How to get a SMOOTH FINISH on your Needle Felted Animals ☆ 13 Top Tips ☆ No Holes, Lumps or Fuzz!

I share my 13 Top Tips for how to get a smooth finish on your needle felted animals!
No more holey, lumpy or fuzzy sculptures! Get stabbing and needle felt a smooth surface with confidence!
Look out for my extra FAQs (about long furred animals and reverse felting) as a bonus at the end.
I include advice on the process, needles, wool, use of tools and much more (see further down for my recommendation links)
For chapters see times below:
Intro: 00:00
Tip 1: Process 00:45
Tip 2: Wool 01:13
Tip 3: Needles 02:24
Tip 4: Keep Stabbing 03:08
Tip 5: Even out 03:39
Tip 6: Shallow and at an angle 04:09
Tip 7: A Twist 04:36
Tip 8: When layering wool 04:58
An extra Super Tip for merino tops 06:58
Tip 9: Hands/fingers 07:31
Tip 10: Needle Brush 08:12
Tip 11: A Tiny brush 08:24
Tip 12: Scissors 08:54
Tip13: Super Smoothness methods 09:16
Bonus FAQs: Long furred animals? or Reverse felted? 09:46
I hope you find this tutorial useful.
If you’d like to be the first to see more videos I'm making to help advance your skills and become a more confident Needle Felter, be sure to press the red subscribe button and bell icon :-)
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/ needlefeltinganimals
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NEEDLE FELTING TOOLS & WOOL I RECOMMEND FOR REALISTIC ANIMALS
1) US SUPPLIES (for UK list see part 2)
Wool Needle Felting Pad (by Woolbuddy) - amzn.to/3e5xtt8
Precision Felting Needles - amzn.to/3EjpBin
Clover Multi Needle Tool (holds 1-3 needles) amzn.to/3V586bd
Core Wool (by Woolbuddy) - natural undyed amzn.to/3fyga42
Soft Merino Wool Roving - variety of 39 colors amzn.to/3ebqmPS
Aluminum Armature Wire, 1.5 mm amzn.to/3CvDgBr
22 Gauge paper covered wire amzn.to/3CwR2Um
Pipe Cleaners (pack of black, white, beige & brown) amzn.to/3SHc4p2
Flat Nosed Pliers amzn.to/3rDtNlb
Stork Shaped Rose Gold Scissors amzn.to/3SUGqUP
Professional Scissors amzn.to/3SSokm8
2) UK SUPPLIES
Heidifeathers is my main go to online felting wool and tools supplier. They also have brilliant starter kits.amzn.to/3wYn60T
** NEEDLES - Best quality & range - Heidifeathers - all colour coded.
Ultimate Mix (all the needles you need) amzn.to/3PPBb7V
Or choose by needle type:
(I used these needles in this tutorial)
Green - Triangle 36G - amzn.to/3UyLsYr
Red - Triangle 38G amzn.to/3oKvTPK
Blue - Triangle 40G amzn.to/2YEct4E
Light Blue - Twisted 40G amzn.to/3g3Z12R
**FELTING MATS **
Eco Wool Mat - 3 sizes amzn.to/3LYct27
Foam Mat - 3 sizes amzn.to/3mDZkAH
** NEEDLE HOLDERS **
Clover Multi Needle Tool (holds 1-3 needles) amzn.to/3amZ3w8
Wooden Multi Needle Tool (holds 4 needles): amzn.to/3Dimrak
Long Wooden Single Needle Handles x5 amzn.to/3FzWFAy
** WOOL **
CARDED Wool - quick & easy to felt
Jacob Batts In Natural Shades amzn.to/3mDlZx3 - for core wool
White Corriedale Slivers amzn.to/30dsfEf - for wrapping over wire
Carded Slivers in animal shades - Menagerie mix - 10 colours amzn.to/3wZi2b0 or wildlife mix - 18 colours amzn.to/3a2aVa8
WOOL TOPS - for attaching longer fur/feathers & adding details
Soft Natural Mixed tops - Animal Mix -10 different breeds amzn.to/3lr3VqH
Merino tops - packs of 6 (choose from 8 different shade packs) amzn.to/3oMB5Tz
** SCISSORS **
Stork Shaped Rose Gold Embroidery Scissors amzn.to/3AtdJVp
Professional Thinning Scissors amzn.to/3A0zhdf
Professional Hairdressing Scissors amzn.to/3Dp3AKH
Small Nail Scissors amzn.to/3lCLJKf
** WIRE & PIPE CLEANERS **
Armature Wire - Paper covered (18-30gauge) or Aluminium (15/30gauge) - amzn.to/3NGvjvV
100 Pipe Cleaners - Brown, White, Black, Flesh & Grey - amzn.to/2Yr0183
** OTHER **
Multi Purpose Pliers amzn.to/3GuFUah for bending/cutting/flattening wire
Air dry clay - 6 Colours amzn.to/3onaZpw for beaks, claws, noses.
Remington Ceramic Hair Straighteners amzn.to/3lC6zto for thin ears / feathers
Horse hair amzn.to/3N601yY for animal whiskers
For affiliate links I may receive a tiny commission at no extra cost to you. This helps to support my channel so I can continue to provide valuable content Thank you :-)
#needlefeltedanimals #howtoneedlefelt #needlefeltingtutorials #realisticart #needlefeltingbusiness

