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SGFOLKART Aug 28, 2008

Hi everyone! I'm new here. My name is Sue.
I was wondering if felted faces are considered child safe? I read the article by Judi Paul in TB and FRIENDS about needle felted faces and thought I might give it a try.
I am making a rabbit for my neice (6yrs) and she has been very specific about what she wants, ie: chubby cheeks. I was thinking I might felt the cheeks instead of making the cheeks a part of the pattern. I will be using 1"pile white alpaca. I usually stuff with excelsior but perhaps I should use polyfill to make the fibers "lock"? I like the weight and firm sculpting the excelsior gives. Does anyone have a preference when felting?
  I think I'm in over my head a bit, but I have until mid October for her birthday  :bday: 
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

MerBear Aug 28, 2008

I don't think felting would work very well with excelsior - your instinct was right there. I would feel the felting would be child safe but wouldn't stand up to too much handling without looking ratty.
Another way to obtain puffy cheeks would be to make separate 'pouches' and then sew them on securely.

Marion

Melisa Nichols Aug 30, 2008

I agree...  I wouldn't do needle felting for a bear that would be played with because with wear it would look dirty after a while & you couldn't wash it.  I guess it would depend on how long you hoped it would last and if it would be frequently played with.  As far as safety is concerned, I can't imagine that it would be unsafe, but I haven't heard if they are considered child safe or not. 

Have fun making your bunny!  I hope you'll post pics when you are done!    :photo:

Judi Aug 30, 2008

Hi Sue.  Welcome to Teddy Talk. You have certainly come to the right place for lots of friendly advice about bear making.

Needle felting for a six year old would be safe as long as they are completely past the "chewing" stage.  You wouldn't want to give a felted bear to a toddler or infant as they can chew and could potentially chew a pice of wool off thus causing a choking hazard.

Everyone felts a little differently.  I personally like to felt until the wool is very solid and hard.  This way it is less likley to have the fibers work free and reshaping will not take place when the bear is handled.  I have a bear that I felted a muzzle to, much like in my article in TB and F, and my kids have played with this bear and handled it quite a lot.  The bear is in great shape without any fibers coming loose. It is felted to a very firm finish.  The end result can also be affected by the type of wool used.  Some wools felt tighter than others.

Excelsior is not very good for stuffing if you plan to needle felt.  Not only will the wool fibers not mesh and bond with it but the repeated poking will break down the wood excelsior and you'll loose the firmness.  I like to use a polyfil.

We also have a Library here on TT.  If you look near the upper left hand side.  There is a drop down menu which will take you to threads loaded with discussions on all sorts of topics including felting.

I also like Marion's suggestion of adding mohair stuffed cheeks sewn on separately.  These make great puffy cheeks.

Good luck to you and let us know how your project works out....or even better yet...post a photo here so we can enjoy your work.