Book Review: Felting
Katie 
As you may know, starting this month I started my “Try it Tuesday” which sometimes will involve some sort of crafty new project I am trying to do. One of the projects I bought was needle felting. I’m not sure how I am liking it so far, but I am hoping that I’ll eventually finish a project that you’ll end up seeing some day. When I saw that there was a book on Felting I figured I should check it out because maybe it would give me some tips. The instructions I got with my kit are less than stellar and even the youtube tutorials I’ve been watching haven’t really explained things. This book offers insight on the great range of possibilities that felt has to offer – and that is exactly what I am looking for.
The book contains a lot of photos which is always appreciated. Some of the photos show the history of felt while others show techniques – and yes, needle felting is featured as a “dry felting” technique in chapter 3! I think my main problem is that I took on a project perhaps to big for a first project and you need patience. The tutorial was similar to that of which I have found on Youtube – they made a cool green cactus (I’m currently trying to make a monkey). In addition to dry felting techniques the book also talks about wet felting techniques which for my project is not going to work, but there are other projects where wet would be more suitable over dry.
There are certainly a lot more project ideas in this book than I ever imagined, so maybe there will be some more felting in a Try It Tuesday post in the future as well. Although, maybe I should stick to trying to needle felt this monkey first and then go from there… too many half finished projects going on already!
About the Book
Basic felt techniques are thoroughly explained and illustrated with over 550 step-by-step photographs. Twenty-eight original projects presented use both industrial felt and felted wool. As a fabric, felt comes from wool and is set apart from other woolen fabrics in that it is not woven. This book explains in simple, easily followed, illustrated instructions the techniques for making felt from wool and working with it, both wet and dry, to create felt flowers, balls, and cords,how to use felting with molds, and more. Projects for children, home decoration, and clothing accessories are all provided, including finger puppets, table runners, sunflower bowls, rings, and purses. Enjoy these techniques, originally discovered thousands of years ago by Asian nomadic tribes and passed down from generation to generation. In the modern day, there are artisans in every corner of the world who work with felt in art. This extensive book is complemented by a gallery of work by international felt artists, showing variations that will inspire the imagination.