[@peggyturchette979]

Thank you. Such helpful tips! I can get really obsessive about getting a smooth surface, so I would add one more thought here for myself and anyone else who just can't seem to get a smooth enough surface: This is WOOL, after all! It's not clay, or enamel, or a polymer glaze (yuk!). It's going to look like wool, not plastic or porcelain, so embrace that! The very things we all love about wool: its tactile quality, its realistic textures for needle felted animals, its dry hand vs. the gooeyness of clay, polymer, or some other messy medium, all this means that the surfact is going to look like fiber, not something else. I have to remind myself of this all the time.

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

I absolutely love this! Yes! A great reminder. 👍 🥰

[@traceycliftonjow9776]

Thank you so much for your excellent tips and advice. I am new to needle felting and find your videos fascinating :)

[@joeyotten2091]

Great tips! I was especially impressed with the flat iron and making feathers…I bet you could use that to shape leaves as well 🤔 good video…thanks for the help and I love your work! That donkey 🥰

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

Thank you for your lovely comments! I am so glad you found this useful. Yes I've made leaves and flattened them for a sleeping Hazel dormouse before 😊

[@bethmegansmith4642]

As Always Super helpful xxxx Happy felting xxxxx

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

Thank you Beth 😊

[@theresehussey7244]

Knowledge tips superb extremely helpful good one x

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

Thank you Therese. I'm pleased to hear you liked it. 😊

[@cross40]

Wow! Thank you so much. This is incredibly helpful. Your generosity is appreciated.

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

I am so glad you found it helpful. Always a pleasure to create new useful videos. :-)

[@kathydittmer9659]

Brilliant video!

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

Thanks so much Kathy 😊

[@evelynstickland3658]

Thanks very useful

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

You are welcome

[@cathymaul6009]

Thank you for this video. I am attempting felting for the first time. I am making a penguin.

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

That's great. Hope your penguin turns out well 😀

[@TheGypsyDragon]

Thank you. I really like how you get to the point. Your very easy to listen to. I have learned quite a bit from you. You are fantastic.

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

Thank you so much for the lovely feedback 😊

[@lesliecarter5213]

I really love your videos. You have a very soothing voice. So easy to listen to. Thank you.

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

Glad you like it. Thanks for watching 😊

[@foggykoshka8616]

I’m so excited to start my needle felting journey this was suuuuuper helpful! I will start a new project right away! Tysm x💞

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

That's wonderful to hear! Happy Felting! 😊

[@esther7265]

Thanksss sooooooi much❤❤❤

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

You're welcome 😊

[@carolienduursma3906]

Very helpful. Thank you so much…i’m making my first frog based on an iron skeleton…so satisfying

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

Sounds great!

[@deniselabbe8090]

thank you so much, i had a hard time hearing you, you have such a soft voice

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

So sorry you struggled to hear me. 😔 I hope you managed to get what I said?

[@maureenhurt9174]

As it is my first time as a Felter, I discovered that finishing the article to a smoother finish, I used a small pilling machine that one uses to take pilling off wooly jumpers.

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

That's a great idea too. Thank so much for sharing 😊

[@njlayouni3501]

Thanks for this. A really helpful tutorial! Just to add my two penneth to your rather comprehensive list, I've recently started using a battery-operated jumper de-bobbler on my critters, BUT I still have to use scissors to trim off those long stubborn strands of wayward fuzz first. 🙂

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

That's wonderful. Yes I've heard the debobblers can be a good tool too. Thank you for sharing your tip with me. Together we can de-fuzz our animals 😂😊

[@coppukriem696]

Thank you for this! Instead of animals, I want to make fun anime figures and charms but I've been making mascot characters and gifts for family!

