Learn needle felting from Stephanie metz
In-Person Sculptural Needle Felting Workshops Coming in 2025:
Pacific Northwest Art School, Whidbey Island, WA: September 29- October 3; registration is now open online.
available now: online video workshop
Sculptural Needle Felting: The Comprehensive Guide with Stephanie Metz
Learn from master artist Stephanie Metz from the comfort of your own home or studio. In this video-based, technique-focused online course, Stephanie gives you a thorough education in needle felting. Find all the details and purchase the workshop at courses.stephaniemetz.com.
It’s tricky to offer satisfying one-day workshops since felting takes so long and I have a lot of information to share; usually my workshops take place over a week. It’s also hard to schedule multi-day classes that work for multiple students when it’s not taking place at a special destination like a sleepaway camp. But I think I’ve come up with a solution for some separate one-day sessions that will address the different kinds of students who come to me.
A simple beginner-focused ‘try-it’ kind of workshop, where I’ve already prepared some very basic felt forms that can be joined together and finished with color, with some examples.
An more advanced ‘Special Topics’ class that will focus on wire armatures or stitched felt armatures or smoothing or problem-solving individual projects.
I’d truly love to hear from you if you are interested in this; you may email me at stephanie(at)stephaniemetz.com for more information.
Read up on needle felting techniques and solutions in my illustrated blog:
Felting Needles: What Are They and How Do They Work?
Looking to gift (or receive) the online workshop?
You can purchase a gift card for the course through my shop; I’ll create a custom gift certificate for the recipient with a unique redemption code.
Looking for felting supplies?
A limited quantity of kits are available through my shop; I’ve also assembled links to purchase my preferred tools and materials through an affiliate partner, The Woolery. Visit the Felting Workshop Supplies page.
Some workshop students modeled their projects on my mushroom sculpture. Note the view out the window to the Pacific Ocean!
California Sculptors Symposium
This week-long sleep-away camp for sculptors has already occurred; check out my Facebook page for more photos: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieMetzSculpture
Common Needle Felting Questions
My needle felting workshops answer all your questions about sculptural needle felting, from tools and their use to creating complex forms and smooth finishes. Throughout your course I’ll demystify this unique process and answer your questions through words and demonstrations. Beginning, experienced, and advanced needle felters will find they learn valuable new skills in my needle felting classes, whether in person or through my video course.
General Questions:
What exactly is needle felting? - Needle felting is the process creating nonwoven textile (felt) through repeated poking with sharp, notched steel needles that catch fibers and tangle them with their neighbors.
How does needle felting work? - The tiny notches cut along the edges of steel felting needles are enough to snag and push wool fibers so that they tangle with the others around them. The wool fibers grab each other because they’re covered with microscopic scales, like you see on human hair in a shampoo commercial. Those tiny scales help hold wool fibers in place. Poking straight down on a mass of wool will result in a flat slab of felt, but poking inwards toward the center from all around will result in a sphere.
What do I need to get started needle felting?
How does needle felting compare to wet felting?
How difficult is needle felting?
How long does needle felting take?
Can beginners learn needle felting?
Do I need previous experience with art or fiber to needle felt?
Tool Questions:
What wool do I use and where do I find it? - I strongly prefer to use Corriedale wool roving for sculptural needle felting. The fibers are rather long, wavy, and not too fine— perfect for needle felting. You can find it online in bulk or smaller amounts- search for Corriedale roving.
What size felting needle should I use?
Why does felting needle size matter?
What does gauge mean in needle felting?
What are the different shapes of felting needles?
Should I use a triangle, star, or spiral felting needle?
Why are my felting needles breaking? - The short answer is that you’re using them wrong. Felting needles were designed for use in machines. You are not as precise as a machine. Read more about why your felting needles are breaking in my blog post ‘Why Do My Felting Needles Keep Breaking?’
Do I need a multi-needle holder?
What kind of needle holders work well? - I’ve been needle felting for 20 years and I have a few favorite multi-needle holders. You can watch my video on the topic on YouTube: Improve Your Needle Felting Effectiveness & Efficiency: Understanding Your Tools with Stephanie Metz , a free preview section from my online video-based masterclass, Sculptural Needle Felting.
When should I use multiple felting needles?
How many felting needles should I use?
How close together should felting needles be? - This might not be a question many people ask, but it really does matter. The short answer is that the more dense or thicker the felt, the farther apart your felting needles should be spaced. So working on thin, flat felt allows you to use many needles close together, while one (yes, one!) is best for dense, thick felt. Learn more about using felting needles in this blog post.
Why does it seem like my felting needles aren't working?
What work surface is best in needle felting?
Should I use a foam pad or brush mat in needle felting?
Technique Questions:
Can you over felt needle felting?
Why is my wool not felting?
I made a mistake, how can I change my sculpture?
How do you get smooth and firm sculptures?
How firm should needle felting be?
How can I needle felt faster?
How can I needle felt better?
Do I need a wire armature?
How do I add a wire armature?
How can I needle felt more efficiently?
How can I needle felt more effectively?
Finishing Questions:
How do you get a smooth surface when needle felting?
How do you add color to felt sculpture?
Can I add other media to felt sculpture?
How can I make my felt sculpture less fuzzy?
How do I know when I’m done?
If you see yourself in any of these questions, whatever your current skill level you’ll be pleased with all I can teach you. With twenty years of needle felting experience I’ve got a lot to share, and I love teaching this incredibly unique process.
in-person workshop at Penland School of Crafts (sold out)
Stephanie Metz
Felt: Fiber in the Round
TEXTILES SUMMER SESSION 7
AUGUST 22-28, 2021
This workshop will be a thorough introduction to the tools, processes, and possibilities of needle felting. Students will learn to manipulate wool into free-standing, solid felt sculptures using barbed felting needles to coax loose fibers into sophisticated shapes. We’ll explore solid and hollow form-building, armatures, and adding mixed-media. Felting particularly lends itself to representing organic forms, and students are welcome to bring source material. This innovative use of a humble, inexpensive material is bound to energize your art-making.