How To Sew Felt: The Ultimate Guide (+ Beginner Tips!)
New to sewing and wondering how to sew felt?
Hand sewing felt is a great idea for beginners! It’s easy to work with and you can make unique crafts using basic sewing techniques. In fact, no sew felt crafts are a thing – that’s how simple it can get!
My lifelong love for sewing started with a cushion when I was 11 and today, I’m happy to be part of a wonderful sewing community. I picked up some incredible tips for sewing felt over the years, and I’ll share them with you!
Today’s guide is all about felt.
Learn how to hand sew felt and how to sew felt on a sewing machine. Plus, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of sewing with felt, and the best sewing tools to use.
Ready? Let’s get into it!
How To Sew Felt: A Beginner’s Guide
How To Sew Felt By Hand
How To Sew Felt With A Sewing Machine
How To Work With Felt (No-Sew)
Pros & Cons Of Sewing With Felt
Things To Sew With Felt
Best Felt For Crafting
Sewing Felt Vs Felting: What’s The Difference?
How To Sew Felt FAQ
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How To Sew Felt By Hand
Hand stitching felt is best for making smaller felt crafts.
Step 1: Pick Your Felt Cloth Patterns
To start your sewing with felt projects, pick the pattern you want to work with.
You can draw your own felt cloth craft patterns but if you’re a beginner, it’s easier to work with ready-made patterns:
- Paid patterns: You’ll find any pattern you need on Amazon and Etsy.
- Free patterns: Check out some of my favorite felt animal patterns.
Step 2: How To Trace On Felt
To transfer your pattern onto felt, you can use a fabric pen to trace the outline of the pattern pieces onto the felt fabric.
Another option is to use carbon paper. Place carbon paper on felt fabric, and the pattern on top of the carbon paper. Firmly trace the pattern to transfer the details onto the fabric. Here’s a guide on using carbon paper to transfer embroidery details.
You can also use freezer paper. Iron freezer paper onto felt to make it temporarily stick to the fabric, and then trace your patterns onto the freezer paper. Here’s a guide on using freezer paper to cut felt.
Step 3: Use Best Way To Cut Felt
The best way to cut felt is to use fabric scissors.
It’s a good idea to get different scissor sizes to suit your cutting needs.
Use larger scissors to cut out larger pieces of felt and along straight lines. Use smaller scissors for patterns that require more precision such as curves and small details and of course smaller projects.
If you prefer, you can also use a rotary cutter (honestly, this is my favorite way for larger peices of felt or any fabric).
When using a rotary cutter, you have 2 options.
You can place the pattern on top of the felt fabric and run the rotary cutter along the edge but you may ruin the pattern, so the second option is to trace the pattern onto the felt first (see step 2), then cut along the traced lines using your rotary cutter.
For fiddly cutting, it’s still best to use scissors, in my opinion.
Tip: Be careful if you decide to use a rotary cutter. They are very sharp – so always cut away from you (not towards you) and make sure your fingers are out of the way.
Also always remember to “lock” the rotary cutter after use so you and/or your pets and kids keep all fingers and toes safe.
You can also use a Cricut Maker to have all the cutting done for you. This printer/cutter machine prints your preferred pattern onto the felt fabric and cuts the fabric according to that pattern. Easy peasy!
Here’s what that looks like:
Step 4: Learn How To Sew Felt By Hand
Ready to learn how to sew felt together by hand? These are the best stitches for sewing felt, in my opinion.
- Running stitch: to sew 2 pieces of felt together and for appliqué.
- Whip stitch: For hand stitching felt seams (much stronger than using the running stitch).
- Blanket stitch: For seams and appliqué.
- Back stitch: For appliqués.
- Ladder stitch: For closing seams on stuffed items.
read my full post for a more indepth guide on what stitches to use on felt.
Here’s a visual guide on each stitch:
You can also use these same stitches if you want to learn how to sew felt onto fabric, like how to sew felt onto a shirt for example.
Best Needle For Hand Sewing Felt
When stitching felt by hand, you can use embroidery needles.
In terms of needle size for hand sewing felt, go with small to medium-sized needles.
Using needles for felt that are too large can end up damaging and creating holes in your felt fabric. You want to go with the smallest needle that fits the thickness of your thread and is comfortable for sewing felt fabric.
Read my full guide on which needle to use for your felt projects for all the information you need to help you choose the best option for you.
Best Thread For Sewing Felt
Embroidery thread is great for hand sewing felt and is better than conventional sewing thread. Here’s why:
- It’s more durable, and can easily pass through thicker fabric like felt multiple times.
- It comes in vibrant colors and has a distinctive sheen, giving designs a polished look.
- The thickness of the thread can be easily customized to suit the project…
Embroidery thread comes with several strands that are bound together. You can adjust the thickness of the thread by pulling the strands apart and using only the strands you need.
