Needle Felting
Needle felting or ‘needle punching’ as it is sometimes called is a form of ‘dry’ felting used to embellish pieces of felt or other stable fabrics in the traditional method or to create textured fabric.
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The ‘felting needle’ has no eye as in a conventional needle, instead the needle has ‘barbs’ that catch the chosen surface fibres and push them into a base fabric, ‘felting’ the two together.
The ‘felting needle’ was developed for large commercial felting machines but it has been used for years by individual ‘felters’, craftworkers working it by hand ‘punching’ one fabric into another.
Recently there has been a revival in the interest in felt making, especially in Europe where the craft is believed to have originated and also in Scandinavia and the United States. Contemporary felt making designs and techniques becoming more widespread.
ACE, the leading specialist in the Education Sector in the UK for textile equipment noticed the growing tendency for Schools and Colleges to teach the method of ‘wet’ felting. The process of using heat, moisture with soap and pressure or agitation. When asked why they did not teach ‘needle felting’, the textile/art teachers replied “the method is far to tedious along with the dangers of using the sharp 7" barbed needle by hand”! With this in mind ACE set about developing a suitable machine for both schools and craftworkers alike.