I have just come back from a craft show in Glasgow, and I heard so many of the familiar comments from passers-by:
“Oh, I tried needle felting. It’s not for me.”
I hear this at every show. Sometimes, I will ask, “Oh, why didn’t you like it?”
Sometimes, I genuinely cannot ask because the answer is ALWAYS the same.
“It didn’t work. The needles, the wool, the instructions, and the POLYSTYRENE shape!”
Kill me now!!
I wish there were a standard that needle felting kits had to meet, to save millions of people wasting their £3.99, £4.99 or whatever they paid.
Yes, they might not have spent a lot of money, especially if they bought a kit from a cheap supermarket, Temu, The Works, Hobbycraft, The Range, or somewhere similar.
But guess what? You buy a crap kit, your needle felting goes to s£&@t!
Excuse my foul language, but I feel so strongly about this. Wool is beautiful, needle felting is one of the easiest crafts to learn, and frankly, all of you deserve better.
So, here is what to watch out for!
1. The price: if it’s less than £10, alarm bells should ring!
Cheap kits are often cheap for a reason. As the old saying goes: buy cheap, buy twice!
That is, if you actually realise it’s the kit that’s wrong.
The worst-case scenario? You think it’s YOU that can’t do it.
My heart is bleeding!!!
It is NOT you!
Of course, price alone doesn’t tell you everything about a kit, but if you are buying a complete needle felting kit for less than a tenner, take a good look at what you are actually getting.
Because if the wool is poor, the needles are rubbish, and the instructions are useless, that bargain might end up costing you more in frustration than you ever saved in money.
2. Made in China? Let’s talk about it!
Shock horror! China produces some amazing products, and we would all be lost without many of them. I know, that’s a fact.
However, when it comes to cheap needle felting kits, I have yet to be convinced.
Many of the cheap kits I have seen contain materials and tools that simply don’t give beginners a fair chance.
And then there is the wool.
Where has it come from? What do you know about how the animals were treated? Who supplied it?
You might not be able to establish all of this just by looking at the packaging, but you can look for a reputable supplier, clear information about the wool, and credible animal welfare standards.
Never assume that wool is cruelty-free simply because it says “wool” on the packet.
At The Makerss, we believe you should know what you are working with. The materials matter.
3. Read the label. What is actually in the kit?
Check the packaging for the contents and any other information. What is listed can give you a massive clue about the quality of the kit.
First question: is it actually wool?
One of the beautiful things about needle felting is that you can create something wonderful using a natural fibre. If you have deliberately chosen wool because you want to work with a natural material, you need to know what you are buying.
Look at the needles, too.
How many are included? In my view, three needles should be a sensible starting point for a complete beginner’s kit, although the right number and size depend on the project.
And what else is included? Is there enough wool? Are there clear instructions? Can you get help if you get stuck?
A kit should give you what you need to learn, not leave you guessing.
4. Practically useless Instructions!
If your kit comes with a single sheet of instructions, no pictures, text translated into five different languages, and a video link that has expired, you are in trouble.
That is NOT OK, and you deserve more!!
Needle felting is easy to learn, but that doesn’t mean beginners magically know what to do.
You need to see how the wool is shaped, where to stab, how to build up the form, and what the finished result should look like.
Good photographs make a difference. Clear, well-written instructions make a difference. A useful video tutorial can make an enormous difference.
And if you get stuck, you should have a reasonable way of finding help.
A tiny sheet of text that leaves you more confused than when you started is not good enough.
5. The dreaded P word: POLYSTYRENE!
There, I said it.
If your project is supposed to be made by needle felting wool directly into a polystyrene shape, I would seriously question that kit.
First of all, why spoil a perfectly natural wool project by putting a plastic shape inside it?
Polystyrene is a type of plastic. It is not readily biodegradable, and it can persist in the environment for a very long time, gradually breaking into smaller plastic particles. Scientific evidence supports the persistence of polystyrene in the environment.
There is also a practical issue. Felting needles are designed to tangle wool fibres together. They are not designed to stab into plastic.
Stabbing into a polystyrene shape can damage and snap the needle, and the shape itself can crumble or break as you work.
And what about the tiny particles that might be released as the polystyrene is damaged? Mechanical abrasion can contribute to plastic fragmentation, including the formation of microplastics. However, the amount released during needle felting, and the extent to which you might inhale particles, have not been established specifically for this activity. Research on microplastics and inhalation exposure highlights how much remains uncertain.