If you’re looking to create bold, thicker embroidery designs and details, you can leave the embroidery thread as is.
If you want more details, I’ve created a full post on which needles to use for either machine or hand sewing felt projects.
How To Sew Felt With A Sewing Machine
Can you sew felt with a sewing machine? Absolutely! As we’ve discussed, felt is versatile enough to handle hand stitching and sewing machine felt projects.
If you’re keen to explore how to sew felt on sewing machine, here are the steps you can take:
Step 1: Prepare Felt Pattern Pieces
Using the same techniques discussed in the hand sewing section, get your felt pattern pieces ready for machine sewing felt. Here’s a recap:
- Pick your crafting felt pattern.
- Trace the pattern onto the felt using carbon paper or your preferred tracing method.
- Cut out the pattern pieces using fabric scissors or a rotary cutter for simple patterns or use a Cricut Maker if you have one (they’re expensive and not required).
Step 2: Use Best Needle For Sewing Felt On A Sewing Machine
For most machine sewn felt projects, medium-sized 70/10 or 80/12 needles work well.
If you’re working with thicker felt or sewing more than two layers, you may need a larger 90/14 needle for felt.
Read my full post on choosing the best needles for machine sewing felt for all the details on which needles will be best for your project.
Step 3: Use Best Thread For Sewing Felt On A Sewing Machine
Use a strong all-purpose polyester thread for machine sewing felt (I like Gutermann).
If you’re using all-natural materials like 100% wool felt for your felt projects, consider using a durable cotton thread. Again, I prefer to use Gutermann, but here’s another popular and more economical thread option).
For the full details check out this post on which thread to use for your machine and hand sewn felt projects.
Step 4: How To Sew Two Felt Pieces Together
When it comes to the best stitches for sewing felt together with a sewing machine, a straight stitch generally works great for most projects. To add a decorative touch, you could use a blanket stitch.
You can use these same stitches if you’re keen to learn how to sew felt on fabric, like how to sew a felt bear rug for example.
A standard sewing foot works great for most felt projects, if you’re using a sewing machine.
Tip: If you’re having issues sewing curves and small edges, go slow. You can even manually turn the wheel on the sewing machine, instead of using the foot pedal. This allows you to sew one stitch at a time, if you need.
When sewing corners or even some curves, it helps to lift the presser foot (make sure the needle’s IN the fabric, so it doesn’t move!) to turn the fabric slightly.
Read my guide on sewing felt with a sewing machine, if you want more details and here’s a great beginner’s guide to sewing curves and corners:
How To Work With Felt (No-Sew)
Looking for an alternative to hand sewing or machine sewing felt? Consider no sew felt projects and use glue!
Prepare your pattern pieces in the same way as you would with hand sewing or machine sewing. Pick your pattern, trace your pattern onto the felt fabric, and cut the pattern pieces.
Once you have your pattern pieces ready, choose your glue.
To glue felt detail pieces onto your project, flip the felt piece and apply glue on the surface. Place it onto your project. Repeat for all pattern pieces as needed, and let dry for 30 minutes.
To glue seams on a felt project, apply glue on the inner side of the pattern piece. Press the matching pattern piece onto the glued piece, and let dry for 30 minutes.
Best Glues To Use On Felt
The best glue to use for felt is thick and tacky glue. With this method you’ll have no problems getting felt to stick to felt.
Some other glues you can use are:
Tip: Avoid all-purpose craft glue. It doesn’t have as strong of a hold on fabric. Being water-based, it can also seep into the fabric and leave a visible stain.
Read my full guide on which glue to use with felt.
Sewing With Felt (Pros & Cons)
Pros: Felt For Sewing
- Beginner friendly: The fabric’s firm and doesn’t slide around, making it much easier to sew together than some other fabrics
- Easy to cut: Felt like material doesn’t fray.
- Easy to sew: Only basic tools and stitches are needed to work with felt.
- Budget-friendly: There are plenty of felt types to choose from to suit your budget. Craft felts tend to be super cheap.
- Plenty of colors: Felt comes in an incredibly large selection of colors, making it easy to get very specific looks for your projects.
- No sewing required: You don’t have to sew felt if you don’t want to. You just need to know the which type of glue to use and how to glue felt to felt.
- Long lasting: If you have a bit more to spend, you can buy wool felt to make felt heirlooms that can be passed down the generations.
Read my comprehensive guides on wool vs polyester felt, boiled vs wool felt and wool vs fur felt if you want to get into the nitty-gritty differences of each and understand which type of felt is best for which projects.
Cons: Felt For Sewing
While felt is generally great for crafts, home decor, toys, and more, it’s a poor choice for making garments as this is not what it’s made for. Here are the main reasons why:
- Rigid and non-elastic: It usually doesn’t drape like fabrics made for clothes, and loses its shape when stretched.
