Tag: needle felted hare

Stylish Nordic Felt Decorations You Can Make Yourself

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What a thrill to feature, and showcase the free tutorials, and amazing handmade collection from felt florist, The Tsubaki. They are the perfect addition to a minimalist, or simple Nordic style Christmas décor.

Indeed, my own home is full of her beautifully created cut felt flowers and stems; her Eucalyptus stems, Peonies, and Cherry Blossoms are to die for!

SCROLL DOWN FOR FREE FESTIVE TUTORIALS

Image shows felt christmas trees . In the background is a Christmas nome lit with pretty fairy lights

Yuki works with flat felt creating intricate designs for flowers, holiday décor, wall hangings and so much more, and her amazing Floriography (the language of flowers) skills are inspired by her creative Japanese heritage and the ever changing seasons.

FREE TUTORIALS FROM THE TSUBAKI From perfect Poinsettia’s to marvellous mini trees, why not create Yuki’s beautiful creations yourself. Click on the photos below and follow the links for some festive free tutorials. You will soon find yourself begin to relax, unwind, and enjoy the process of some meditative creativity.

mini felt Christmas trees that can be made following the free tutorials
Poinsettia garland that can be made by following the free tutorial
CLICK TO WATCH

MEET THE MAKER

Bringing together her love of nature and creating using felt, Yuki Brittain started The Tsubaki in 2017. Now, just a few years later, her business is flourishing and she is fondly known as ‘the felt florist’.

Introducing Yuki Brittain from The Tsubaki
Introducing Yuki Brittain from The Tsubaki

I was brought up in a very creative family in Japan surrounded by craft and people designing and making things! My grandmother made Kimonos, my grandfather taught me how to make straw shoes, my father still loves DIY and making his own fishing tools from scratch and my mother was also involved in the craft world. Naturally I absorbed a lot.

VISIT WEBSITE

TURNING A DREAM INTO REALITY

I started designing felt floral gardens after becoming a mum of 2 and deciding now was the time to follow my dreams of designing artificial flowers from felts. Creating natural looking flowers has given me a renewed energy and a connection to an artistic world I have always dreamed of. Our felt flower shop offers wedding bouquets, home flower arrangements, botanical gifts and more, all handcrafted in the UK.

ETHOS

Simplicity and calm. I attempt to create a sense of peacefulness all the way from my products to the design of my website to the service I provide. My aim is to transmit the beauty of nature into people’s homes and to give people a moment of clarity.

Eucalyptus felt wall hanging

THE PROCESS

My inspirations come from the outside world. I enjoy walking in the woods near my home, seeing the changes in nature throughout the seasons. My ideas on what to design usually come from these moments when connecting with nature. They can come at any point when I am outside so I always carry a sketchbook to write or draw designs as soon as inspiration hits!

I am also a keen student of flowers and visit many gardens throughout the UK and keep updated with the latest trends through social media, the internet and magazines. I like to make my flowers as representative as possible to real life so I practice the designs many hundreds of times before settling on a style.

Felt flower wall hanging
Mini felt flower bouquets

INSPIRATION

Currently I live in the countryside in Surrey. I have amazing woods within a five minute walk which I never take for granted as it gives me such a sense of belonging, amongst nature, flowers and the outdoors.

SHOP THE TSUBAKI COLLECTION

Yuki is constantly updating her designs to follow the seasons, and her beautiful website is so worth a visit, even if it is just to look at the stunning Peonies and dazzling felt flower bouquets.

SEE COLLECTION

BOOK AN ONLINE COURSE

If you have tried the free tutorials and fancy something a bit more in depth then Yuki has some amazing online courses. At just £20 per course this is amazing value, and the results are stunning! There is even a master class so you can do a deep dive into creating beautiful felt flowers with ‘The Felt Florist’.

BOOK AN ONLINE COURSE

Yuki has created courses designed for all levels, from a beginner to experienced flower makers. Showing you step by step how to recreate some of her beautiful designs.

FIND OUT MORE

Get social with The Tsubaki. Happy festive felting!

MAKE SPECTACULAR NEEDLE FELTED DECORATIONS

Why not try needle felting with these fabulous free tutorials, and fill your home with beautiful handmade Christmas décor. Made with love, by you!

CLICK FOR TUTORIALS
Image shows cute needle felted Christmas decorations. DIY Christmas wreath, bauble, gnomes and fairies

HOW TO USE WIRE FOR NEEDLE FELTING?

