Needle Felting

Simply put, needle felting is the process of taking raw wool roving and using a special barbed needle to sculpt it into shape. The sculpting is done by poking the wool fiber thousands of times until they interlock and felt together. This process is extremely time-consuming, and each dog normally takes 25 - 35 hours to create.

This is a brief demonstration of the techniques I use to create my needle felted dogs. It is not meant to be a tutorial, merely an example of my work in progress.

 

This Bichon Frise sculpture took me 32 hours to create!

 

The Felting Process

The first step for any project of mine is to study the reference photographs. I like to have as many photographs as possible to work from - the more angles, the better.

I choose wool based on colour and texture to match the breed I am creating. I blend various colours of wool to mimic the dog's coat.  I create a wire armature to felt over. This provides extra support for the sculpture and also gives it a bit of flexibility.  

I start by felting and shaping the torso and neck. Then I felt the legs, head, and mouth. After that I make the tail and feet. Everything is still pretty rough at this stage, and I don't put most markings on until later. For long haired dogs, I add the outer coat once the body of the sculpture is firm and solid.

Once I have the basic body shape done I will finish the mouth, and add any markings I haven't done yet. The ears are often the last thing for me to needle felt. The noses are hand sculpted, and the eyes are either gemstones or handmade with polymer clay. They are sewn on for durability. Then I snap some photos and send them off to the customer for approval!