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We sell wool felt, so we shouldn't love moths. But the heart wants what the heart wants. Thanks to Maker Team member Maddy of @maddywilsonart, our hearts want this Needle Felted Moth. It's clever construction and opportunities for embellishment already have us dreaming of more!
This cutie is intended for beginners to easily master and felt makes the wings and antenna quickly. With this tutorial you will also learn how to attach long fur that you can use in future critter creations.
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: 1 1/2 - 2 hours
Additional Supplies:
Felt Pattern (click to download)
Skewer or Chopstick
Directions:
1. Take small strips of core wool and wrap TIGHTLY around skewer (or similar utensil.) Begin about 3" from tapered end and wrap toward taper, over edge and back toward starting point or base.
2. With each new layer, tack down wool at base. Use thumb to make a flat end that figurine will ultimately stand on. You can also stab the needle up toward the base to keep it flat. Take time to needle felt around growing figure at shallow angles to avoid stick in the center.
3. Remove core wool from stick when it reaches desired size. Pictured example is 3" tall and 2" wide. Continue to felt shape more tightly.
4. Wrap entire shape in Black wool roving.
5. For Eyes, take a small wisp of Crimson roving and roll into a loose ball between finger tips, smaller than a pea. Repeat for second Eye. Tack down lightly for placement, then felt down and shape edges into a circle. Eyes should be about 1" from top with 1/2" in between.
6. For Mane. take a small wisp of Crimson roving and wrap around neck as guideline.
7. Create Mane fur by making short thin strips of roving as shown.
Place it halfway across guideline and tack down in a straight line on guide.
Fold roving down and give a few stabs along top to encourage roving to stay down. Repeat fully around neck.
8. Trim to desired length and shagginess. After trimming, stab around middle of fur a bit to tack down.
9. Cut out Wings (see Felt Pattern above) from Black felt. If you want to add decoration to Wings, do it now. Center Wings on back and use small amount of Black roving to adhere felt. In the example, I placed Wings under Mane to hide attachment.
10. Cut out Antenna (see Felt Pattern above) from Black felt and make small triangle notches along edges as shown. Use Black roving to adhere felt to top of head as in Step 9.
Thanks for following along! For those that enjoy embellishments, you can make the moth wings as ornate as you like with the felt as a foundation. This project is also easy to scale up if you need a beefier moth in your life - just add more core wool in the first stages!
Thanks to Maddy for designing and writing this tutorial! You can see more of her work on Instagram @maddywilsonart and on her website. Stay tuned for more tutorials from the Benzie Design Maker Team!
