Guess what's new with Little Handfuls

 You won't believe it!  I finally started creating downloadable tutorials!  Now you can just pop on Etsy to buy and download instantly!  So far I have 2 up for purchase but there will soon be so many, it's very exciting!

This is Romeo Rabbit, the first of my downloads, he's one of the most requested creations!

https://www.etsy.com/nz/shop/LittleHandfuls

I also have a limited one for Halloween which is Boo the Ghost Bear!

As we get used to a new normal, working from home and limited access to the things we enjoy, I hope that my little tutorials will bring some fun and joy to my fellow needle felters!

As always, creators can contact me for help and advice as they work along the step by step photos, just like in my books!

Happy felting!

How did he get those cheeky cheeks? :)

Have you been trying to needle felt some cute bunnies but just can't get those cheeky cheeks right?  Here's a quite little 'how to' for you!

After you've felted the ball for his head, pull and mix the fibre for both cheeks.  Once mixed split into two balls and work back and forth, felting them down to the same size.

Here I've shown you how much the ball has shrunk as I've felted to give you an idea how much fibre to use for the cheeks.  It does shrink down a lot.  Don't felt them too hard though, just firm.

To attach the balls hold them both in place and 'tack' them on with a few deep pokes to check you are happy with placement.  If they look ok carry on.  Work slowly 

I'm happy with the placement so change down to a finer needle to keep working the cheeks until they are firmer and well attached.  As you work, keep the needle on the angle above, like you are felting one ball into the other.  This way you won't end up with a gap between them.

Want to needle a nose too?  Just take a smaller amount of fibre, felt into a firm ball and then attach, poking downward so that it sits snugly on the cheeks with no gaps.

I just love the way these turn out, they are also great for other animals like cats and dogs!

I hope you enjoyed this quick 'how to'. Stay tuned for more and feel free to make a request if you need help with anything.

You can also join our subscriber group over on facebook at just $10usd a month.  Live classes, and lots of fun.  Click here to visit my fb page  for more info.

 

How to Thread Joint your Needle Felted Critters Arms and Legs

 Today I'm sharing a step by step series of photos to help you with your thread jointing.

When we want to make movable joints on a solid felted object we can't add any hardware like cotter pins or plastic joints, we have to 'sew' the parts together.  But we need to do it in a way that allows them to be moved and posed.

When I do thread jointing I like to use dental floss, I've used it for about 20 years and still have my first ever bears.  Floss is easy to tie and very strong.

  First lay your creation out with the parts where you will want them to be when they are attached, so each arm and leg on the side where it will be attached.

Then, taking about 12 inches of floss (I measure it from my wrist to my elbow to save getting a ruler out) thread about 2 inches of the floss through the needle.

Take the needle INTO the inside of the leg, where it will touch the body, and out the other side.

Here you can see the floss going through the leg and the amount of thread left for tying off at the end.  Just leave the end loose for now, about 2 inches or so long.

Next take the needle back into the leg NEXT TO where it came out.  This creates a small stitch but it won't be noticeable.

Come out NEXT TO the tail end of thread on the other side.

You can see here that both threads are now on the 'inside' of the leg and if you put it back next to the body it gives you an idea of where you will now run the thread through the body to attach

Run your needle through from one side to the other.  Check it from all angles to make sure it is sitting straight.

Pull the thread through, the previously threaded leg will pull up next to the body.  Don't pull too firmly.

Now you can go through the other leg and back, just as we did for the first leg.

You can now take the needle back through the body and out at the other side, this should be exiting the body NEXT TO the thread that you can see going in.

PLEASE FOLLOW THE STEPS TO KNOT AND TIE OFF!  DO NOT JUST TIE A KNOT AND CUT THE FLOSS!!  Tie the first half of your knot and PULL FIRMLY.  You should check the placement of the legs now before you finish tying that knot.  Happy with it?  Finish tying the knot but then flip your work over and TIE IT AGAIN on the other side!  We aren't done yet though so DON'T CUT IT YET!

Now take your needle and re-thread the floss back onto it, both pieces.  Once threaded onto the needle, take the point of the needle BETWEEN the leg and the body, push the needle into the body and it can come out anywhere you like, that doesn't matter too much as long as it doesn't come out the other leg!!  :)

Pull it right through, then cut the thread UNDER TENSION, so that means that while you are pulling firmly, you are cutting with your other hand.  A bit fiddly but by doing this the end of the thread will go back into the body and you can't see it!  These legs are NEVER coming off! :)

Now do the same for the arms!

I hope you found this helpful.  I get asked all the time how to do thread jointing and it's so hard to explain, you really need to 'see' it! :)

Feel free to send me a message either here or on my facebook page at Little Handfuls

www.facebook.com/littlehandfuls

Happy felting!

How to Needle Felt a Brooch or Pin, for beginners!

