. I was proud of it, though. It was made with my own hands, and having a physical object made from frustration and care made me more confident in my skills to continue honing my craft.
Moreover, I feel relaxed while poking because the action of poking is repetitive. It clears the mind when you focus on one task. If I feel that I am getting too stressed, I can always take out a piece of wool and stab it. Not only portable, but it can also become therapeutic.
Let me know what projects you have done. Let’s embark on this journey together.
Want to know more about me? Here’s a link.
