For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Hi All ,
I have just finished a black and grey bear he has whites at the top of his eyes so he looks like he is looking at his nose soooooo he is just crying out for a bee on the end if it.
I have decided to needlefelt a bee, yellow with black strips and a black face with white wings.
I am new to needlefelting and I have done a practice bee but I have a question:
How do I stop the black and yellow felts from "bleeding"
into each other????? You know what I mean, I can see the black fibers on top of the yellow, I like things to look clean, or am I being to fussy?
Separate them as much as you can with the needle, and felt them into their own side, trim off some with scissors, and then if it is a real sharp line you want I would use either a Copic or Prismacolor marker.
Joanne
If I were to do a bee..I might try making a complete yellow body...then taking wisps of black.. wrapping it around the body.. for each stripe and needling in each one carefully. ..picking up each hair really where it ends to make a sharp delineation along each side of each black piece to get a good stripe. It is time consuming..but, worth the effort.....
I agree with Veronica, especially as a beginner. It's far easier (to control the color-bleeding you described) to make a complete body of one color and add the sections of the other color as stripes.
Your choice of fiber (sheep breed) also has a lot to do with the amount of wildness in the hairs you need to bring under control. Some are more prone to being hairy and sticking straight out, while others have more natural built-in crimp or curl and will be easier to bring under control this way.
Learning about the many different breed's fibers available and their inherent qualities so you can choose which ones to match and use for each project is a battle half won!