Felting wool

Felting wool is combed wool that you can shape into figures, animals, decorations and pictures using a felting needle or warm soapy water. Here you’ll find Magic Wool sheep’s wool and extra-fine Merino Wool Mix merino wool from the German brand Knorr Prandell. All varieties are suitable for both needle felting and wet felting. Use the small, single-colour 10 g packs for details and colour accents, and the 50 g and 100 g mixes for larger projects and colour transitions.

Felting wool: needle felting or wet felting?

For needle felting, you repeatedly poke the wool with a felting needle until the fibres bind together into a firm shape. This technique works well for 3D figures, animals, decorations and fine details. For wet felting, you lay out the wool in layers, dampen it with warm soapy water and rub it until it forms a continuous piece of felt — this is how you create flat pieces, pictures or a felted cover for a bar of soap. Both Magic Wool and merino wool work with either technique. If you want to knit a project first and then felt it in the washing machine, such as slippers or a bag, you’ll need felting yarn like Filzi or Wash + Filz-it! — you’ll find it among the knitting yarns.

Sheep’s wool or merino wool?

Magic Wool is 100 % sheep’s wool with an even fibre structure that makes it easy to shape and layer. It’s a practical choice for firm, needle-felted figures. Merino Wool Mix is extra-fine merino wool supplied as combed tops, with a fibre thickness of 21 microns. It’s softer and smoother, so it produces compact, even felted surfaces that you’ll appreciate when wet felting or creating a fine surface finish.

• Magic Wool 10 g — one colour per pack, in 18 shades, for details and accents.
• Magic Wool 3 Strand Mix 50 g — merino wool in three coordinated colours combined in a single strand, for smooth transitions.
• Merino Wool Mix 50 g — five coordinated colours in one pack.
• Magic Wool Mix 100 g — 12 colours of sheep’s wool, also suitable for beginners.

What else do you need for needle felting?

For needle felting, you’ll need a felting needle — this page includes sets of three needles measuring 90 mm in length, in regular thickness for shaping and fine for delicate details. Place a soft pad beneath your work to keep the needle from breaking. You can use bendable pipe cleaners as a framework for your figures’ legs, tails or ears. You’ll find more craft supplies in the materials for decorative techniques category.