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

Sounds great! Enjoy! 😊

[@moffittc1020]

Thank you so much. I think I haven't gotten some firm enough then when I planted the fur, the shape changed

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

Glad it was helpful. Yes with long fur I've learnt the hard way. It's worth going firmer for sure. 😊

[@zenithmaiden2109]

I'm felting for the first time and making a bison armature. Using core wool and bison roving and forelock for the body and uh...fluff? mane? I made a nice enough core for a first timer...but the roving I'm using still had the presence of very stiff guard hair that is driving me bonkers! I tried a 40T to smooth things over and eventually went back to my 36T because the guard hair simply wasn't getting picked up by the finer needle. I've since learned it's just way easier to pull the roving strips to separate the worst of the guard hair before pulling off a smaller workable piece of the finer, downy roving to felt on. The lack of these guard hairs has allowed me to go back down to a finer needle to continue my work.

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

Interesting and helpful. Thanks for sharing that. It can really depend on the fibres most definitely. Glad you got there in the end!

[@PetroicaRodinogaster264]

Hi, I am making a mother polar bear with baby. I do all of the things you have suggested, I like my creations to be pretty hard because I try to avoid wire where I can. Two things I have done to smooth is I have used a sandwich press (sp) for flat objects. I place it between paper or foil and then after getting the SP hot I clamp the item in and turn the SP off. I leave it for a couple of minutes. I recently made some snowmen with scarves for some children. I needle felted the wool into the length and width I wanted and then wet felted it to further make it solid and shrink a little. Then pressed it and it came out perfectly. For some things that the SP or even an iron is not practical, I get a teaspoon, heat the bowl side with a flame, candles leave black so I use a BBQ lighter. Then I just pass the back of the warmed spoon over the spots that I want flatter. But I don’t often have to because stabbing away is therapeutic for me, I like the sound too. So I don’t mind just working on it til it ‘behaves’. I noticed you have a Koala…I have done one too in the past but yours looks far superior. I have also done a gorilla, a baby orangutan, a panda, donkeys, lots of birds. sheep, elephant, goose, teddy bears , mushrooms/toadstools. I have an on going project of a large toadstool house in a fairy garden. It will be a mix of wool, polymer clay and even some natural stuff like twigs and small stones. I must get on with it. I am not good with human faces so if I do them I usually choose something a bit different. Recently I did Freddy Mercury, The Grinch, Miss Piggy and an elf. I made a budgie a few years ago and the person who bought it found an ornamental cage to display it in. But she ended up needing to suspend it from the ceiling because her cat would not leave it alone. 😂😊 I have also done eggs with flowers for easter. Some I embroidered or used tiny buttons or beads and some I made flowers from wool. Enough about me…got carried away there. A question…do you use foam or a wool pad to rest the item on. I have tried both.

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

Wow you have made a lot of lovely things by the sounds of it. Thank you for all the ideas on smoothing too! Never tried humans I think I'd be scared to. Plus I love animals more haha. For my felting base I used foam for years but now use a wool pad. More comfortable, lasts longer and better for environment. I like the look of it more too. I have one that is flat in two layers by the Makerss and one that is filled with wool and looks like a pillow from Heidifeathers. Your toadstool house sounds amazing. Are you in my Facebook group to share your animals?

[@ILoveMyLittleBoyDog]

What useful tips you give here, thank you!

[@juliejelaco5208]

I have a weird ?, could you use those tools that get little balls off your sweaters a fabric shaver would those work for the little fuzz?

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

Fab idea! 👌 😊

[@kandamckay-white437]

Flying squirrel :)

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

That'll be lovely to make 😊

[@thibni_]

I've just discovered This artwork and I absolutely love it. I'm thinking of getting into it, I think it's a wonderful hobby and could even become a job? Anyone makes money off of this by selling their products? I'm curious how much these pieces could be sold for 🤔

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

So great you are getting into it. Some of us sell our creations but also teach workshops or sell kits/pdfs etc. Or earn through affiliate marketing or ads or sponsorship eg on youtube. Needs a lot of time and planning to make profit and need to really get yourself out there to show your skills etc. Not for everyone but can earn part-time income. Some can sell their artwork for a lot too and make full time income.

[@sdsdfdsfs9639]

Tip number 4 is a big one.. Once I realized I just needed to Keep Going my needle felting improved. As for another tip.. Not an entirely serious one, sharing because it's kind of funny and does work a bit. You can take a lighter to your sculpture and singe off stray hairs... just be careful not to burn your sculpture too lol. This also might not be the safest thing to do if there's a lot of loose fibers on your self/crafting area. Use caution!! Children: Don't do this.

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

Wow thanks for sharing that one! Knowing me I'd definitely set my actual felted animal alight 😄 🤣

[@nfh688jfnie]

As a new felter thank you so much for your video!

[@FittobeLovedFelts]

It's a pleasure 😊