Every now and again I will dabble in a bit of needle felting. For those who don't know what needle felting is there is a quick description below.
One day last week I got the 'creative urge' to make a life-size rabbit. After many, many hours and stabbings of my fingers enough to draw blood, I am pleased to say the bunny is finished.
I still want to make him a carrot or two, but other than that here he is.
Needle felting is a popular fibre arts craft that creates felt without the use of water. Special needles that are used in industrial felting machines are used by the artist as a sculpting tool. While erroneously referred to as "barbed" needles, they in fact have notches along the shaft of the needle that grab the top layer of fibres and tangle them with the inner layers of fibres as the needle enters the wool. Since these notches face down towards the tip of the needle, they do not pull the fibres out as the needle exits the wool. Once tangled and compressed using the needle, the felt can be strong and used for creating jewelry or sculpture. Using a single needle or a small group of needles (2-5) in a hand-held tool, fine details can be achieved using this technique, and it is popular for 2D and 3D felted work.
