Handy Dandy Handycrafty Thread

I was talking about how to get into needlefelting with a cool antipodean, so here's a hot tip for folks looking for materials to start needle felting:


click through for the full-sized image, it's phone quality but hopefully it'll illustrate my point?

Needle felting looks most polished when you've worked the surface is like a tennis ball's - with few stray fibers and a clean outline, and felted enough that you can no longer see the directions the original fiber was laid down in. Some wool sliver is easier to work with than others! (My terminology is not industry standard.)

The green in the above picture is an acrylic, but is just as nice to work with as pure wool. It looks and feels "spongy" compared to the blue and especially the gray, thanks to the fibers being "crimped". It's the same green I used for the Tiny Natu, and the yellow joltik in the photo with the chikorita is made of the same stuff, different color.

The blue is pure wool, also crimped. It feels spongy and the orientation of the fibres isn't obvious if you look at it close up. (most wool sliver comes in a hank though so it's pretty obvious.) The Huntail, plus everything in burgundy, is made of this stuff. I love it.

The grey is also pure wool, but the fibres are still mostly straight and it gives the overall wad of wool a distinct "grain". "straight" fibres are silky to the touch, unless you're using el cheapo wool like this charcoal shit. Compacting this stuff takes longer, and you're likelier to have loose ends sticking out all over your project unless you shave the poor thing. Rolling the stuff between your fingers and generally crushing it before you work it helps a fair bit.

Good luck, have fun, and make sure to show off your shit if/when you do try your hand at needle-felting!