Hedgehogs: Needle Felting Tutorial

Last Friday I had the pleasure of crafting with some great teens. Needle felting is a simple accessible craft, if you can poke a needle you can needle felt. Only two of the participants were experienced needle-felters but everyone was very successful.

Hedgehogs are surprisingly popular in our northern porcupine country. Their shape makes them the perfect beginner project. I've been needle-felting lots of critters for my new book project Stitched Whimsy.  In the process I've realized the importance of chenille skeletons that form a sturdy flexibility core under the wool roving. In this case the wire allows you to raise and lower the hedgie's nose. The first step is to fold the chenille stem in half and trap a thin pinch of roving in the fold. I use inexpensive wool mill scraps for the foundation of all my felted creations.

Form the chenille stem ends into two loops, twist the wire ends around the base of the loops. Interlock the two loops together to create a framework for the body.

 

Tightly wrap the roving around the folded chenille stem to create the nose and head. Working over a foam matt or section of rigid foam insulation poke the roving on all sides with a felting needle. A felting needle has tiny barbs that catch the individual wool fibers and knit them together, the more you poke the more the fibers are compressed.

Fill the chenille frame with roving and then over wrap the body with additional base roving. Needle-felt the roving on all sides to compress the fibers and solidify the body.

Cover the base color with brown roving, switch directions as if you were winding a skein of yarn. The combination of overwrapping and needle felting will tighten the body. Wrap the head and nose in beige roving and needle-felt in place.

Roll tiny pinches of colored roving to make the eyes and nose. Needle felt these small pieces directly into the beige head. Spiral slightly larger pinches of beige roving and needle-felt them on the matt/board before felting the bottom edges to either side of the head.

The flower embellishment is made by spiraling a piece of roving into a circle and felting it just behind an ear. Pull strands into the center to form petals. I added a touch of green roving for a small leaf accent.

This lucky critter was given a stylish purple top hat.

Three top tables and coffee tables made for cozy crafting. The bags of roving are from my favorite needle felting supplier Portland Fiber Company, on Congress Street in Portland.

As always my projects are open to adaptation, it was fascinating to observe the creation of this weasel.

One of the participents came late and skipped on the chenille stem step she made an adorable mashed potato pair.

So happy our amazing teen librarian was able to leave the desk and join the fun. I was also surprised to have crafty friends join me all the way from Standish.

We had a rare albino hedgehog sighting and a camera shy multi-colored tie dye hedgie.

Don't stop at just one, they're happier in pairs!

Sweet Needle Felted Bunnies - free tutorial!

We enjoyed the most beautiful taste of spring in Maine this weekend. After a glorious walk on the beach we stopped at the pet store on our way home. To Celias absolute delight we stumbled upon a pen of baby bunnies. There was no chance of us adding to our menagerie, but our short visit was the perfect inspiration for this needle felt tutorial. If you haven't tried needle felting please do give it a second look, it's incredibly accessible. All you need is some wool roving and a felting needle to get started. I've yet to find a better medium for quickly making miniature furry animals. These low maintenance bunnies will be so popular you'll need to felt a whole litter in time for Easter!

Materials
Assorted wool roving: white, tan, grey and small amounts of black and dark brown for the eyes.
Felting needle (there is no substitute for the genuine barbed needle)
Piece of rigid foam insulation or a foam felting mat.

Finished size: 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"

1. Starting with the body, roll the main color into a tight ball as if you were forming a bead. Repeatedly poke it on all sides to stabilize the roving. Wrap additional strands of roving around the ball to increase the size. Be sure to needle felt it on all sides after each addition. Add more roving to one end so that the ball becomes an egg shape, approximately 2" long and 1" thick at the widest point.

2. To make the hind legs spiral the roving into a circle (1" in diameter). Fold the roving end several times to make a paw shape that extends 1/2" out from the leg. Add a couple more pieces of roving to thicken both the leg and the paw. Repeat the process to make a second leg.

3. Position the legs on either side of the body. Repeatedly poke the outside edge of each leg with your felting needle to anchor them body, let the paws fall free.

4. Fold a new piece of roving several times to make a 1 1/2" long arm. Wrap the folded roving with a second strand and then needle felt it to compress the fibers. Create a bent elbow in the arm by folding it and then needle felt the folded area. Repeat the process to make a second arm. Position an arm on either side of the body. Needle felt the top shoulder portion of of the arms to the body, let the paw ends fall free.  

5.  Create the head as you did the body starting with a tight bead shape. Wrap and needle felt additional strands of roving around the head until it measures 1"x 1". Position the head above the front paws and needle felt directly through the rabbits face to attach it to the small end of the body. Make additional pokes around the neck to insure it's properly connected.

6. Stay with me your bunny is starting to get cute... We're on to the ears, fold a piece of roving as you did the arms so that its an 1 1/2" long. Needle felt it and if necessary add another layer roving. My ears tend to get wide, I fold them in half lengthwise and needle felt the folded layers together. Create a second ear, and needle felt the base of each ear to the top of the head.

7. Take a small strand of beige roving and spiral it into a spot, needle felt it to one side of the face. Make a larger beige spot for the bunnies back. Roll the tiniest pinch of dark brown roving for the eyes and nose and use your needle to poke them directly into the face. The more you poke them the smaller they appear as they become incorporated into the head.

8. The final step is to roll up a loose ball of white roving for a tail and poke it directly into the back of the body.

Enjoy experimenting with different colors and ear positions. Here's 'hopping' we all get to enjoy warmer weather and longer days filled with sunshine!