Introduction to Needlefelting

bunny brooches - perfect for Spring time!

Hello! I have some very exciting news to share today - I am going to be teaching my first workshop! This is something that I have wanted to do for a long, long time but have never actually taken the time out to fully visualise, plan and organise ... until now!! 

pincushion in progress

So, what is needlefelting? Put simply, needlefelting is the transformation of wool into 3D objects using a very sharp, barbed needle. The wool fibres become tangled and then tighten causing them bond together into a solid shape. You can manipulate the wool in many different ways creating a huge variety of effects. It's a craft that I really enjoy because it very quickly develops from a smooshy handful of wool into a finished piece - it's very satisfying and addictive!

needlefelting in action!

My first workshop will be held on the morning of Saturday 7th March at Dalmore Croft, Barry near Carnoustie. Dalmore Croft is a 12 acre small holding owned and run as a small mixed farm by Rosemary and Dan Champion, and the workshop will take place in their wonderfully cosy, converted outhouse - complete with wood burning stove and comfy chairs.

the studio at Dalmoe Croft

bunny brooches with the cosy
wood burner in the background

Over the course of the morning I am going to teach my students to make a small pincushion with a vintage cotton reel base and a bunny brooch. There will be lots of colour options available in the Merino wool for the pincushion, playing with colour combinations will be fun! The brooch can be tailored to suit lots of different styles and made in natural Blue Faced Leicester wool or in the bolder colours of the dyed Merino fibre. By the end of the morning my students will have the skills and confidence to carry on with the craft at home - the possibilities are endless!

... and me!
 All photos taken by Niall Mitchell

As you can tell, I am really excited about the opportunity to start teaching - I hope this is the first of many! If you would like to join me on this course you can book here. If you have any questions, please get in touch via the comments below or directly with Dalmore Croft.

Until next time,

Marta xx

My current crochet project

Hello! Today I wanted to share my current crochet project with you - it's a really colourful blanket which is sure to brighten up your day!

I began work on this toddler size blanket back in October last year using all the little scraps from my wool stash.

The individual squares are made up of multiple odd ends of wool, needle felted together to form a continuous ball and then crocheted in corner to corner stitch, before adding a neutral border. The needle felted join creates what I call Happy Scrappy Wool and it's very easy to make your own - I  have even created a You Tube video with step-by-step instructions here.

I very quickly became addicted to the process of adding squares and I soon had a 4 x 4 square blanket!

However, like a lot of my projects, the initial euphoria passed and the project was relegated to the WIP (work in progress) pile! It remained there until I dug it out last week and has seen lots of attention since then, in fact, it's almost finished!

The photo above was taken in my back garden at the weekend and the photo below was taken this morning, just 2 more squares to reach my 6 x 6 target! The next step will be to add a couple of rounds of cream before finishing with a colourful border. I keep changing my mind about how I want this to look because I don't want to detract too much from the individual squares. One thing's for sure, it's not going back in the WIP pile so I should be able to post a finished photo soon!

Until then, happy hooking,

Marta xx