No bones about it, our newest tutorial is a must make for the spooky season: a Needle Felted Skeleton! From Maker Team member Ashley of @ashleylewiscreates comes this heirloom doll that looks equally at home in the playroom or on the Halloween table. Need a refresher before getting started? Check out this tutorial for some needle felting basics!
Channel your inner Dr. Frankenstein and make your own Halloween monster! This fun felted skeleton is a great chance to practice some basic needle felting shapes and techniques that can be applied to lots of other projects.
Skill Level: Intermediate
Time: 3 1/2 hours
Additional Supplies:
Fabric Shaver or Scissors - optional
Directions:
Needle Felting Skeleton Body
1. To create the Head, pull piece of Black roving about 7" long. Double knot to compress fibers, then roll into a ball.
Place ball on felting mat and begin stabbing it with 38 gauge needle. Continue stabbing to felt fibers together, rotating to felt all sides evenly. Stab needle at different angles to felt inner fibers.
Once loosely felted, evaluate size of the ball. The goal is a ball about 1" in diameter. If necessary, add more roving, wrapping it around and felting new fibers.
After several minutes you will start to feel more resistance in needle. At this point, switch to 40 gauge needle and refine head by felting lumpy, fuzzy, uneven or soft areas. Rolling the ball between your palms can also help improve evenness and felt fibers together. When finished, head should be able to be compressed only slightly, like a ripe citrus.
2. To create the Torso, pull larger piece of Black roving about 10" long. Knot several times to compress fibers. Felt Torso in same manner as Head (Step 1.) The goal is a flattened egg shape about 1 ¾" long.
3. To create an Arm, pull small piece of Black roving around 4" long. Wrap around a felting needle several times to compress. Push roving off needle onto mat and proceed with felting process.
At one end, push needle straight through tube when felting to create even, rounded end. At opposite end, leave roving mostly unfelted to attach to the Body. Be careful not to push needle through other side of arm. The goal is a 2" long x ½" thick tube. Leave arms slightly less firm as details will be added in later steps.
Repeat Step 3 to create a second arm.
4. To create Legs, repeat Step 3 two times. Felt Legs to be slightly thicker and shorter than arms.
Assembling Skeleton Body
5. To attach an Arm, pull short length of Black roving and place it on side of Torso at top of egg shape. Place Arm on top, aligning bulk of felted section with desired placement. Wrap loose fiber around top of Arm and use 38 gauge needle to felt loose fibers to both body parts to connect. Angle needle in all directions when stabbing, pushing fibers into both Torso and Arm. Be sure to felt in armpit to fully secure.
After Arm is loosely attached, add more roving, if necessary, to make a smooth shoulder shape. Once you feel resistance in needle, switch to 40 gauge needle to finish and refine shoulder. Repeat for second arm.
6. To attach Legs, felt Legs to bottom of Torso in same manner as Step 5. Use additional roving to start and wrap around top of Leg and groin area for a more gradual transition between pieces.
7. To attach the Head, pull small length of Black roving and place it on top of Torso. Felt roving slightly, then place Head on top. Wrap roving up around Head and felt, stabbing around outside. Stab needle through base of Head and top of Torso at multiple angles. Wrap additional roving horizontally around base of Head and felt. Continue felting the two pieces together until securely attached.
8. Evaluate overall body shape. Add more fiber and felt with 40 gauge needle where necessary.
Needle Felting Bones
9. To create the Spine, pull narrow length of White roving about 1 1/2 times the length of Torso. Fold in half and roll between fingers to compress fibers, tucking ends into roll. Place vertically down center of Torso and, starting at top, felt in place with 40 gauge needle.
Work down the Spine, attaching it in place. About 1/2" from bottom of Torso, push fibers in with needle to end Spine. Go back over, gently tucking in edges by pushing needle in at an angle towards the spine. Felt down center of Spine to fully secure. Felt shallowly to avoid overfelting Body and pushing White roving through to back.
10. To create the Ribs, pull narrow length of White roving about 1 1/2 times the width of Torso. Felt in same manner as Spine, with new roving placed about 1/2" from top of Torso, horizontally across Spine. Curve roving slightly by tacking ends higher than the center. This is the first rib.
Repeat Step 10 twice more to create rib cage.
11. To create the Pelvis, pull very small piece of White roving and roll/shape into loose, flat oval. Place on one side of base of Spine and felt outside edge in place. Along edge nearest Spine, push oval shape into more of a point, angling needle toward a single point as you pass it through multiple places. Clean up edges by pushing loose or overhanging fibers at an angle downward toward Spine.
Repeat for other side of Pelvis.
Repeat Step 11 with even smaller pieces of Black roving. Place shapes on top of White pelvis to create negative space.
12. To create Arm and Leg Bones, pull small piece of White roving. Fold to about ¾" long and roll between fingers to compress. Felt it into top of one Arm, poking shallowly. Repeat, adding second piece to bottom of Arm to create second bone.
Repeat Step 12 for second Arm and both Legs.
Pull a tiny piece of White roving and roll between fingers into a ball. Felt between two Arm bones to make an Elbow. Repeat three more times to create two Elbows and two Kneecaps.
13. To create a Face, pull a length of White roving and felt it to front of Head with 40 gauge needle. Spiral the roving and continue felting to create a white circle. Clean up edges by poking along outer edge of circle angling toward center of Face.
Pull and roll small circles of Black roving and felt them into Eyes.
Pull and roll another small circle of Black roving but pull slightly to the top and corners while felting to create a triangle shape for a Nose.
Pull and roll a small length of Black roving and begin felting on one end for a Mouth. Curve while felting to create shape. Felt along length of Mouth.
Roll very small lengths of Black roving and felt into place for Teeth.
14. Go back over any areas that are not firmly felted with 40 gauge needle. As an optional step, use a fabric shaver or small embroidery scissors to smooth any loose fibers.
Your skeleton is finished! Every skeleton comes out with a little different personality - they’re one of a kind!
You can leave your spooky friend as is, or you can add some accessories like a needle felted pumpkin, add some color for Dia de los Muertos, put him in a haunted dollhouse or add him to a Halloween wreath or garland.
Thanks to Ashley for designing and writing this tutorial! You can see more of her work on Instagram @ashleylewiscreates. Stay tuned for more tutorials from the Benzie Design Maker Team!
