Step 2 of the process
Detail and color
Color goes on as a thin layer over the finished core, parts are joined through their loose ends with a coarse needle, and small features are added with a size 40 or 42 needle and very little wool at a time.
- Color layer
- thin wisps, size 38 or 40
- Joining parts
- size 36, through the loose end
Lay the colored wool on in thin wisps, tack it down with a few stabs, then felt it in. A thin layer covers better than a thick one, which sits on the surface and stays fuzzy. Switch to a size 38 or 40 needle here: a coarse needle leaves holes in the new surface. Brushed-out pet undercoat can go on the same way, as a thin layer over a wool core: see needle felting with cat or dog hair.
To join a part, hold its loose, unfelted end against the body and stab through the loose fibers into the body with a coarse needle, size 36, from several directions. Then cover the seam with a thin wisp of wool and felt it in with a finer needle. The felting needle size chart lists which sizes suit attaching and which suit detail.
Faces come last. Small spots of color, lines and ears are worked with a fine needle, size 40 or 42, and very little wool at a time. Eyes can be felted from wool or bought: glass eyes on wire, plastic safety eyes or pin eyes. One maker's rule of thumb is an eye size in millimeters equal to the height of the animal in inches. Eyes for needle felted animals compares the types.
Ready to move on when: Color covers the core evenly, joined parts stay put under a gentle tug and no core wool shows through.
Common mistakes at this stage
- Laying color on thick, which leaves it loose and fuzzy.
- Felting a part firm all over, so no loose fibers are left to join it with.
- Adding small features with a coarse needle.