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Customise your clothes with a needle -felted flaming heart design

Have you ever tried felting wool fibre to a tee-shirt or jumper to create a motif or cover a hole? It's so much easier and quicker than embroidery – and no skill required! It's a great hack for giving tired garments a new lease of life. Here's how you do it...


(See the bottom of the article to download this design)



YOU WILL NEED:



STEP 1

Print out the design or find one you like and resize it to fit your tee. Cut out a rectangle of the stabiliser fabric and stick it over the top. Draw around the design with a sharp pencil.


STEP 2

Cut your design out carefully and pin it to your tee with dress-pins. Make sure it is straight.

Place a felting mat or sponge inside the tee-shirt, behind the design.




STEP 3

Pull off a small tuft of red merino wool and tear it up until the fibres are short and jumbled up. It can help to rub it in your fingers too. Place it on the heart and poke gently with the needle.


STEP 4

Keep poking until it has bonded – it doesn't take long. Add another tuft in the same way and keep going until the heart is covered. The fabric can move a bit when you first start so hold it down firmly and watch your fingers.


REMEMBER TO KEEP PEELING YOUR DESIGN GENTLY OFF THE MAT!



STEP 5

Roll a small a tuft of white wool fibre in your fingers to make a little ball. Felt this into the eye area, dragging the two corners out slightly to make the eye shape. Keep felting it all over but try not to flatten it too much.


STEP 6

Add a little blue spot in the centre and line this with a darker blue. To do this, take a very fine wisp of wool and rub it to make a strand. Poke it gently with just the tip of the needle to add it to the iris of the eye.


STEP 7

Rub a wisp of black fibre into a ball and felt this into the centre of the eye, followed by a tiny ball of white wool as a speck of light to bring it to life.


STEP 8

Tear up a short tuft of creamy wool fibre to make an eyelid. Make sure it is only slightly longer than the eye before you start. Rub it in your fingers to remove the fluff and help it felt faster. Poke fluffy ends back into the eyelid when you do the two corners.



STEP 9

Time to decorate it! Choose a vibrant colour to create a border to your heart. We went for a rose pink merino Pull a long strand from the edge of the wool and rub it in your palms to remove the fluff. Lay it along the edge of your heart and gently poke it in place. Keep working all around the edge.


STEP 10

Add little pale pink dots to make a pattern around the border. And then choose a colour for your wings – we used an aqua merino wool.


STEP 11

Rub thin wisps of darker blue in your fingers and then carefully felt them onto your wing to add detail. This can be a little tricky but just use the tip of the needle and you will get the hang of it.


STEP 12

Rub wisps of a bright coloured wool into small balls and felt them around the edge of the heart – over the wings.



STEP 13

Add tufts of yellow wool to the flaming crown in small sections. Use a bright orange wool to add a little detail.


STEP 14

Cover the bottom edges with a ball of pale pink wool and then a thin strip of rose pink wool to match your border.


STEP 15

Finally, use very fine strands of black wool fibre to outline the eyelid and add lashes in a uniform pattern either side of the eye.



STEP 16

Now to secure your design:

Work on a waterproof surface. Place a sheet of bubble wrap inside your tee-shirt. Use a sponge and soapy water to apply soap to the felted area. You don't need too much.


STEP 17

Place another sheet of bubblewrap on top of the design and rub the felted area with your fingers. The bubblewrap helps felt the design without moving the fibres too much.


STEP 18

Do this for a few minutes and then carefully rinse it out with cool water. Check that the design is intact and if not, you can needle felt any loose bits and then repeat the bubblewrap / soap process until you are happy.


Let your design dry and it is done!



If you like this design, you can download it in this PDF below. I have included several different sizes and it is totally free for you to use on any customised items you like. Even if you are going to sell them in your own store.



THE LEGAL BIT: reprinting or selling this design as your own in the same format is strictly forbidden and anyone found in breach of copyright laws will be prosecuted.


I hope you enjoyed this post and would love your feedback. Would you like more flat felted designs like these? Let me know in the comments or send us an email.


Happy stabbing!


Rach x

 
 
 

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