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DO I EVEN NEED TO USE WIRE FOR NEEDLE FELTING?

I am often asked how to use wire for needle felting, and is it even needed? The short answer is no. In fact I rarely use a full wire armature because I like a firm felt. However, using wire in specific areas can really help you create the shape you need, and create more detail and dimension.

WHEN SHOULD I USE WIRE FOR NEEDLE FELTING?

Use it in the neck of a sheep so you can pose the head, or the horns and tail of an animal to create great shapes. If you want super thin legs or arms then wire is a great solution. Alternatively, make limbs around a BBQ skewer (the ‘farmers friend’ of needle felting), to create smooth legs and perfect symmetry in super fast time. Using the BBQ skewer as a tool negates the need for using wire altogether for many projects.

USING A BBQ SKEWER WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU NEEDLE FELT!

Parsley, the needle felted hare seen below has no wire anywhere. This gorgeous needle felting project was made, almost entirely, using a wooden BBQ skewer. I started using this method back in 2017 and it has made teaching needle felting, and creating projects, so much easier!

CLICK HERE FOR

PARSLEY HARE NEEDLE FELTING KIT or PATTERN DOWNLOAD AND PRINTABLE

Watch the video tutorial, at the bottom of the post, from our Friday night felt along on the FACEBOOK GROUP, or follow the mini tutorial below, and you will be amazed at how professional the finished result is, even if you have never needle felted before!

Happy Felting!

HOW TO NEEDLE FELT FIRM LEGS WITHOUT WIRE – QUICK AND EASY TUTORIAL

Scroll to bottom of the post for the video tutorial.

Make Time: Super fast! Approximately 20 minutes for both legs plus faffing time…

You will need:

The needle felting kit and pattern are available via the links below and you can join the new FACEBOOK GROUP HERE

LOOK, NO WIRE? Making Perfect Legs Around A Wooden BBQ Skewer

As I mentioned, if string is a ‘farmers friend’ then a wooden BBQ skewer is most definitely a ‘felters friend’. Never be without one as it will change the way you needle felt, drastically reducing the chore of hours spent smoothing and shaping.

This is super easy, but technique is important and you may have a couple of false starts as the legs need to be kept tight and narrow, but that’s ok. Just unravel and start again. When finished they will be firm and smooth and the last couple of centimetres will be built up for the feet/paws. TOP TIP: Remember to keep the top of the legs very loose as they will be attached to the body and should look like they are part of the finished project, not just stuck on.

Let’s get going!

1 Select a length of carded wool or wool top/roving and split down the middle. This means that both legs will use equal amounts of wool and sizes will be more or less the same.

2 Start to wrap the wool tightly around the skewer, starting close to the top of the stick. TOP TIP: Keep the wool flat between your thumb and finger so the wool doesn’t twist and become lumpy and uneven.

3 Keeping the wool tight, continue for a little way then stop and felt around the entire area to secure. TOP TIP: Work at a diagonal angle around the sides of the stick keeping hold of the wool so it doesn’t become loose. If it does, unwrap and start again. This will also avoid bending or breaking the needle.

4 Continue with the process until the leg is approximately two thirds of its final length (you will see why when you remove it from the skewer) and add more wool to the foot to widen it. Continue to felt and shape the foot until it is firm. TOP TIP: A foot/paw that is significantly bigger than the rest of the leg will have more impact when your project is finished.

5 Remove from the stick and felt a little more but avoid the top of the leg as this needs to be kept loose for attaching to the body. TO TIP: Don’t worry if the shape is not perfect as you are going to fix that in a moment.

6 You are now going to roll the leg firmly in your hands to firm and smooth it, which will also lengthen it. When you do this keep the top of the leg sticking out, so the wool remains loose. In just a few seconds of firm rolling you will see how the leg has really firmed up and become even smoother without the need for any wires. TOP TIP: Don’t over roll it as it will become longer than needed.

Here’s what some of the fabulous Facebook group made during the live workshop! It’s a great technique that can be adapted to almost any project. Join the group HERE and come along to the free live events.

I was blown away by the quality, personality and individual styles of the projects from the FACEBOOK GROUP members and the amazing feedback has been so good!

VIDEO TUTORIAL – Felt along with me!

Watch the full tutorial and felt alongside me, workshop style.