/ Sewing Tips / By Madeleine

What Is Needle Felting? The Ultimate Guide + My Personal Tips

Are you new to felt and felting and wondering “what is needle felting?” and “how can I get started?”, then this beginner’s guide is for you!

In a nutshell, needle felting is when you condense wool into shapes using barbed needles.

Learning how to needle felt is simple enough for beginners but I’ve got a few tips and tricks to make getting started even easier!

In this article, we’ll go through a step-by-step guide on how to needle felt, along with what supplies you need.

Once you’ve got the technique down, you can use it to make cute needle felted animals and all sorts of other things!

A needle felting pot holder held in Madeleine's hand in front of a shelf full of needle felting objects.

Affiliate Link Disclosure: The links on this page may be affiliate links, from which I earn a small commission if you click on them, at no extra cost to you. Hope you find the information here useful. Thanks!

Table of Contents

What Is Needle Felting?

Needle felting is the process of condensing wool fibers into flat or 3D shapes using special needle felting needles (barbed needles).

How Does Needle Felting Work?

Needle felting works by using a barbed needle to knot wool roving together into the shapes or objects you want to make. To knot the wool fibers together you repeatedly stab the wool roving with the barbed needle as you form the shape you want.

Is needle felting easy? Yes, basic needle felting is easy – like making a ball, but when you want to make more complicated shapes or objects – like an animal figure, it gets harder.

My recommendation, based on personal experience, is to start with simpler shapes with just a few details when you’re starting out! And when you feel more comfortable branch out into more detailed projects.

I started with a hedgehog and found it pretty challenging but when I tried making a felt ball, just to get going, it was much easier to do and I felt more confident.

I'm holding a needle felted ball in my hand. I made it with my sister's cat's fur! It's white and about half an inch. — I made this needle felted ball with a fluffy white cat’s fur (seriously).

Dry vs Wet Felting (and which one is needle felting??)

I wanna clear up a common confusion about felting. There are 2 main ways to felt:

Dry felting
Wet felting

Needle felting is dry felting: when barbed needles are punched in and out of wool roving which locks the wool fibers together to create felt shapes.

Wet felting is a different technique which includes felting and fulling:

Wool fibers are agitated and locked together using moisture, heat, pressure and sometimes soap to form felt. The end result is called pressed felt or just felt.

If the “fulling” technique is used then the end product is called boiled wool or felted wool. For all the details on these processes check out my full guide on felt.

Can you do wet needle felting? No, you can’t wet needle felt. This doesn’t exist. Wet felting is done by hand or with machines using moisture, heat and pressure and doesn’t use needles.

History Of Needle Felting

Needle felting (needle punching) started in the mid-19th century, during the industrial revolution in England and Germany. This needle felting was done on an industrial scale on massive looms lined with barbed needles. It wasn’t done at home.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that people began needle felting at home. Husband and wife Elenor (artist) and David Stanwood (inventor and artist) were the first people to do it.

Elenor started using the small needle-punching machines (from wool mills) to see what she could create. Her husband David, the inventor of needle felting as we know it, decided to try using just one, hand-held, barbed needle with no water, to make shapes by punching the needle in and out of wool roving.

Their friend Ayala Talpai learned the technique from them and took it to California where she wrote the first book on this new felting technique.

Today, needle felting art is a popular hobby throughout the world, especially in the US, UK, Nordic countries, and Japan. People now create incredibly life-like creatures using this technique – it’s come a long way!

What You Need For Needle Felting?

1. Wool Roving

Wool roving is wool that’s been washed, carded, and combed to smooth out the fibers. Each wool color is loosely held together and fluffy.

You pull off the exact amount of wool you need for each part of your project and then start needling it to create a shape.

TIP: Read the instructions before you do anything, don’t be like me and try to needle a huge piece of wool roving without separating it into the pieces you need, then ruin your project before you’ve even begun!

