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Felting needles

Felt with dry wool! Do things you can't do with a wet felting process!  Felting Needles $1.25 each , 4/$4.75, 10/$9.95 - Mix or match. Prices include mailing. #1 - EXTRA FINE, TRIANGULAR BLADE - 40-gauge wire. Used with very fine fiber and cloth. #2 - FINE, STAR BLADE - 38-gauge wire. Good for delicate work with fine fiber and cloth. #3 - FINE, TRIANGULAR BLADE - 38-gauge wire, Used with fine to medium fine fiber and attaching hair to dolls. #4 - MEDIUM, TRIANGULAR BLADE - 36-gauge wire.Used with medium to coarse fiber and attaching hair to dolls.  Felting Needle Starter Pack - $5.49    4 different needle styles (1 each of the above styles) with information sheet Ashford Felting Needles Punch Handle holds up to 4 needles for larger projects. Comes with five 36-gauge Ashford all-purpose needles. $39.95 Ashford felting neeedles, pkg/10 $9.95

BOOKS

THE ART OF FELTMAKING Basic Techniques for Making Jewelry, Miniatures, Dolls, Buttons, Wearables, Puppets, Masks, and Fine Art Pieces $26.25 (Anne Einset Vickrey) This book brought out the kid in me! Filled with inviting and colorful photographs, it instructs the reader, step-by-step, through making projects such as little dolls with clay feet, making felt in a plastic bag, layered balls, flower buttons, and seamless slippers and mittens. If you want a practical, yet fun, feltmaking book, this is it! 144 pgs.

THE ASHFORD BOOK OF SPINNING $27.50 (Anne Field) While basically a book on spinning, this volume contains an excellent chapter on the making of felt and some of its uses. Two books in one! 128 pgs.

FEATHERWEIGHT FELT 163 minutes $41.50 (Sharon Costello) This program focuses on traditional wet felting techniques, but with a whole new twist. Sharon uses traditional felting to produce lightweight and shimmering featherweight scarves. You will make six projects: A wensleydale lace scarf, a lattice merino wool scarf, a tencel/merino scarf, a bonded silk and merino scarf, a Nuno (wool felted into fabric) scarf, and another scarf using a variation of the Nuno technique. 163 minutes DVD

Felt Forward $23.50ppd

It seems that almost every knitter has tried shrinking her knitting in the washing machine over the past few years, and why not? Knitted felt knits up quickly and creates fun, stylish projects. In Felt Forward, Maggie Pace-proprietor of Pick Up Sticks-shares 20 stylish, contemporary projects that will find everyday use for the most modern crafter. These sophisticated designs in an elegant color palette feature a range of fibers from alpaca, angora, and acrylic. Pace uses innovative felting techniques, like knitting onto rings or hoops then felting to create unique shapes and quilting knitted pieces together and cutting away shapes to reveal negative space. Projects include soft and comfortable felted tops, purses and tote bags, colorful embossed hats, jewelry and accessories, slippers, pillows, modern home accessories, and even a strand of felted lights. With clear instructions and tips on making, shrinking, and using knitted felt, Pace gives anyone with basic knitting skills the tools to create one of a kind pieces. Beautiful photographs, step-by-step instructions and illustrations walk the first-time felter through all the processes. While the techniques and tools are simple, the shapes, colors, and materials of these pieces give them a sophisticated, urban feel that brings felt into the twenty-first century. Paperbound, 8? x 9, 128 pages, 60 photographs, 15 illustrations

Felt Frenzy $23.75ppd

This is not your ordinary felting book! Felt Frenzy explores all the major techniques of felt making, from knit-and-shrink to wet felting, needlefelting, and "recycled felting"-turning salvaged wool sweaters into useful felt pieces-plus ways to combine techniques for creative and unique results. Designed with the absolute beginner in mind, Felt Frenzy is packed with 26 projects and photographs of more than 50 before-and-after felted yarn combinations so readers can easily customize patterns with substitutions of their choice. You'll find instructions for the ever-popular felted bag, but it doesn't stop there-learn to make felted flowers, hats, jackets, scarves, wool sneakers, even a nuno felted skirt. As an added bonus, you'll find "design ideas" scattered throughout the book to give your projects an extra creative boost; these suggestions help integrate felt into other fiber arts, from embroidery to shibori. Learn all about fiber types, tools for getting started, and the four major techniques needed to create the projects in the book. Armed with plenty of information and the authors' can-do spirit, any crafter can add felting to her repertoire with Felt Frenzy! Full-color, 128 pgs.

Exploring Felting (Joan Fisher) out of print; no longer available

FELT WEE FOLK $25.50  (Salley Mavor) The charming, bendable Wee Folk fairies & dolls, and the magic of the forest in this book are real show-stoppers! Learn to create your own tiny figures and accessories using wool felt, chenille stems, simple embellishments, and this step-by-step guide. 18 projects include dolls, pins, purses, checkbook covers, pillows, and scenic backdrops. Techniques include applique, embroidery, thread wrapping, and painting, plus add your own buttons, beads, and "found objects." This is not a 'how to felt from wool' book, but rather is a continuation of what you can do with your own handmade felt. Lots of wonderful color photos and clear patterns. 80 pgs.

