Christmas Stockings

Hand Needle Felting

Materials:

stocking pattern*
base fabric
felting needle – has barbs near the tip to push the fibers down
unspun fibers – the fibers before they are spun into yarn
yarns
3" high dense soft foam pad (for hand felt punching)
permanent pen
Mylar - optional
*Draw a stocking pattern or locate ideas from coloring books, online searches, etc.

1. Draw the stocking design with a permanent pen on the base fabric (figure A).

2. Lay the base fabric on top of the foam pad.

3. Arrange the fibers on the base fabric and punch with a felting needle (figure B). Keep the needle straight up and down and punch down approximately 1/4 inch. Determine the elements of the composition that are basted in place first. Think of the composition as layers. Baste the elements that are on the bottom first.

4. Baste the fibers in place on the base fabric by punching a few punches in the center of each element and a few punches on the outside to hold the fibers in place. If not in the right position, pull out and reposition.

6. Add accent colors to create depth, dimension or highlights (figure C). Add a thin accent layer of fiber, blend two or more fibers together. Also consider how light would affect your composition.

7. To determine the amount of needle punching consider these factors:

• If the item is to be handled, it should be punched from the top, underside (figure D) and once again from the top.
• If the items are not to be handled (wall hangings, etc.), it only needs to be punched from the topside.