Wool roving for needle felting. There are 6 different colored roving - hot pink, blue, green, orange, peach, mustard yellow. The roving is against a white background. — Wool roving of different colors

What’s The Best Wool For Needle Felting?

Choosing the right wool depends on what you’re crafting and the finish you’re looking to get. These are the ones I like:

Corriedale wool: Has a firm texture. It’s perfect for 2D and 3D sculptures.
Merino wool: Super soft texture. Good for adding details to felt sculptures.

2. Felting Needle (Barbed Needle)

What does a felting needle look like? A felting needle has sharp, barbed edges. They’re completely different to sewing needles.

These are the types of felting needles you’ll come across:

Triangular barbs: these are the default choice, great for working on most needle felting projects.
Star-shaped barbs: the barbs are spread over a wider area, making it quicker to felt the wool together.
Reverse needle felting barbs: the barbs face the opposite direction, used for giving crafts a fluffy finish.

When it comes to needle sizing, the higher the gauge number, the thinner the needle. Here are some gauges I recommend for different uses:

Fine gauge needles like 40 are great for felting fine details.
Medium-gauge needles like 36 or 38 are good for general felting.
Heavy-gauge needles like 32 will felt things quicker – just be careful as they’ll leave poke marks in more delicate crafts.

For the best needle felting needles for beginners, I love these sturdy color-coded needles!

To be on the safe side, I’d buy extra needles as on my first project, the needle that came with the kit broke almost immediately.

Needle felting needles stuck into wool roving. There is green, pink, orange, cream and brown roving. — Needle felting needles stuck into wool roving.

3. Needle Felting Pad

To protect your table and support your project, use a needle felting pad. Otherwise you’ll poke holes in it or get the needle stuck in it.

Do this even if you’re working on the most simple needle felting projects.

If you have some foam blocks lying around at home, you can use them as a DIY needle felting mat too.

The felting kit I bought to make a hedgehog. The kit contains wool roving, the felting pad, felting needle, regular sewing needle, a pair of scissors underneath the pad. Everything is sitting on a wood table. — White felting pad with felting tools on top.

4. Felting Needle Tool

You can use a single felting needle to do needle felting but it’s a lot more comfortable to use a felting needle tool (all that stabbing gets tiring!). These tools can hold just one needle or you can speed things up by adding several needles.

These are the common types of felting needle holders you can try:

This wooden set comes with 30 needles and finger protectors
These are the Clover brand needle replacements.

Needle felting tool being used to needle felt.

5. Finger Protectors

My first felting kit didn’t come with finger protectors. I was a bit clueless and regret not buying them immediately. Both my niece and I immediately stabbed ourselves with the needles and it hurt!

The next day I went straight back to the shop and bought 3 finger protectors (and replacement needles)!

Whether you’re using a single needle or working with a needle felting pen or holder, you WILL poke your fingers at some point. It’s a rite of passage!

So to protect yourself and your dignity, I recommend finger protectors whether you’re a beginner or advanced, although take heart, once you’ve been needle felting for a while, you probably won’t need finger protectors as much.

You can choose between silicon or leather, it just depends on your preference. Just get at least 2 – one for your thumb and one for your index finger.

Needle Felting For Beginners: Step-By-Step Guide

So how do you do needle felting exactly? Gather all your needle felting equipment and follow along as I share with you the basic needle felting how-to:

Step 1: Pull Wool Apart

Wool roving for needle felting usually comes in thick strands so you want to pull them apart to grab only what you need. Gently pull on the edges and it’ll easily come apart.

To build up a base shape, it’s best to use white-colored wool as it tends to be cheaper. Once you have the base shape ready, you can add layers of colored wool for details.

Needle felter pulling apart light pink wool roving. — Wool roving being pulled apart

Step 2: Form Wool Into Shape

For 3D needle felting, roll and tuck the wool roving according to the shape you want to make. For example, if you’re needle felting balls, grab the suggested amount of wool roving and start rolling it together to resemble a ball shape.