 

Felted Heart Brooch

Welcome to my first free tutorial!  In this short lesson I will assume you have some knowledge of needle felting and already possess the basic supplies.  If you have any questions regarding what you need or want more tips do feel free to contact me on my facebook page Visit me here!

To create this brooch you will need:

💜 Felting needles in Large and small sizes

💜 Fibre in 2 colours (Merino or similar works best)

💜 Foam or similar surface to work on

💜 Small safety pin or Brooch pin

Taking a small amount of fibre, perhaps enough to fit into your fist when closed, mix well and then lightly roll into a loose ball.  Begin felting this on your foam surface with your large needle.  Keep poking and turning as you go until it begins to hold together.

This is a good way to start a very sculpted project, because the fibres are a little firmer and already beginning to hold a shape, we can then sculpt it as we wish.

For these instructions I am working on making an oval but you could make any shape you like.  Here I'm using a multi tool that holds up to 4 needles but you can do this just as well with a single needle, it just takes longer.

Begin to flatten this ‘ball’ out by felting on one side, then flipping over and felting the other side.  

To make a nice edge on your brooch, hold it between your fingers and felt around the sides, needle going directly into the middle and between your fingers.  

This can be a bit scary as you are likely to feel the needle or even get poked but working around the edge this way you can create any shape and get a nice even finish.

Keep felting until you are happy with the shape, size and surface.

For this brooch I’ve just done a simple heart.  I used two colours of merino fibre and hand mixed them together to get the blend I wanted.  This is really useful if you don’t have a lot of fibre, or if you need a specific colour for a project. 

Just mix and rub between your fingers to get them nicely blended.  Then felt into a soft ball so we can begin to sculpt the shape.

To make the heart shape I have pinched the fibre between my fingers and felted along to make a side, then turned over and made another side creating the bottom point of the heart.

To make the top just work the needle down into the fibre exactly where you want the top of the heart to be, use the finest needle and just felt softly to coax it into shape.

Check the fit and then you can begin felting your decoration onto the brooch, remember to start in the middle working outward

 Then work along the edges to form nice, defined lines and make your work stand out.

Keep sculpting all over with your fine needle, not poking too deeply as in this smaller piece it will cause dents or holes that are hard to make disappear.

You can see that for the heart I had to work down into the crease at the top of the heart to keep that nice shape and make sure it didn’t stop looking like heart.

How are you doing?  Looking the way you imagined?  Don't despair if it's not, every piece I make turns out different from the last, it's all learning and you're still having fun.  I do find that often people will love something I made that I'm not happy with, we all have different tastes and abilities!

 

To finish we will just sew on the brooch back or safety pin.  This is easily done as you normally would and you can use knots for this as they won’t be seen on the back.

Just make sure you don’t take your thread through to the front and that your pin is hidden and sewn on securely.

I hope you really enjoyed making this first project with me.  I hope to post more over the next few months so do pop back to see what's new.  Don't forget to find me on facebook especially if you want to ask any questions!

Some new friends to meet!

Hi Everyone!

I'm finally updating again!  Sorry it's been so long.  Between the day job and trying to catch up on orders after the shows I got a bit swamped!  I do have a few new friends to show off to you though!



This is Bianca!  She is felted from a gorgeous strawberry and cream merino fibre!
It's just wonderful to touch!

I gave her little rusty red coloured toes and nose which just set her off nicely!  I even had a go at mini knitting again and I think I did ok!

This is Barlow!  He's felted in the most glorious teal colour!  It's a bit different from any other that I had so I had to scoop it up when I saw it for sale at the show! lol  I think the lime sets it off nicely!

Aww, he has those big soulful teddy eyes!

Scruffy was created at one of the shows!  Neat fibre, has rayon in it and was just right for a scruffy little doggie.  This pup is currently travelling around Switzerland with my lovely friend Veronika!

Scruffy has been the start of rather a dogpile, I have a few others to make in his likeness and strangely enough they are all turning out really tiny!  Bit fiddly when it comes to the 4 legs! lol

Well I hope you liked the newbies!  I've made a couple of other things lately but you will have to wait to see those! :o)  I hope to update the adoptions page again soon too and I will pop a note on here when that is done!

Happy crafting and thanks for stopping by!

Meet my newest little darling, Clarabell

Hi Everyone!

I finally get to show you my new bears, Clarabell is needle felted from Merino/silk fibre which I then brushed up, bit by bit, to make this soft, curly finish! She is wearing a little handmade dress which I put together for her, and I then decided she needed a little friend, so I created her teddy Tom!

Tom is made from the same fibre as Clara, and in the same style but I didn't brush his fur!

Just look at that little face!

She looks so cute cuddling her teddy!

Tom is made from a lighter colour a you can see.

Sitting in a sunbeam.

She is such a sweet little handful, and already sold I'm afraid. But I do have plans to make more bears of this style, I have already made her little brother Billy and I will show him soon!

Hope you enjoyed meeting Clara and Tom!