FELTED CROCHET $24.75 (Jane Davis) bk001h  Make bags, pillows, bowls, hats, throws. Try crochet the felted way! You can bring a new look to traditional crochet just by adding water and washing. This book will teach you everything you need to know about felted crochet, and then you can put that knowledge to work in creating 30 spectacular felted crochet projects in an array of today's exquisite wool and novelty yarns. Felt by hand or machine, embellish with beads, add machine embroidery. Make bags, purses, and things to wear, decorate your home. 125 color photos and 50 how-to illustrations.

FELTING BY HAND $15.25 (Ann Einset Vickrey) All you need is hot soapy water, wool, and some elbow grease to produce felt wearables and other items. Instructions for making slippers, mittens, hats, boots, vests. Covers the felting properties of different breeds of sheep, and which are most suitable for felting. One chapter is devoted to felt projects for children. Lots of photos and illutrations. This book is one of our best sellers. 92 pgs.

THE FELTING NEEDLE $20.00  (Ayala Talpai) This delightful book, which focuses on dry felting rather than the traditional wet method, is well-illustrated and full of how-to information. It includes a description of the felting needle and how to use it, a list of materials needed, and a series of projects (from a simple ball to happy-faced animals) for felters with varying levels of experience. Ayala, in her witty way, says of her book: "Using tools tucked handily within, feltmakers will gain absolute control over their process; sculptors will be gifted with a new medium; the obsessively tidy can make felt in their parlors; cloth dollmakers can easily implant hair on their creations. All ages and abilities welcome!" She includes four felting needles in the back of the book to be sure you're not left wanting..... Spiralbound, 63 pgs.

THE FELTING NEEDLE: Further Fantasies $23.25 (Ayala Talpai) Ayala's 2nd Volume expands on her first book. Packed with details, ideas and recently emerged techniques, and just as fun as ever! 96pgs.

FELTMAKING BY HAND - The Basic Process 51 minutes $31.50 (Anne Einset Vickrey) Feltmaking is a simple technique requiring very little equipment, which produces warm woolen wearables like hats, slippers and mittens that are fun to wear and make great gifts. You will learn how to choose the best felting wool, how to prepare it, and how to make your own patterns. You will be given complete instructions for making a felt hat and ideas for lots of other projects. A great craft for all ages! VHS

FELTMAKING $31.50  (Deborah McGavock & Christine Lewis) This wonderful, colorful book supplies not only basic information, but touches on a variety of methods: felting around solid objects and foam, needle felting, cobweb-thin felt, a glossery. You'll learn about sheep and wool, the historical and anthropological background to feltmaking, and its mythology. Chapters include Beginners's, Intermediate, and Expert Workshops. A valuable reference! Hardcover with lay-flat binding, 96 pgs.

FELT: new directions for an ancient craft  Out of print; no longer available
FELTWORK (Victoria Brown) Out of print; no longer available
FUNDAMENTALS OF FELTMAKING (Patricia Spark) Out of print; no longer available

HAND FELTED JEWELRY: 25 Artful Designs $23.75 (Carol Huber Cyper) With just a bit of wool, a needle or soap, water and thread, you can make unique and elegant jewelry and accessories. This is a comprehensive guide, offering tips on all the tools you'll need to begin and walking you gently through the process step-by-step. Start by creating the felted equivalent of lampworked (glass) beads, turquoise focal beads, mokume gane beads, and dZi bead look alikes. Then turn those handmade jewels into an elegant Rose Bolo, flamboyant Felted Glass Pendant, an inspired Calla Lily Neckland, and more. Lots of color and inspiration! 120 pgs.

HANDMADE FELT $33.50 (Ondori) This colorful book has only a few words in English - - it's written in Japanese - - but the photos are so clear that words seem unnecessary. There are whole sections of methods, patterns, and original ideas. I guess when it comes to fibers, it really is a small world! On our shelf...Be sure to take a look at it when you stop in. 90 pgs.

HOW TO MAKE FELT: Create Hats, Bags, Rugs, Masks, and Much More $19.50 (Anne Belgrave) Felt, one of man's earliest fabrics, dates back to prehistoric times but is still popluar today. We are not dealing with the little squares of commercially made felt you can buy, but with a vibrant, malleable creative textile that grows and develops under your hands, infinitely variable and made from pure natural wool. This book shows you in clear color photographs how to make felt and how to create a wide range of stunning items which are made by shaping and forming in the feltmaking process rather than by sewing: hats, bags, slippers, rugs, blankets, masks and wall hangings. Make plain or patterned felt; inlay multi-colored designs into it; try out unusual wools such as llama, camel or alpaca; sew it or embroider it. Book is filled with color photographs, which include uses of felt around the world, such as the Turkish shepherd cloaks on page 13. Just looking through it is an education in itself! 80 pgs.