If you’re making very specific shapes, like needle felting giraffes for example, I recommend using needle felting wire or pipe cleaners to form the skeleton first. It’s easier to roll and tuck your wool onto this skeleton.

Step 3: Needle Until Firm

Set up your work area with everything you need to hand. Put your foam pad on your work surface, put on your finger protectors (index and thumb at a minimum) and start carefully needling!

Needle evenly all over the roughly shaped wool to create the felt shape.

Shaping wool roving into a needle felted shape

Dry Felting Techniques And Tips

Use short, quick stabs.
Needle to just about halfway through the wool. Don’t needle all the way through.
Needle evenly all over the entire surface of the rough wool piece you shaped with your hands first.
Pull the needle out the same direction you poked it in. Otherwise, you might break the needle (speaking from personal experience here!).
Rotate and/or lift the wool off the needle felting pad here and there as you’re needling. Otherwise, you might felt the wool to the felting pad.

Step 4: Add Details

Once your base shape starts to feel “crunchy” with very little give, grab sprigs of colored wool to cover the base shape and to add details.

If you’re needle felting chickens, cows, or any kind of animal, Use black wool to needle felt the eyes and other facial features.

You can also use glass eyes and fabric pens to add details to your project if you’re not yet confident using felt to create these fiddly details.

Adding details (eyes) to a Needle felted bunny

Step 5: Tidy Up Design

For a neat finish, needle until there are almost no stray wool fibers left around the shape. The figure should feel firm too.

Here’s my little trick on how to make needle felting smooth: Use a fine sewing needle (not a felting needle) to tuck in those last stray fibers as much as you can, and then trim off any remaining strays with embroidery scissors.

Needle felted bunny. It's hot pink with dark red eyes, long ears and flowers felted into it's front. — Completed needle felted bunny

How Do You Know The Felting Process Is Done?

You know the felting process is done when you have the shape you want, it feels firm but not rock solid and there aren’t too many stray wool fibers on view.

As long as your finished project is firm enough to hold its shape well and most stray fibers are neatly needled into the base shape, you’re done!

What Happens If The Felting Needle Breaks?

When your needle breaks, it means that you’ll have to replace it with a new one from your needle set. You won’t be able to re-use that broken needle.

Don’t feel bad though! Breaking your needles is just a part of learning needle felting. Just make sure you dispose of it properly so it doesn’t injure a person or animal.

If your felting needle does break, dispose of it by putting it in an empty plastic medicine bottle. This will keep you, your pets and others safe.

A broken felting needle with it's broken tip next to it, on top of a cork background — Broken Felting Needle

Tips To Reduce Breaking Felting Needles

Always poke in and pull out needles in the same direction.
Take your time. Needle felting is a fun, mindful exercise and going slow and steady makes it easier to control your needle too.
Hold your needles lightly. Having too tight of a grip can lead to breaking as your felt shape starts firming up.

What Can I Use Instead Of A Felting Needle?

For dry felting, there is nothing else you can use instead of a barbed felting needle. You need the barbs on these needles to grab onto wool fibers and mesh them together.

Standard sewing needles and embroidery needles won’t work for needle felting as the shafts are smooth.

Needle Felting For Beginners: Tips & Tricks

Here are more of my favorite tips for needle felting to make the learning process smoother for you:

There’s no such thing as bad needle felting! But you do need to adjust your expectations when needle felting as a beginner. It can be hard to get precise shapes at first – it takes a lot of practice. But trust me, it gets easier.
Start with less wool than you need. It’s easier to add more wool later on than to remove extras.
If you’re struggling with rolling wool into shapes, use a cookie cutter as a guide. Place the wool in the cookie cutter and needle until firm.
Don’t use more than 3 needles at a time. This makes it easier to control how your craft turns out.
If your needle breaks, use a magnet to find the broken tip.
For cute needle felting ideas, get some needle felting books and needle felting patterns for inspiration.

