I love to work with my needle felting machine and incorporate machine needle felting into my projects in various ways; more often than not, in ways that often don’t even resemble needle felting.
Last year I did a number of online classes on machine needle felting – Felt-Punch-Embellish and “More” Felt-Punch-Embellish which were a lot of fun and I thought today I’d like to share one of the lessons: Texturizing Fabric. Because I work not only with textile and quilt art, but wearable art also, texturizing fabric is probably my favorite needle felting technique for creating coordinating texturized fabrics.
If you didn’t manage to catch the classes, you can still purchase Felt-Punch-Embellish and “More” Felt-Punch-Embellish on dvd.
Otherwise, enjoy the lesson on how to create texturized fabric samples, including video and samples.
Continue reading »
Talisman or amulet pouches have their origins in Africa and were typically made of leather or sometimes cloth and contained sacred prayers or written words of empowerment. The pouches were then sealed to prevent the writings from being read and giving power to the words that were written. The pouches represent both the physical (the pouch) and the spiritual (the prayer). These amulets were carried, and sometimes worn on the clothing of the Africans.
Visit Design Matters for some great video tutorials , one in particular demonstrating how to make African Talisman Pouches using a machine needle felting machine.
These little pouches are so easy to make using the needle felting machine and are the perfect project to do when your day is super busy and you only have half an hour or so to spare.
I particularly liked the black/white/red color combination that was used in the video, but I didn’t have any of those felted colors on hand so I machine needle felted some cream colored Corriedale wool, then painted some of it black and some of it red. But in the meantime while these pieces were drying I thought I’d put together a couple of pouches using colored felt scraps.
I had some scraps of hand dyed soy silk felt so I cut out the pouch pieces and a decorative shape.
Continue reading »
When doing machine needle felting, consider layering your fabrics before needle felting for some awesome results.
Red organza/lace …
Continue reading »
Decorative knitter’s yarn makes great felt. It is readily available, comes in great textures and colors and is relatively inexpensive.
You can produce beautiful felt with wonderful texture using yarn, and depending on the type of decorative yarn you use, the under side of your piece can also produce great results.
Continue reading »
