Needle felting tools and roving have arrived!
Needle felting is a craft that creates both two- and three-dimensional felted work without the use of water. The crafter uses a sharp, specialized felting needle to repeatedly pierce and poke a small amount of roving into something awesome!
Roving is a raw bundle of combed but unspun fibers, such as wool fleece.
The felting needles have notches along the shaft of the needle that grab the top layer of fibers and tangle them with the inner layer of fibers as the needle enters the wool.
Once tangled and compressed using the needle, the felt becomes stiff, strong, and holds its shape.
There are two types of needle felting:
Sculptural felting: Creating a little three-dimensional felt sculpture out of wool roving.
Sculptural felting: Creating a little three-dimensional felt sculpture out of wool roving.
Applique felting: Attaching wool yarn, wool felt, or wool roving to a flat piece of wool fabric or felt.
You can also create a piece that combines elements of both styles:
These provide a safe work surface that can absorb the sharp punching of the felting needles (like how a cutting board protects both table and knife in cooking). They allow the needles to go right on through the roving fiber and out the other side, without damaging the needles or the surface below. Some people prefer the brush, others the foam.
Next, you’ll need a needle felting tool. These come in three options: Five barbs, three barbs, and a single barb.
The three-barbed “pen style” tool is a go-to needle for both sculptural felting and applique. The needles can be removed if you prefer just two (or one) for smaller surfaces.
The three-barbed “pen style” tool is a go-to needle for both sculptural felting and applique. The needles can be removed if you prefer just two (or one) for smaller surfaces.
The five-barbed needle felting tool is perfect for working on larger projects, as it covers more surface area at a faster speed.
The single needle felting tool is for detailed work with pinpoint accuracy, with an easy-to-hold design.
The last thing you’ll need is the roving. At Argyle we’re starting off with two brands:
One is from Clover, and it comes in tons of solid colors. Some are in bright, vivid, tropical saturations.
One is from Clover, and it comes in tons of solid colors. Some are in bright, vivid, tropical saturations.
While others are in autumnal heathered greys and browns.
The other is “Nube,” from Malabrigo.
Nube, Spanish for “cloud,” is a wonderfully soft hand-dyed merino roving. It’s a luxurious choice for spinning or for needle felting. Nube comes in 4 ounce braids.
Whether you've been felting for years or are inspired to try a new craft, we hope you'll let us know what products you'd like to see us stock in the future. Cheers!
(And a huge thank you to Kristin for having made the spring projects above to help Argyle show what felting can do!)
(And a huge thank you to Kristin for having made the spring projects above to help Argyle show what felting can do!)