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fribblesltd May 18, 2006

...I have been admiring all the bigger bears people accent with needlefelting---is it possible to do the same thing for smaller bears? 

Has anyone felted onto upholstery fabric, or does one need to needlefelt only on mohair? 

Am very curious as I would very much like to try it, a friend is sending me some needlefelting supplies, but the only thing I want to do with it is use it for accenting---think footpads, toe pads, and I recently saw a panda auction with the eye patches needlefelted!---am definitely not making a whole bear!  That sounds WAYYYYY too labor-intensive---I have the highest regard to those who do needlefelting, but I've heard the horror stories of stabbing fingers, and I am pretty sure I will stick to sewing...and clay.

Amelia

kbonsall May 18, 2006

Amelia - currently I am working on a needle felted muzzle ona synthetic bear... it is a bigger bear though... I think the reason it attaches to the synthetic is that is it going through to the polyfill... I would think it will work on mini bear... (I guess that is another experiment I will have to try!)

Eileen May 19, 2006

Amelia,

I've been wondering about this too--I want to do some minis down the road.

Having just finished needlefelting separate toes and footpads on a biggish mohair bear, I think I'd do it differently on a mini.

Instead of separate toes, I'd needlefelt a single 'band' of wool across the toe area, then needlefelt the depressions between the toes to define each one. A bit of careful shading would define them further. I guess it would also work to needlefelt a band, then define the separate toes with embroidery thread--as in pulled toes.

Has anyone actually tried something like this?

Eileen

kbonsall May 19, 2006

I would probably do it kind of like Eileen said.. use a big band... and then shape as I go...

starlite May 19, 2006

I have needle felted on a six inch bear and then for the B&Bs competiton I needle felted onto upholstery velvet - muzzle, nose  and paw pads the result seemed fine to me - but then I am hardly an expert on needle felting - just a beginner
The pictures are george who was mohair and nimbus (ursa entry) who is a polar bear
I hope to try more puffy toes in the future!!
:hug:

fribblesltd May 22, 2006

Thank you, Kim and Ann for sharing your expertise with me!  Eileen, I am so new to needlefelting I can't even envision what you are typing about!  I look forward to learning though.

Ann, I love the toes on Nimbus!!  Your bears are adorable!

Amelia

kbonsall May 22, 2006

anne, your polar bear is ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (is this the one you had emailed me pics before?)   

No problem, Amelia I am glad that Anne chimed in so now we know it IS possible!!!     if I do another mini anytime soon, I will try this! (I am on a bigger bear kick right now!!!  :crackup: ) 

I could use Boo Boo as a guinnea pig though     HMMMM.....

matilda May 23, 2006

Amelia, when I first started I tried upholstery fabric and it doesnt work. What I do now though is felt onto the mohair just on the toe area.   You can prefelt and then stitch and' glue('naughty word) onto the paw pad fabric.
I'd love to see them when they are done.
Wendy :thumbsup:

YES EILEEN!  it is how I do my toes. I thought you had guessed hahahahah

Eileen May 23, 2006

  :dance: WooHoo, Wendy! :dance: 

I guess brilliant minds think alike

Anne, those teeny-tiny toes are amazing. I didn't know it was possible to needlefelt such a wee bit of stuff 

Eileen

Dilu May 23, 2006

Oh Anne, What fun pictures! :photo:  :photo:  Thank you

Now Amelia, Eileen and Kimmy-you guys get going....lets see your experiments!  You all do such wonderful wee ones anyway, it can only make them more whimsicle and adorable and special!

hurryhurryhurrrypicturespicturespictures

:crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:

Eileen May 23, 2006

Workin' on it . . .

Judi May 23, 2006

Hi Guys.  Yes, you sure can needle felt toes onto a mini.  I don't usually do mini's but I did make a 4" bear with needle felted toes.  I prefelted little tiny balls then sewed them to the bears feet.  Then I felted them into the foot so they would be part of the foot yet still dimensional. :dance:

Eileen May 23, 2006

I'm a little muddled.

Is it necessary to sew on needlefelted toes at all? Or is this just a way to place them in the right spots? or a precaution against disaster?

Eileen

Judi May 25, 2006

Sewingthem on first Eileen , will make cure that on one will even be able to pull them off.  I felt very firmly but I often like very dimensional toes.  I worry that a child might pull one off and choke, and I also like my work to be very solid.  Like a security blanket really.

This OPie bear has more ball-like toes so I sewed them on first.

Now if I want toes that are not raised as much, like on Sherwood, then I would not need to sew them on first.  Can you sew the difference.

I wish I could find my mini bear photo that I felted toes on.  One thing is with felting ona  small bear....I poked myslef much more often.

Judi May 26, 2006

Oh, I found my photo of my mini bear with felted toes.  ( I have WAY too many pictures in my files)

Anyway, he is the little bear and is about 5" tall (sorry, I said 4" earlier but I think he is more like 5") . I poked the heck out of my fingers while felting them onto the mohair.

ylc May 26, 2006

Very cute Toes. I like the three dimensional look. I haven't tried needle felting yet. But it is on the list of thinks to do LOL

fribblesltd May 26, 2006

..oooh, thanks for sharing more photos!  Judi, did you shade the toes after you needlefelted 'em on, or were you using different shades of wool [roving? I think is the word?]

An internet buddy is going to send me some preliminary stuff for needlefelting---I think I'm going to just make the footpads out of felt, and then try Judi's way of doing little balls, sewing 'em on, and then softening the edges.

Can't wait to try it!  Thanks everyone!

Amelia

Judi May 27, 2006

Yay Amelia ..Jump right in!  I shade the toes after felting.   Mostly  airbrushing  them.  Sometimes I use a combination of pens with airbrushing.

Using felt for the paw pads will work beautifully.  After you sew the toes onto the foot, felt the ENTIRE toe into the foot pad.  It will blend in nicely.  Keep in mind as you first make each toe, it will shrink quite a bit while felting it into the foot.  You can always add more wool though, to even them all out.

Have fun and please show us photos when youa re done.

:photo:

Amanda May 30, 2006

Hiya. I needlefelt noses on mine. It goes on like a dream with the mini fabric. I also did a 4" on mohair too, Oliver the Koala. I did his top lids, then the bottom, then the cheeks. I just remembered I've done eye accents and lids too. Go for it!

Judi May 30, 2006

Adorable Amanda! :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  Great job!!

Eileen May 31, 2006

Gorgeous toes, Judi and Amanda

I like the idea of sewing them on for 'insurance'.

Eileen