Needle Felting Shamrock How To

Needle felting is such an easier hobby to pick up and without much equipment, you can get started. Working in 2D is easiest to start with and we have shared how to create a Felted Heart Bookmark which is an ideal beginning needle felting project as all of the work is done within the cookie cutter. In today’s tutorial we are taking the next step to create a needle felted shamrock for St Patrick’s Day and makes a fantastic decoration or you could use it as a coaster once finished.

Equipment needed for your needle felted shamrock

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• Wool Roving in Green (e.g. US/ UK)
• Needle Felting Needle (e.g. US/ UK)
• Needle Felting Mat (e.g. US/ UK)
• Small Shamrock Shaped Cookie Cutter (e.g. US/ UK) –  your finished shamrock will end up smaller than the cookie cutter as the wool felts

Or check out this Start Kit, that also has enough wool to make this bookmark US/ UK!

How to make your Beginner Needle Felting project

1. Start by filling your shamrock cookie cutter with wool roving.

1. Closely pack the wool roving and then start stabbing.
2. This initial cookie cutter work is to get your basic shape, unlike with the needled felted hearts most of the work on the shamrock takes place outside of the cookie cutter.

1. Once the felt starts to form remove your shape from the cookie cutter and place on your mat.

1. With your shamrock take one of the leaves and start to stab with your needle along the outside edge. Take care of your fingers as you go.
2. When you have the depression between the sections of leaf concentrate your felting stabbing closer together and more frequently.
3. Move to working the felt on the inside of the leaf section you are working on.

1. As you work the needle should feel different as the felt forms. It feels harder to push in and pull out as well as grinds or catches on the fibers. The felt also feels harder as it forms.
2. Now one leaf is completed move and repeat the process from step 5 to 7 on the other two leaves and the stem. Don’t forget the centre of the shamrock either.

Simple tips for getting started with Needle Felting

1. Use a needle felting mat to protect your work surface.
2. Buy wool roving rather than synthetic fibers it costs a little more but is easier to felt.
3. Until you have the hang of felting do it slowly otherwise you will end up with stab wounds all over your fingertips.
4. Rotate your project frequently to get all angles and felt in different directions this will help the felt form as well.
5. Always have more needles than you think you will need. They can break surprisingly easily and it’s annoying to wait till some more arrive before finishing a project.

You can find the Beginner Needle Felted Rainbow Project over on Cerys’ site Rainy Day Mum Now.

More felting projects for Beginners

 

Have a go at needle felting a 3D robin – this simple project is easy to transition to 3D needle felting.

Create a simple Felted Penguin Ornament for the Christmas Tree – this is a fun easy project that kids or you can make.

Use wool roving and instead of needle felting experiment with wet felting a simple project like this hibernation play mat is perfect for kids to make.

———————— About Cerys & Rainy Day Mum ————————

Cerys is the founder of Rainy Day Mum, where you can find ideas for getting creative as a family, encouraging children to have a life-long love of learning through hands-on activities and creating delicious recipes to cook together and enjoy as a family.

Find Cerys at Rainy Day Mum and follow her on Instagram to see new ideas as well as a snippets from the Rainy Day house.

See our full list of St Patrick’s Day Crafts here: