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Country BearsI've read a few of the post 'for beginner' but I still don't get what I'm supposed to be doing!!
I bought a starter needle felting kit the other day, looked at it all and put it away again.......
Then this morning I took it all out.....couldn't tear a piece of the 'wooly stuff' so cut a bit off and put it on my spoge and started poking with a needle - PLEASE DON'T LAUGH AT ME 'COS I'M A FOOL...... :crackup: How do I hold the piece? was I supposed to cut a bit?
WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO BE DOING??!! 
Oh deary dear....... :crackup:
Kim-Bee BearsOh poor Clare! it depends on what you are trying to accomplish... are you trying to felt an all felt critter or felt onto a mohair/synthetic bear?
Country BearsWell at the moment Kim I'm not acheiving anything other than a fluffy blob!! Frank and I looked gormlessly at the same piece of fluff for a while this morning, and I poked it a bit more, but it doesn't look any different!! :crackup: :crackup:
How long do you poke it about for before something happens?? Is it magic?? And how do you 'shape' it and how do you join other bits, oh dear oh dear..... 
I should have bought some instructions too!!!
I've read some of Neysa's site, and some other links on here, but I guess I'm just not 'getting' the basics - not a surprise for me I hasten to add, I'm going a bit senile in my old age!! 
Country BearsOh no Kim, don't run away - I KNOW, it's sad isn't it??!! :crackup: :crackup:
Charlotte Des Roches Designshttp://bearhugs.co.uk/needlefelting.htm
http://www.bearycheap.com/info/felting1.html
http://www.homestead.com/thesilverpenny … lting.html
http://www.edinburghimports.com/felting … stages.asp
Claire,
Don't give up...you will get it 
Above are some links I found helpful when I started needle felting.
Hugs,
Kim-Bee BearsOh clare.. I am so sorry for laughing right now, your wording cracks me up! It takes a bit of time to shape. For my little 3" bears that are completely felted, it takes anywhere from 6-8 hrs.... depending on how much detail, of course. Charlotte has given a bunch of sites that will help you... I usually start with a basic shape (such as the head) and make a ball shape and stab until it it is pretty uniform and then do fine details like where the eyes will go and mouth and such... I will felt it a bit on the foam before I pick it up and do the find detail while holding it in my hand (watch that you dont prick yourself though!) I hope I helped a bit
'Bear' Bottoms OriginalsI do just about all of my felting in my hand. What I do is pull off a piece of roving (you want your hands a little further apart to pull off a chunk; if your hands are too close together, you end up sitting there pulling on the same fibers and really have a hard time getting a piece off). I gently roll the chunk in the palm of my hands til a crude, fluffy ball shape is made. then I start poking away. You have to pokepokepokepoke for quite a while, with each poke you'll be working a couple fibers down into the core of the wool and making it tighter. It takes a little while. Like I said, I work with in my hands (between my index and middle finger, and my thumb being careful to try not to aim that needle at my fingers!), so I turn the wool all the while I'm poking at it. eventually, after a few hundred or so pokes, you'll notice the ball has drawn up into a smaller, tighter ball.
Does that make any sense? I am new at this, too, so I'm just giving you a tip on what I do! It doesn't make it right, but I get the shape I want! LOL
Kimberly W.
Charlotte Des Roches DesignsKimberly,
I think you have it !!! I have found that what kind of core wool you use makes a huge difference in how fast it starts taking shape, the core wool batts I get from Edinburgh really felt fast in my experience...then you can add the more expensive colors ...and change needle sizes a lot seems to help too.... I am still fairly new at this too...so that's just my 2 cents 
Hugs,
LuxembearsWith a littel time , patience ,and practice, Calre, youwill have it in no time.
Good adice already posted. Here's my two cents:
I hate core wool. Period. Yucky stuff in my opinion. I have felted with roving and wool batt. For me Batt, by far, felts faster, firmer and smoother. Core wool is very lumpy and does not create the results I want.
If you cannot even tear off a piece of the wool, throw it out and get yourself a nice bag of wool batt. Always start with your largest needle, 32 and do like Kim said and poke poke poke...evenly spaced and all the way through your wad, then turn and repeat. Squish it and squeeze as you go and when the needle becomes more difficult to insert into the wool , go to the next size...36T, then 36S... I find that most of my felting and sculpting takes place with the 38 S and T needles. All of this will make more sense as you go.
'Bear' Bottoms OriginalsYes, Judi, you are too right! I do pinch and kind of roll around the ball a bit, shaping the wool as I go to get the shape right for what I'm making.
Also, here's a tip. Mohair roving felts HORRIBLY! It took me FOREVER to get it even going down into a ball! SO nerve-wracking! I've found the finer and 'kinkier' the fibers, the easier it felts. I like the New Zealand wool and corridale is so nice, too!
By the way, what is core wool?
Perhaps the reason you are having such a hard time pulling off a chiunk is that the strands are so long? Mohair is like that; long, silky, and straight. Not good for felting. At least, thats in ny opinion; I could be way off base!
Kimberly W.
