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Michelle Helen Jul 10, 2008

I just saw a wonderful bear that had needle felted eyelids. Does anybody know how to do this? Do you put the eye in first or do you do the eyelids first? I took one needle felting class from our Bobby Ripperger a few years ago, so I have the needles, but I never needle felted anything else (sorry Bobby, I’m a bad student who did not practice!!). But overall, can somebody give me an idea of how to do this technique in steps?

Nancy D Jul 10, 2008

Lisa of qd Patooties has a nice tutorial on the other forum for needlefelted eyelids
Here is the link http://www.eii2.com/Community/viewtopic … ht=eyelids

Donna Jul 10, 2008

Hi,
The eyelids on my avatar are needle felted.  I used a piece of felt cut to the shape I wanted the eyelid to be then needle felted onto the felt piece.  This was going onto a real fur piece so I could not needle felt it onto the face.  After the eyelid was how I wanted it, I stitched it onto the face.  If I had been working on a mohair critter, I would have needle felted it onto the face, but I would have used the felt base so that both eyelids would have been close to the same size. 
Donna

desertmountainbear Jul 10, 2008

Dear Michelle Helen,  I needle felt the eyelids on my bears.  I start by needle felting a strip, then I cut the size I want from it and attach around the eyes, which are already in place.  I attach it with my felting needle.  As I go I sometimes add more fiber to the eyelid, I use the needle oh so gently around the glass eye, so I don't break the needle.  I also hold the eye with my finger steady in place as I felt around it.  I always shade the eyelids with paint, so I also add a sealer to the eyelids, it makes them harder, and makes the shading with the paint go much smoother
Joanne

Michelle Helen Jul 11, 2008

Thank you Joanne, Donna and Nancy for responding to my question. Nancy that was a great tutorial you posted. Donna and Nancy, your tips were wonderful.

Joanne: what kind of sealer do you use? I assume it is safe for fabric? Do you just place it over the painted area or the entire eyelid?

desertmountainbear Jul 11, 2008

Dear Michelle Helen,  After I felt before I paint, I use Delta all purpose sealer, it is like a clear gesso, which prepares porous material for painting.  I am not careful and often get it on the eye, it leaves a film, but then when dried it can be easily scraped off.  I also use a floating medium when I paint the eyelid, so I can easily layer on thin coats of color, and this prepares the surface for this.  One more thing after all painting is done, I go back with just a smidge of white wool and tuck it around the corners and bottom with the needle to add whites.  If I was not going to paint I would not seal, because this does leave a shiny appearance which you can see.
Joanne

sockerplinga Jul 11, 2008

Nancy, what a great tutorial! Now I have to try too, I think

Michelle Helen Jul 12, 2008

Thank you Joanne for your tips!! The eyes on your bear look fabulous!!

Barbara Jul 15, 2008

Hello,
I'm new to bearmaking and to forums so please forgive me if I get off to a slow start.  The needlefelting tips were just great and I loved the bear's eyes.  Thanks so much for sharing.  Do you have any ideas about where I can get info on how to make my own bear patterns?  Would have loved to get a copy of Nancy Tillberg's book "101 Bears to Make"  but I understand it's selling for over $300 a copy on either eBay or Amazon.  BooHoo.

desertmountainbear Jul 15, 2008

Dear Barbara,  You have come to the right place.  Go to the top of this post and you will see on the left side the library.  Scroll through and you will find patterns, I just looked and there seem to be quite a few postings on how to design your own patterns, start there and you may find what you need
welcome to TT
Joanne

Bear Hearts Jul 21, 2008

Hi Michelle,

The way that I do them is a little different, but works great for me. I take flat wool felt, cut it in the shape of a football, then I fold that in half; the edge of the fold becomes your lid I then use tacky glue to keep the felt folded, and I glue the lid to the eye using tacky glue, once this is done I use a felting needle to shape the raw edges and push the felt fibers into the mohair don't wait for the glue to dry, and don't apply glue to about 1/8 th of the raw edge in your lid since this will be felted into the mohair.  You can get really nice results that look great using this method and best of all the glue makes this double secure.

Robert

desertmountainbear Jul 21, 2008

Thank you Robert, I m going to try this,  I like the idea of wool felt giving me a smoother lid,  I love the look of felting, but around the eyes and nose, I do like it to be smoother
Joanne

Michelle Helen Jul 21, 2008

Thank you Robert for the tip on making the eyelids...I  need to experiment!!!