Hoodoo voodoo???

You might think that's what I've been up to if I told you I'd been stabbing dolls with needles this week...
                                        ...but you would be wrong if you made that assumption.

Nope, no Voodoo dolls for me, thank you very much. Just my latest addiction hobby - needle felting! I saw it on the Martha Stewart show a few years ago and have wanted to try it ever since. So, for my birthday, I received a couple of kits like these, except my kit from WoolPets was for a bunny (can't seem to find the bunny link on Amazon today - this sock monkey is super cute though):

Anyway, I had a blast learning how to needle felt. It's pretty simple, really. You take a ball of wool or any other natural fiber (some people use their cat or dog's fur!), roll it into a ball, and start jabbing it with the needle.

The felting needle is not a regular needle. It's large, long, has a bend in the top end to grip it with and tiny little barbs on the edges of the pointy end. These barbs catch the fibers and shove them down into the center of the ball of wool. You're basically creating a big, matted knot (in a deliberate shape, however). The more you jab it, the firmer and more compact the wool becomes. You can "shape" it by jabbing more in the areas you want to indent. You can add on tufts of fiber to create protruding areas, and you can add on smaller pieces you've already felted to make arms, legs, ears, etc. It's a lot like modeling in clay or playdough, but you're using the needle to shape it rather than your fingers or clay modeling tools. I've got so many things I want to try to make now - the possibilities are endless!

I also received this book for my birthday, which makes me want to try making a little schnauzer, just like on the cover. Isn't it cute? It looks just like Harvey!

I think that will be my next felting project....

I took my kits up to the lake where I spent a couple of days this week and made my first attempt at a needle felted piece. Here's the first bunny I made:

It seemed a little lonely (and I had some leftover wool), so I made it a baby bunny from my own design....

And my Mom made them a carrot...


Another idea for my Etsy shop - little felted animals (maybe even personalized pet portraits?) .... What do you think?

And is it just me, or are bunny butts one of the cutest things ever???

Hope you're having a lovely week!


  1. The bunnies are adorable!!!Looks like a fun new hobby! Might have to try it someday:O) Have a great day

  2. Okay, that is SERIOUSLY cute! Certainly Etsy-worthy!

  3. My grandmother would flip! She LOVES rabbits. Very cute.

    I have one of those pen-style needle felting tools that can hold 1-3 needles. I haven't done any felting because I always use my fiber to spin, but I may have to try it some time.

  4. AAAAW! Your bunnies are adorable (yes, even their bunny butts!) If you get a chance, I'd love for you to stop by & post this on Not "Baaad" Sundays with LambAround. The Linky should be up this evening :)

  5. So cute!! You did a great job!

  6. Those are the cutest little animals I've ever seen! You should definitely put them in your Etsy shop.

  7. Hi there! I am your newest follower. I found you from the blog hop. I think it was an old linky so I'm extremely late but here none the less. I love finding new blogs and your is lovely:) You can find me at www.bouffeebambini.blogspot.com

  8. Thank you all for your kind comments and for stopping by! Glad you enjoyed the bunnies!

  9. Awwwwww, those are the cutest little bunnies!

  10. how adorable!
    Just stopped by from it's so very cheri :)

  11. I love them, totally adorable! (Found your blog from LambAround)Thank you also for the very good explanation of felting. I have heard of it before but couldn't find a really good explanation of the process until I read this post.

  12. Thank you all! Glad you found the explanation helpful, Jennifer.... :o) I'm planning to post a step-by-step tutorial with pictures soon...


