Kaaren Poole
a sampling of my needle felted animals
Needle felting is a sculptural process of building form over a wire armature.
Wool fiber has tiny barbs on it. Holding wool fiber against the form and repeatedly poking it with a needle that also has tiny barbs on it entangles the barbs on the fiber and locks them into a single piece.
Once the armature is covered, I add more and more wool until the piece is almost complete. Up to this point, I've used off-white "core" wool which is a bit less expensive than the finishing wool, which is the final, color layer.
Needle felting is a time-consuming process but one which I find rewarding as I see the animal emerge. The colors you see in the pieces are the colors of the wool. I use glass beads for the eyes - or, on larger pieces like the bear actual glass eyes for doll-making.