Needle Felting: A basic body (aka how to make new friends in a lockdown)

Okay so the lockdown may have gotten to me a little because I've decided to start making people! This is a simple way to make a small doll that you can then decorate, either with needle felting or sewing. What I love so much about this is that once the basic shape is done you can just pop it into the washing machine and tumble dryer to further felt your creation. It will change the shape a bit, but for me that's part of the fun!
If you'd like to make your own new friend then you will need -
Felting needles in handles
Finger protectors - you don't want to bleed on them, that's no way to start a friendship
Something to felt on, I'm using a cloth bag filled with rice
Some fibre - I'm using eider roving but you can use whatever wool fibre you like.
The music used in this video is Sunspots by Jeremy Blake
The ending music is - Mizuki by Bad Snacks
Before I go I just wanted to say a great big thank you to everyone who's watched, liked, subscribed and commented over the past year! You guys are amazing and we've now reached 200+ subscribers which just blows my mind! I hope to improve my videos as I go along, I know there's lots of room for it, so thank you for hanging on in there with me as I learn all this computer and video stuff. x

[@jennieleegems]

Thank you ! 🙏🏻

[@TheCraftingChez]

Thank you for watching 😊

[@littlewhitedaisy11]

Thank you for making such a good tutorial. I'm going to give this a go. When I'm out walking and see sheep wool caught on fences, I take it home, wash it and save those bits. Could I use that for this project?

[@TheCraftingChez]

Hi Christina, thank you for watching! Yes you can definitely use the wool you find, just make sure you get the lanolin out when you wash it. It's such a wonderful idea too! I love that you'll know exactly where the wool came from for your creations and they'll be a reminder of your walks 😀

[@estelletester6571]

Love your videos and the way you explain and show everything 😊 can we felt straight after it comes out of the wash or does it need to dry first? X

[@TheCraftingChez]

Thank you, I really appreciate that! Yes, you can felt while it's still wet, I like to tumble dry first thought as this helps to shrink everything together. If you're decorating with different colours needle felting after its shrunk will give you sharper details. If you want a softer finish you can needle felt onto the wet doll and tumble dry after. If you're not going to tumble dry just be sure it dries fully, otherwise the wool can go a bit musty. It might be worth wiping down your needle too if felting wet to prevent rusting. Hope this helps. Happy felting! x