How We Felt Designs and Techniques from Contemporary Felt Artists by Carol Huber Cypher   $26.50ppd

How We Felt Felt artist Carol Huber Cypher takes readers behind the scenes in search of the techniques and inspirations that define the best contemporary feltmakers. In this beautifully photographed book, images of signature works by admired fiber artists are complemented by in-depth information on creating their unique effects. Beginning with an iconic project, the technique of felting around a ball that artist Beth Beede made famous and taught throughout the world, the book continues with more than 20 artists and highlights diverse forms, including hats, capes, a dress, bags, slippers, jewelry, rugs, pillows, a curtain, an ottoman, and other decorative pieces, plus vessels, hanging installations, a felted chess set, and other art forms. A gallery showcases other artists and provides further ideas to spark the fiber artist's imagination. Readers are encouraged to use the examples and instructions to inform their own creative endeavors. In addition to practical information on creating the pieces shown, each project is accompanied by biographical information and insights into the artist's own inspiration. The combination of images, ideas, and information make this book a must-have for feltmakers who want to deepen their repertoire of techniques, aspiring fiber artists seeking new directions for their work, and any reader wanting to be dazzled with breathtaking images of inventive artwork. Paperbound, 8.5 x 10.25, 144 pages, 75 photographs, 50 illustrations

video...
INTRODUCTION TO NEEDLE FELTING: Sculpting a Doll with Sharon Costello 131 minutes $41.50 What a wonderfully fun video to learn this popular craft by! The dolls that Sharon makes are fabulously detailed. Watching her make the face is downright cheerful! She leads you through making the face, body, fine clothing, hands, feet, hair, and accessory details. Your resulting doll comes alive with its own personality! This technique uses no water; the wool remains dry. You will use felting needles to felt your wool fibers together. (1 needle included) Sharon reviews the type of fiber needed to work with when doing needle felting. VHS

New addition . . .
KNIT IT! FELT IT! $21.50 (edited by Bobbie Matela) This inspiring array of projects has creative flair and sophisticated style. The secrets of the exciting hot felting trend are revealed in an easy-to-follow format. Make spectacular felted wearables including hats, scarves, purses, slippers and mittens or home decor items like oven mitts, hot pads, coasters, wine bottle and teapot cozies. A general information section at the back of the book provides quick reference to your questions. You will love the mystery, anticipation and final finished felted projects that you create! Full color. Paperback, 176 pgs.

MAKING FACES using Wet and Dry Felting Methods $19.25 (Patricia Spark) The felting needle is a great aid to the hand feltmaker. By combining this tool with traditional felting techniques, you can greatly increase the creative potential of this medium. The needle has small notches along its edges which push fiber along to intermix with the fiber lying below it. Thus, the fibers are tangled together creating felt, without the need for soap or water! With the needle you can be very precise, attaching small amounts of fiber just where you'd like them to bee. Three-dimensional shapes can easily be added to a surface, increasing the potential for sculptural form. The possibilities are endless. In this book, Spark shows how to use the needle to create faces. By combining the sculptural possibilities of the felting needle with traditional felting, you can add faces to any of your favorite felt forms. Paperback, spiral lay-flat binding, b&w photos & drawings. 64 pgs.

NEEDLE FELTING: Art Techniques & Projects $18.25 (Anne Einset Vickrey) All you need to create fiber art is some wool, a foam work surface, and a felting needle. Designed to guide the beginner through simple projects, allowing them to become comfortable with using the tools, the book also has useful info for the experienced needle felter. Five projects increase in difficulty as you work through the book. More advanced techniques include sculpting a face and combining wet and dry feltmaking techniques to make a fairy doll. 60 pgs.

very inspirational . . .
SIMPLY FELT: 20 easy and elegant designs in wool $26.50 (Margaret Docheerty & Jayne Emerson) This new book covers quite a range of possibilities! Learn about: Making felt from old knitted fabrics; Making felt from raw wool and other fibers; Felting by hand or washing machine; Creating flat fabrics and sculptural shapes; Inlaying fibers for color and texture effects; Easy step-by-step instructions. Projects include a book cover, shoulder bag, briefcase, scarves, lampshade, runner, bucket bag, three kinds of slippers, hat, glasses case, and more. From Interweave Press, so you know it's good! Lots of color. 128pgs.

video...
TRADITIONAL FELT MAKING IN TURKEY: kece, kepenik, arakiye, and sikke 54 minutes $31.50 (production/commentary: Janet Willoughby) Feltmaking is one of the oldest textile traditions. In Anatolia, felt is still produced for the making of sikkes and kepeniks, saddlecloths and rugs and hangings. This program has been compiled as an accurate and faithful record of the craft. Filmed entirely in Turkey and often in restricted conditions, the program is intended as a detailed record of real practical interest to any practitioners of the craft and has unique historical value.