RE: Needle felted Wibblies!

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RE: Needle felted Wibblies!

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RE: Needle felted Wibblies! - 7/1/2008 12:53:00 PM

Harlan

Posts: 10196
Joined: 7/30/2005
From: Michigan
Status: online

eyeLIDS!! :)

Okay - tear off some roving about 1.5 inches long and spread it across your work pad - you don't want it too thick - so basically you have:

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Now take some roving and lay it across the middle:

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Needle the area where the roving is crossed over - I like to use a 3 needle tool of 40 needles set close together and I do not needle deeply.

Fold that in half

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Needle only the part near the fold - turn it over and needle the other side - continue to needle it until you get a nice felt. Trim the fly aways (fibers) from the felted edge. Apply around your eye - starting at one corner, gently curl it around the shape of the eye - secure at the opposite side (you are only applying to half the eye) and trim off the excess.

The unfelted fibers get needled into the whole piece - this gives added security to hold the eye lid in place. Use a needle to go "under the lid" and in front of the eye to pick up, capture and felt away the loose fibers that are on the eyeball - you don't want them. You can also trim these but better to use something like cuticule cutters than scissors.

Alternate method and the one I use for lower eye lids:

Take a 4" length of roving that is about the thickness of a thin piece of yarn. Anchor one end of it into your work pad by needling. Now gently twist the remaining length of roving and needle (lightly - i.e. go through the fibers but not too deeply into the pad) up and down the length of the roving. Repeat. Pick the piece up off the pad and roll it back and forth between your palms. Put it back on the pad and repeat.
You should end up with what looks like a sort of fuzzy piece of yarn - which can then be felted into place around the lower portion of the eye and the whispy bits captured by the needle and tucked away OR trimmed off.
:)

< Message edited by Harlan -- 7/1/2008 12:54:11 PM >

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Jeanne
The Intimate Forest

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Post #: 21

RE: Needle felted Wibblies! - 7/1/2008 6:23:19 PM

platypus

Posts: 1519
Joined: 7/30/2005
From: New Jersey
Status: online

THanks Jeanne! I was trying a makeshift version of that, I thought of maybe even applying a tiny bit of glue to keep them over the eye. I'll definitely give your pattern a go!

(in reply to Harlan)

Post #: 22

RE: Needle felted Wibblies! - 7/1/2008 8:32:44 PM

Harlan

Posts: 10196
Joined: 7/30/2005
From: Michigan
Status: online

I didn't always do eye lids on my Prittens but the last half dozen or so all have them. Takes a bit of experimenting but once you get the hang of it, it works pretty easily.

What sort of wool roving do you have??

I normally work in Merino which is very fine (and hard to felt but I love the stuff). I ordered a 41 color sampler pack of Corriedale because I had been given a small amount of it with some needles I bought and I liked it. WELL - my sampler pack came from a different source than the small amount I was given and they are very different! The small amount came from MaryJanesAttic and is soft and when felted is rather like flannel. The sampler pack stuff isn't nearly as soft. It does felt well enough but it isn't resulting in that flannel like surface. I'll be able to use it for Pritten toys and stuff. I'm also going to order some of MaryJanes Corriedale to see if hers is always nice and soft. Her prices were higher which is why I went with my other supplier. Live and learn! :)

_____________________________

Jeanne
The Intimate Forest

(in reply to platypus)

Post #: 23

RE: Needle felted Wibblies! - 7/2/2008 9:20:18 AM

platypus

Posts: 1519
Joined: 7/30/2005
From: New Jersey
Status: online

Hi,

I've been using corriedale - I got a sampler pack from Wind4934(?), that's all I've tried so far - is that where you got yours from? I just got some needles from Mary Janes & they included some wood samples too, but they were unidentified & I haven't tried them yet. Maybe I'll like them better than the other stuff!

I have yet to try merino, but I did order some in black, so I'll see how that goes.

(in reply to Harlan)

Post #: 24

RE: Needle felted Wibblies! - 7/2/2008 11:48:51 AM

Harlan

Posts: 10196
Joined: 7/30/2005
From: Michigan
Status: online

I get most of my wool from http://www.mielkesfarm.com/index.html I shopped around a lot before I bought any roving and their prices were the best.

Their Corriedale is nice but not soft like the sample I got from MaryJanesAttic (I presume what I got from them was Corriedale since it didn't look like the Merino with which I am familiar).

Merino is very fine, almost silky - which makes it more difficult to felt. Best not to use it for the core of anything (although I have done that).

What I'm planning on trying is to use the appropriate color Corriedale that I have as the core for legs and put merino over that and see if that works up better than merino alone. I tried doing that with my wool batting which felts up very well but the problem there is that the wool batting is just white and doesn't come combed (well, it's batting after all) so the technique I use for making legs doesn't really work well with the batting. Maybe the Corriedale will work.

I'm going to order one of MaryJanesAttics sampler of Corriedale - she has great colors. Her prices are higher over all but if the sampler is anything like the little bit she sent with needles, the extra price would be worth it.

Most of the wool samplers I have seen on Ebay have been over priced compared to the cost of getting them through http://www.mielkesfarm.com/index.html - Sometimes it is worth the extra price just to try something and not be committed to a whole lot of wool that you don't like! lol!!

I've been thinking about asking my fellow felters on the felting boards if maybe we could set up Fiber Exchanges - so those with Icelandic could trade with those who have Romney or Corriedale or wossheep.

_____________________________

Jeanne
The Intimate Forest

(in reply to platypus)