Hints and Tips

Here are some vital points to keep your art programme moving this year...

Dry Felting Tips

• Felting needles are made from hardened steel, usually with a triangular profile, and are very sharp. They have tiny barbs or notches near the point of the needle. The brittle needles are likely to break if they are flexed; they require a straight up and down action into the loose fibre. When the needle is repeatedly poked in and out of a mass of loose wool, its "barbs" tangle and interlocks the fibre and eventually makes felt.
• Needle felting doesn't require strength, but it does require patience and concentration.
• The needles are very sharp, so a block of foam rubber is an essential piece of equipment to prevent the needle pricking the artist’s fingers.

Other projects with Felt and Wool

• Felting Zebra
• Felting Jester
• Felting Spider
• Wool Hanging
• Wool Lion


• Dispense It by Zart is a fabulous new product which provides you with a convenient and tidy way to store and dispense your wool. Say goodbye to tangle yarns with this great storage idea. Available in Acrylic Wool (CQ060) or Fancy Yarn (CQ080)
• The teachers could get S hooks or butcher hooks and hang off the trolley i.e. raffia, ribbons, etc.
• Keep any pulled Hessian threads in a collage box as they make great hair or texture in artworks.
• Ask students to keep any ribbons they receive around presents as they are fabulous for weaving through Hessian.
• Ask students to start collecting buttons, as they make great eyes, and decorations for puppets and other collages.