Category Archives: Felt-Punch-Embellish

Look at me! Look at me!

Posted on by Linda Matthews

JacketDo you have the June/July 2011 copy of Threads magazine yet?

Turn to page 83.

On the right.

That’s my jacket!

I love to make jackets that have a focus such as beautiful lapels or cuffs or pockets, or some unusual detail. On this particular jacket it has beautiful lapels and cuffs made from machine needle felted fabric which was then over-stitched with an embroidery design using gold metallic thread.

Texturizing fabric is one of my favorite needle felting techniques.

That’s right! A machine needle felting technique that changes the texture and sometimes the color of fabric, depending on what type of fabric you use. Silks such as dupioni or that have different color threads along the warp and the weft of the weave, turn our particularly beautiful. And after machine needle felting, you can often get three or four different coordinating fabrics with slightly different textures and slightly different colors.

You can see more photos and read more about this jacket here.

Doesn’t it just want to make you want to run out and buy a needle felting machine?

Or at least blow off the two inches of dust on the machine that you have lying in the corner.

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Machine Needle Felting For the Adventurous

Posted on by Linda Matthews

I always get lots of questions from my readers about the techniques I work with and machine needle felting always seems to inspire/intrigue/confuse many of you.

Machine needle felting is done with a machine that looks like this.

Machine Needle Felting

It’s almost like a sewing machine but it doesn’t have thread in the bobbin; in fact is doesn’t have a bobbin; it only has a bunch of needles with barbs on them that look like fish hook barbs.

Machine Needle Felting

But you can do amazing things with a needle felting machine.

Beautiful collages …

Machine Needle Felting

Machine Needle Felting

Machine Needle Felting

Seascapes …

Machine Needle Felting

Machine Needle Felting

Machine Needle Felting

Landscapes …

Machine Needle Felting

Machine Needle Felting

Machine Needle Felting

And one of my favorites … fabric beads …with a little touch of the heat gun

Machine Needle Felting

PS, if you have a Janome Xpression machine, you’ll find me on the instructional dvd that’s included in the box (I think it’s still included), fumbling and bumbling my way through my very first film appearance. (yikes!)

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Machine Needle Felting

Posted on by Linda Matthews

Machine Needle FeltingThis week on the blog I’m sharing with you some of my very favorite techniques. Today is all about machine needle felting.

I love machine needle felting; particularly that you can get fabulous results in a relatively short period of time because those needle felting machines can really pick up speed when you need them to. Plus, machine needle felting is very creative.

How Machine Needle Felting Works
A needle felting machine looks much like a sewing machine …

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Jacket with Needle Felted Detail

Posted on by Linda Matthews

I’ve had this jacket hanging on my dressmaker dummy and sitting in the corner of my sewing room for the longest time just waiting for some trim to be added. After I made the jacket, this is what it looked like … nice but kind of bland …

Machine Needle Felted Jacket

I quite liked it but I always felt it was missing something, so I thought I might add some cording around the edge of the lapels and sleeve cuffs. Well that was a looooong time ago and cleaning up the other day and after brushing off an inch of dust from the jacket I thought it was finally time to add the trim and I’m glad I did because now it looks finished and very elegant; well I think so anyway …

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Talisman Pouches

Posted on by Linda Matthews
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.

Machine Needle Felting

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.

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Machine Needle Felting: Using Layers

Posted on by Linda Matthews

I love to use my needle felting machine, particularly for texturizing and manipulating fabric in unusual ways. One technique I use is layering my fabrics before needle felting for some awesome results.

Red organza/lace …

Machine Needle Felting

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Making Felt Using Yarn and a Layer of Tulle

Posted on by Linda Matthews

Machine Needle FeltingDecorative 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.

Felting yarn with your needle felting machine however can be a little difficult, particularly if the yarn is made from polyester or is a poly-blend which tends to make the yarn very soft, but slippery to work with.

A great solution is to needle felt the yarn onto a layer of tulle. Bridal tulle is very soft and sheer and comes in many colors. Once it is felted to the yarn, it becomes virtually invisible while providing a very soft hand for your felt. Using tulle as a base is ideal for creating a variety of felt thicknesses—from very sheer to very thick, as well as for creating detailed designs and shapes.

Tip: You may find it easier to work with a hand embroidery hoop. Simply hoop your tulle and follow the directions.

Basic Instructions for Making Felt Using Yarn and a Layer of Tulle

Supplies

  • Bridal tulle
  • Decorative knitting yarn
  • Hand embroidery hoop (optional)

Directions

This demonstration uses Sensations “Fringe” yarn.

Machine Needle Felting

Note: It is normal for the tulle to tear during needle felting process. If additional support for your felting is needed you can simply add another piece of tulle under the original piece. You can also extend the size of your project by adding extra pieces of tulle as required.

  • Cut a piece of tulle approx 8” x 8”.
  • Puddle the yarn on top of the tulle and needle felt thoroughly.

Machine Needle Felting

  • Depending on the texture and thickness of the yarn and your desired result, you will need to needle felt “more” or “less”. e.g. feathered yarn:
    … needle felt less for soft felt with lots of feathers;
    … needle felt more for soft felt with few feathers.
  • Continue puddling and needle felting in this manner until your felted piece is completed.

Machine Needle Felting

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