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'Bear' Bottoms OriginalsHi all, I just bought my first set of felting needles! And some roving, too. Well, I think it's roving, it looks more like loosely spun yarn to me... lol But the lady said..... Ha!
Anyway, I browsed the Needlefelting section, and I could just be overseeing, but I didn't see a topic of "Needlefelting for Dummies" lol I have NEVER needlefelted before, so I need baby steps in baby talk.... lol I really don't even know the first step. I think I remember something about forming a ball... something.... I dunno! ha ha So can we get a topic of "Needlefelting for dummies" going for all of us who have never done it before and would like to learn, please? I'd love to hear the different techniques everyone has, and just basically what to do!
Thanks everyone!
Kimberly W.
Sunnie Bears:crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
You are too cute Kimberley! Needlefelting for Dummies!! I think I need it to.. ok.. the crash course..
1. put the sponge on the table
2. roll a piece of the roving in your hands to shape a ball.
4. put the ball on the sponge with your fingers just holding the edge
5. take that big ole needle and stick it in the ball and pull it out (kind of like they do liposuction)
There you go!
Sonya
Flying Fur StudiosHere you go Kimberly, this is a great tutorial on how to make your 1st bear. Give you something to start with......
Kim-Bee BearsHere is some info too, Kim http://www.purelyneysa.com/felting/inst … ooklet.pdf
I dont use wire armatures in mine anymore... I did the first two but I didnt like it... I can give you more details if you want... email me... I wish I would have taken pics as I made one so I could show you... I usually start with the head, then the body, then the appendages...
Charlotte Des Roches Designsvery important rule...remember to have bandaids handy!!!
'Bear' Bottoms Originals
lol, you guys crack me up! Thank you so much fot the intro; I think I got the hang of it. Well, I did it. I did my very first needlefelted bear and just winged it. I used all of my needles, and I didn't poke myself once! OK, well I poked myself but I didn't draw blood!!! lol Well, let me know what you guys think of him. I named him edward. he's not jointed or armatured or anything, and he's 8 different pieces that were then felted together. What do you all think for a first feltie? I know, I know.. I need practice... Be gentle, everyone! lol
Kimberly W.
Oh yeah, he took me about 4 hours to make.
'Bear' Bottoms OriginalsOh yeah, his nose is done with Frodo fur... that's my dog... lol
Kimberly W.
Sunnie BearsHe is CUTE! Just look at those little tootsies! Great job!
Back Road BearsWow!!!! What an awesome first bear... and she just winged it!!!!
I have Barbara Allen's "The Magic of Needlefelting" book... that was how I learned.
Not really very hard, is it? And congrats on not drawing blood. It wasn't until I'd made a few and got cocky before I started drawing bloood so watch out!
Kimberly, Are you sure this is your first....cause you did a great job! :clap: :clap: :clap:
I have not felted a complete bear yet. Just felted faces, foot pads, toes and noses. It is a lot of fun. I find you can really add detail to the bears and critters.
hugs, Lynn
Baird'sBears
Oooh, Edward is a sweetheart, Kimberly 
You did a great job with all his little shapes and contours. Wow :clap:
Eileen
Acid Attic BearsI love your little Edward ! And now I want to try too ! ^^ :hug: :hug:
Matilda Huggington-beareYOU MY DEAR ARE A NATURAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HE IS ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I cant wait to see what you do in the future. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wendy 
Lynette
Charlotte Des Roches DesignsAhhhh yes....we have another NF Addict!!!Love him from his frodonose to his cute little toes 
LuxembearsVery nice Kimberly. :clap: :clap: :clap: Looks like you may have cought the "felting bug"!!
My all time favorite is needle felting onto a mohair bear. The possibilities are endless with what you can sculpt.
Great job!
Kimberly~ I agree with everyone else...your first needle-felted bear is amazing. Can't wait to see you second.
~Kathy
'Bear' Bottoms OriginalsYou all are so great! Thank you!!! I think I definitely need a little practice, especially with the symmetry and getting a nice smooth finish. Poor little Edward's got flyaways out the wazoo!!! lol
As for needlefelting onto mohair; that's why I wanted to give felting a try mostly. I'd like to have a go at needlefelting some details on my bear's faces. But MAKING a needlefelted bear was seriously fun, too! So it looks like I'm hooked... or poked.... or stuck... or.... lol!
And YES! It IS easy! I love how if you want a detail, well just keep poking that spot! It's amazing! I am so corny. And yeah... you CAN'T look away, can you?! ha ha I started to do that, look at the TV, then zipped my eyes back to my hands thinking, "Oh crap, I'll poke myself!"
Thanks, you guys for having this forum, being so supportive, helpful, silly and just being fun to talk to! If it weren't for TT and all of you, I most likely would have never even been introduced so personally with needlefelting. I love you guys!!!!!! :hug: :hug: 
Kimberly W.
Luxembears :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: This IS a great place! And it takes all of us to make it work.
'Bear' Bottoms OriginalsYes, it does, Judi... and everyone's here... and it works! Agh! Caught myself again! I'm SUPPOSED to be bagging eyes and noses (bear eyes and noses - plastic safety, that is...lol), and made the mistake of walking past this thing! lol
Kimberly W.
Posts: 8,574He is really really cute-adorable, and I think you're a natural!
dilu
LuxembearsKim and Renae, to help get rid of those extra fuzzies, make sure you fish your felting with a fine needle and go deep. I always like a very firm smooth finish so that no one would be able to squish my felted parts on my bears and alter thier appearnace. The end result should feel like a very fim thick skinned orange...if that makes sense...
ALSO...I use scissors and cut any stray fibers that won't behave.
So far, so good!!
'Bear' Bottoms OriginalsJudi,
WONDERFUL tip... I thought about clipping away any determined fuzzies, but wondered if that was a felting faux pas, lol. Oh, and I got my husband hooked too. He's poking away his first little monkey. :)
Renae,
If Frodo doesn't watch out, he'll end up bald with me trying to snatch all of his luxuriously downy black fuzzies. But... BUT.... I have TWO dogs with downy black undercoats, so I can switch harvests... ha ha ha Rocky's blowing his coat now after I gave him a bath, so I'm about to harvest his. I KNOW I'll get a bunch off of him; it seems like his undercoat's 3 times as thick as it looks like it is ON him... lol
Dilu,
Ha ha, I've been lucky thus far! Poked fingers a couple of times, but not hard enough yet to draw blood. Thanks for the compliment, too!
I'll have to show you guys this lion I'm working on right now. Maybe I'll have him done tonight!!
Kimberly W.
'Bear' Bottoms OriginalsWell, I haven't gotten my lion done yet... I've gotten sidetracked on a 'bear' (actually it's a leopard) that I'm trying to get finished to list on ebay. S/he (I'm not sue if it's a boy or girl yet) has needlefelted facial features! You all so totally rock! You have all gotten me off to a wonderful felting addiction! I'll post pics of the leopard here and also in bears for sale once I've gotten it done.
Matilda Huggington-beareThis is the advise Judi gave me and it works. Judi really does know best.
And as for TT. I'll praise it to the hilt. I love this forum. I love the people that are the forum.
My bear making has taken a turn for the absolute best since hanging out at TT. :hug:
