Needle Felted Sleeping Deer
This project is a bit more of an intermediate piece and a great introduction into the making of armatures. For the materials, don't feel like you need to copy my wool colors exactly, use what you have on hand or what you think would look best. This is only a guide for the basics.
For this project you are going to simply use one pipe cleaner to form the base of his entire body. Start wrapping with the core wool (I use batt) and then add colors to the top once the proportions of the body are looking good to you.
As I build felted pieces I lay the top coat wool down lightly first, before felting down tightly. At this point in the deer's creation, you want to get a full picture of what he is going to look like so you will want to place spots and strips lightly until you see the see if you are happy with the overall placements, then felt firmly.
Some felters like their work to be rock hard and tight, not a strand of wool out of place. Others like to see a bit of "fuzz" at it feels more realistic to them. I'm somewhere in between. But for this project I feel the fawn should have a cozy, fuzzy look as they are very cuddly looking creatures when they are little.
A book for beginners!
Needle felting - A Complete course is a step by step, pictorial guide to sculpting with wool that will equip you with the skills and knowledge you need to get started felting quickly. Along with clear tutorials for each of the projects, this book teaches you all the basics on wool, needles and supplies.
