If needle felting myself pumpkin shaped elbow patches for fall is wrong, then I don’t want to be right. Get in the fall spirit with me and learn how easy it is to needle felt fun elbow patches with this quick and easy tutorial. Even if you’ve never needle felted before, you can totally do this!
Our Instagram page breaks down the whole process for you in a quick reel that you can view here. Or, keep reading to see the step by step.
Materials
- Wool (Like our hand dyed BFL)
- Felting Needle (Single, multiple, or both)
- Felting Surface (like a piece of styrofoam)
- Finger Protectors (Optional)
- Cookie Cutter (Optional)
Tips for Success
- Keep your fingers well out of the way and/or use finger protectors to make sure you don’t poke yourself.
- Poke the needle in straight up and down. Don’t poke at an angle or you run the risk of breaking your needle.
- You don’t need to poke particularly hard or fast, just make sure that the needle penetrates all the way through the wool.
- Go slow and felt thoroughly to ensure that your piece is strong and hardy.
Step 1
Put your cookie cutter on top of your felting surface and begin to needle felt inside the cookie cutter shape. Felt multiple thin layers of wool and make sure that it reaches to all of the edges.
Step 2
You can really make your project come to life by adding little details like a twisty vine or whatever else you can think of.
Step 3
To make your project extra pumpkin-y you will want to add curved vertical lines.
Step 4
Carefully pull your work off the felting surface and flip it over.
Step 5
Add additional thin layers of wool onto the back of your work to make the shape a little thicker and stronger.
Step 6
Carefully peel it up again and flip it back over to the front side. Add additional wool if you see any sparse spots and give everything a good poke to ensure that it is evenly felted.
Step 7
Peel the work back off the felting surface and tuck the felting surface inside the sleeve of your sweater. To line it up with the elbow you may have to put the sweater on first and mark the elbow with a safety pin or binder clip.
Step 8
Now we will begin the process of needle felting our work directly into the fabric of the sweater. Go slow and be thorough, paying careful attention to all of the edges of the work.
Step 9
Take the foam out of the sweater sleeve, turn the sleeve inside out and put the foam back in the sleeve again. We will felt the work some more from the back side to ensure that everything is well fused.
Step 10
Repeat steps 1 through 9 for the other arm of your sweater. Wear your new sweater the next time you’re out and about and prepare to receive many compliments!
Whatever needle felting journey you decide to embark on, you are sure to find the colors you need in our extensive line of Hand Dyed BFL. You can view all of the fabulous colorways in our Etsy Shop!
Here’s one more dose of needle felting inspiration for you: a starry night inspired Halloween scene on the back of a jean jacket. This project was made using a package of our marvelous Mill Ends.
What did you think of this needle felting tutorial? Did you learn anything new? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or you can reach out to us on our social media!