The same applies to your felting mat. A foam mat might seem like the obvious choice, but it is still plastic, and repeated stabbing can cause it to break down and shed tiny particles over time. A wool mat is a much better option for the same reasons: it is made from a natural fibre, it is kinder to your needles, and it gives you a firm, supportive surface to work on without introducing unnecessary plastic into your project.
So why introduce unnecessary plastic into a project that could be made with wool?
At The Makerss, we want you to enjoy working with wool and learn how to shape it properly. You don’t need a polystyrene shape or a plastic foam mat to do that.
Please, let’s leave the P word out of our needle felting!
6. Needles: they are NOT all the same!
At first glance, felting needles may all look the same, but trust me, they are not!
Some are so poorly made that they are terrible to work with, even when you are using the best wool around.
Cheap kit = potentially cheap needles. How else do you suppose they can afford to sell the whole thing so cheaply?
The quality of a needle matters. Its shape, gauge, and notches all affect how it works with the wool.
You should also have the right needle for the job. Different sizes are useful for different stages of a project, from shaping and building up the form to refining the details.
And please make sure you have spare needles!
Felting needles are delicate and can break, particularly if you use them at the wrong angle or force them into a material they weren’t designed for.
Imagine getting halfway through your project, breaking your only needle, and discovering you can’t finish your make.
Frustrating? Absolutely.
7. Wool: tops versus batts
Many of you already know my views about tops versus batts!
Wool tops are long, aligned fibres that have been prepared into a continuous length. Batts are wool fibres that have been carded into a looser, more cloud-like layer.
Both have their uses, but for beginners, I often recommend starting with wool batts.
Why?
When you are creating a three-dimensional shape, you need to build up the form and sculpt the wool. Batts are generally easier to shape and build up for this kind of work.
Tops can be more challenging to sculpt into a 3D shape because their long fibres are aligned and can be harder to control when you are trying to build volume.
Remember how needle felting works? The notches on the needle catch the fibres and push them into one another, helping them interlock.
Long fibres can take more work to felt evenly into a compact shape, particularly when you are a beginner. The result can be hours of stabbing with very little progress, leaving you wondering what on earth you are doing wrong.
And, of course, a cheap kit might not even contain wool!
That might be fine if you deliberately want to work with synthetic fibres, but it is not what you want if you chose a kit because you wanted to work with a natural material.
So, how can you tell what you are buying?
One traditional test for distinguishing wool from many synthetic fibres is a burn test. Please do not try this on loose fibres while crafting, and never hold a flame near your kit or clothing. If you choose to carry out a fibre test, use a tiny sample in a controlled, fire-safe setting, away from anything flammable, and follow appropriate fire safety precautions.
Wool tends to singe, smells like burnt hair, and leaves a dark, crushable residue. Many synthetic fibres melt, often forming a hard bead or clump, and some burn with a flame. However, fibre blends and finishes can complicate the result, so this is not a definitive identification test.
And please remember: wool is naturally flame-resistant, but it is not impossible to set fire to. Never assume it is fireproof!
8. So, do yourself a favour!
Stay away from the cheap and nasty stuff!
You are worth spending a little more on a decent kit when you try a new craft.
You deserve to enjoy the experience, learn a new skill, and feel proud of what you have made. You should not have to fight with rubbish materials and then blame yourself when it all goes wrong.
And guess what? I know for sure that anybody who already needle felts won’t fall for the cheap stuff!
If a complete kit costs less than a tenner, I would certainly want to know why.
I have tested a few kits myself, and some I simply opened to have a look inside.
Let’s just say I didn’t even want to take them to a charity shop because I felt nobody should be subjected to such rubbish.
And that’s why they ended up in the bin!
I know this is a strong opinion, but after more than 22 years of needle felting experience and 15 years of designing kits, I feel very strongly about it.
I want more people to discover the joy of needle felting. I want beginners to succeed. And I want people to realise just how beautiful wool is and what you can achieve with it.
If you tried needle felting and decided it wasn’t for you, please don’t assume you were the problem.
Perhaps you were simply given the wrong kit.
Give it another chance. Find a kit with quality wool, decent needles, and clear instructions. Find someone who can teach you, show you the techniques, and help you along the way.
Because needle felting really can be a wonderful craft.
And you deserve better than a £3.99 kit that puts you off for life!