Cookie cutter shapes on a white background — Cookie cutter shapes

Easy Needle Felting Ideas To Try

What can you make with needle felting? A lot of things!! You can sculpt your needle felting crafts into very specific shapes. I like using this technique to make little figurines as well as seasonal decor for the home.

If you’re not sure where to start, get inspired with easy needle felting projects by many talented YouTube needle felting artists!

I think the easiest place to start needle felting is making coasters. It may sound counterintuitive but as a beginner I found making little felt balls a lot easier to shape than animal figurines.

Create a bunch of felt balls, sew them together and hey presto you have a beautiful and stylish coaster. Then make a set of 4-6 and you’ll all of a sudden feel much more confident about felting shapes. Once you’ve done this, move onto a small animal, like a hedgehog.

I would also suggest starting with needle felting kits. This way you get clear instructions, the correct amount of wool, a felting needle, mat and you’re good to go.

Just buy a couple of finger protectors if your kit doesn’t come with one (trust me, you fingers will thank me!).

Buying a kit also means you won’t go crazy spending money on expensive wool and other felting products only to find you don’t enjoy it! It may seem more expensive but it’s a low risk way to find out if you like it or not.

If you complete a project from a felting kit and you have fun, then you’re ready to move on to purchasing components separately.

The felting kit I bought to make a llama. The kit contains wool roving, the felting pad, felting needle, regular sewing needle and the instructions. Everything is sitting on a wood table. — Llama needle felting kit

Where To Buy Needle Felting Supplies

You can start building up your needle felting kit on Amazon or at any local craft store. This is the best needle felting starter kit and has everything you need to get started.

Here are some more needle felting kits for specific designs:

My niece holding the 2 Needle felting kits we bought. One is a hedgehog, the other is a llama. My niece is sitting at a wooden table. In the background there is a rug and couch. — My niece holding the 2 Needle felting kits we bought

What Is Needle Felting FAQs

Is Needle Felting Hard?

No, needle felting isn’t hard to learn if you start slow and choose basic shapes to start with. Once you get the hang of making basic shapes (like a felt ball), you can move on to progressively harder needle felting shapes with more complex details.

What’s The Point Of Felting?

The point of felting is to make a flat or 3d object or figurine. It’s a great way to express your creativity in a way that doesn’t require much physical exertion. The repetitive motion of stabbing the wool is also great for mindfulness and relaxation.

Is Needle Felting Permanent?

Yes, needle felting is permanent. When you needle wool fibers repeatedly, it creates a strong and permanent bond. The process is irreversible.

Can You Needle Felt With A Regular Needle?

No, you can’t needle felt with a regular needle. You need barbed felting needles to lock the wool fibers together. It won’t work with smooth needles.

What Is Roving?

Wool roving is wool that’s been washed, carded, and combed. There are plenty of types to choose from, but I recommend going with the versatile Corriedale wool to build the base and soft Merino wool for adding details.

See the wool roving in the short video I took of one of my needle felting kits below:

What Is Needle Felting: Summary

Needle felting is a relatively new wool craft created by a couple of artists in the 80s. Since then it’s exploded into a thriving niche craft where people create lifelike 3d figurines and even flat pieces of art that can hang in frames on the wall.

To get started, buy a felting kit and at least 2 finger protectors.

Start with basic shapes like felt balls then sew them together to create a style coaster or pot mat.

Once you master the technique you’re ready to move onto more complicated felted items like 3D animals. Stick with another kit until you’ve mastered at least one animal.

Don’t get discouraged if your first few tries aren’t perfect, just keep practicing. The repetitive stabbing motions can be a relaxing way to pass some time.

Just remember to:

Use finger protectors when you’re starting out. Take it from me and my sad stabbed fingers.
Start with less wool than you need. You can always add more wool as you go along.
Use a cookie cutter if you’re finding it hard to roll wool into shapes.

If you’d like an alternative to needle felting, you can also use felt sheets to make all kinds of crafts. Check out my beginner’s guide on sewing felt.