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Below are the tools you will need for making any needle felting project. There are three sizes of needles (these are a bit jagged or barbed and very sharp. Basicly you will start any work with the largest needle and work your way down to the smaller needle as the work becomes finer and more detail is needed. The needles are barbed which will cause the matt the wool, thus felting it together. Important is to always insert the needle vertically into the wool to avoid bending the needle. The wooden holder can be quite helpful if you are working on larger items. The top cap can be unscrewed and the needles are then insertet into the holes. Then the cap will be screwed back on. It is also comfortable to work with. Otherwise you will need your felting wool and a foam surface mat (which is about 2 inches or 5 cm high). The mat can be bought where you purchase your crafting supplies. This is to mainly protect your workspace. If you do not have such a mat, you can substitute a thick sponge or a styrofoam block instead.
For the styrofoam shapes, you will not necessarily need the mat since the shapes are thick themselves.
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This is a close up of the needle. You can see how the edges are jagged.
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1. The first step is to place your cookie cutter onto your foam mat and place a small amount of wool within the cutter.
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2. Start by jabbing around the inside of the cookie cutter shape (along the cookie cutter walls) and work your way to the middle of the form. You will really need to jab hundreds of times so be patient.
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3. Continue until your shape starts to look like a lumpy pancake.
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4. Carefully remove the cookie cutter with the shape and turn. If it is not possible to remove both together, remove first the cookie cutter, then the shape. Turn both over and place the shape back into the cookie cutter. For symmetric shapes it is not a problem which side of the cookie cutter is facing up.
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5. Now Jab into the backside of the felt shape to matt those fibers as well. Continue turning the felt shape several times until it seems to be a solid piece and the surface is consistent. The result can be seen here.
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