- Scratchy texture: The material can be very rough compared to garment fabrics, and won’t feel great against the skin.
- Prone to shrinking: Felt will likely shrink if not washed properly, or if placed in the dryer. This is especially the case with wool felts. It’s best to wash with cool water only.
Want to find out which types of felt have been (and are) used for clothes and aren’t too scratchy or ridgid? Read my post on what felt acutally is.
Things To Sew With Felt
Felt is an incredibly versatile material and can be used in a wide variety of felt sewing projects. Due to its soft yet durable texture, it’s good for learning how to stitch felt animals like plushies and finger puppets.
Here are more ideas on sewing projects with felt you can try:
- Home decor
- Bookmarks
- Hair accessories
- Brooches
- Festive ornaments
- Coasters
- Costumes
- Organizers
- Envelope
- Felt boards
- Games
- Keychains
- Pin cushions
- Flowers
Read my posts on easy felt sewing projects, felt crafts for Halloween and felt animals for more ideas, including no-sew heart felt gift ideas!
Best Felt For Crafting
There are 2 main types of felt used for crafting: wool felt and craft felt.
Wool Felt
Wool felt can be 100% wool or wool blend, usually blended with synthetic fibers like rayon and acrylic.
100% wool is the best quality felt. It’s made with all-natural material and is significantly softer than other types of felt. This makes learning how to sew wool felt a little easier.
The quality and how it’s processed is why it’s the most expensive type of felt. Wool blend felt is cheaper than pure wool felt but more expensive and better quality than craft felt.
Wool felt is mostly used for making children’s toys and crafts that are intended to be long-lasting – think family heirloom.
Read more about boiled and wool felt if you really want to understand all about these natural types of felt and their differences.
Craft Felt
Craft felt is generally made of synthetic materials, usually acrylic or polyester.
They are a popular pick for budget-friendly projects. You can learn how to sew acrylic felt to make basic things around the home like pin cushions, bookmarks, organizers, and more.
As I mentioned above, you can read my full guide on the differences between wool and polyester felt if you need more details.
Sewing Felt Vs Felting: What’s The Difference?
In this guide about how to sew felt, we’re ONLY talking about what there is to know about sewing with felt sheets (both wool and synthetic).
“Felting” is a completely separate technique. It’s usually done by condensing wool fibers into shaped pieces.
If you’re interested in learning more about felting, this tutorial shares how to felt by hand and ideas for sewing with felted wool.
When you learn how to sew felted pieces together, that’s when you can make felted figurines, dolls, toys, and more.
How To Sew Felt FAQ
What Is Felt Made Of?
Felt is made by matting and condensing wool, fur, or some hair fibers together, using pressure, moisture and heat. This method creates a non-woven fabric.
Traditionally, felt is made from natural fibers like wool. Besides 100% wool felt, wool blend felt and craft felt made with synthetic fibers are also widely available today.
Can Felt Be Stitched?
Yes, felt can be stitched. It’s suitable for use in whichever method you prefer: Felt can be machine stitched or hand embroidered. It’s a versatile material that’s very good for beginner sewists and crafters.
Felt also works with tacky and fabric glue if you prefer a no-sew approach.
Is It Difficult To Sew Felt?
It’s not difficult to sew felt. Learning how to sew felt is easy compared to other materials.
Felt is easy to work with as it doesn’t fray. You can use basic stitches when learning how to stitch felt together. In fact, it’s even great for no sew art projects with felt.
Can You Use Felt Fabric For Embroidery?
Yes, you can use felt fabric for embroidery. Felt gets along well with embroidery. Felt’s dense texture is able to handle complex embroidery designs without puckering.
100% wool felt or wool blend felt are popular for embroidery, as they tend to be softer and easier to stitch.
Is Fabric Glue As Good As Sewing For Felt?
Fabric glue can be as good as sewing for felt. Hot glue, super glue, and fabric glue types should work on felt as thick and tacky glue is the best glue to use with felt.
In most cases, it’s fine to use glue to attach felt to fabric. If you are planning to wash your felt creation, then I recommend sewing it.
Can You Wash Felt Fabric?
Yes, we can wash felt fabric. Depending on which felt product you are dealing with, handwashing and machine washing can be possible.
Keep in mind that wool felt is prone to shrinking when exposed to heat. It’s best to hand wash in cool water (or use a cool cycle in the washing machine). Avoid using the dryer.
How To Sew Felt: Wrap Up
Ready to start practicing sewing with felt?
Then do it! Because felt is one of the simplest materials to work withso it’s perfect for beginners.
Whether you’re planning to sew felt by hand or you’re exploring how to sew felt to fabric with a sewing machine, you’ll find this versatile fabric to be a good fit.
I hope you’ve found my ultimate how to use felt guide helpful! For more felt sewing ideas on arts and crafts with felt, check out some fun ideas on what to sew with felt.