Part 3 How we use the needles:

Let’s think a little more about bending and braking.

We have looked at some of the properties of needles and their parts of most concern to us.  (https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2025/03/27/why-do-felting-needles-break-do-you-blame-your-tools-or-is-it-operator-error/)  we looked at how the needles are used in industry, in felting machines, to take fiber and create non-woven fabrics. The felting machine used many needles together in a needle board, moving quickly, to a set depth. The needle’s actual time working is much longer in industry than it is for a needle working for most hand felter’s. (https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2025/04/06/why-do-felting-needles-break-do-you-blame-your-tools-or-is-it-operator-error-in-3-parts/).

let’s consider how we, as hand felters, interact with our needles.

Acquisition:

Where we get our needles matters -are we selecting needle Re-sellers who are purchasing from manufacturers that have high standers of quality control and sell good to excellent quality needles?      Within the various manufacturers of felting needles, there is some variation in the flexibility (quality) of the needles. Some are a bit stiffer, some are a bit more flexible, but if a company makes truly crappy needles industry will avoid buying them and they go out of business. If you are buying directly from a company you trust (you have quality control within the manufacturing process) or from a reputable reseller of those companies (we have a few very good ones available online), you can be pretty sure that the needle quality will be good to excellent.

There is usually more than one needle manufacturer per manufacturing country. The main 3 seem to be Germany, China and India. So saying all needles from country X are horrible probably isn’t true (though I did see rumors from India about China and from China about India). I have tried only three types of branded needles from China; the first was only available in small batches through re-sellers online. They labeled their needles by colour, but I found them a bit stiffer than, the second company that I regularly deal with. They sell in boxes of 500 as well as sell directly to the industry. The third, again sold in small batches of 100 needles, only the triangle shape and in limited number of gauges. They also were a bit stiffer but did work. All work reasonably well, but they are not exactly the same. Remember what i like may not be exactly the same as what you like. If resellers offer a verity pack of a brand, try that, and see what you like best in both the various shapes and different manufacturers. Some resellers may be reluctant to tell you their suppler (it’s sort of like asking a lady her age…), but asking if they know the original Manufacturer may be better received.  If they are unsure, they could get back to you with the information. I have a suspicion we may have a few sellers adding different colour codes to the same manufacturer’s needles.  As long as the needles are working well, I am not too concerned about what colour they are.

13.1) 4 resellers who offer multi packs of needles. we know Heidi feathers has stated she has GB needles. i found the Miusie needles good but a bit stiff, but they are the only ones i have noticed carry the cone needles so far. i have liked both Fiber Craft and Olive Sparrow needles but don’t know their manufactures (it sort of like asking a lady her age….)

Part of selecting felting needles will be what is available to you, thus what you will tend to use. If you can’t find a reseller selling GB needles from Germany, you can’t see for yourself if you like their needles. The same with companies from China or India (sorry, I haven’t knowingly tried needles from a company from India yet). If you don’t know what company a reseller is selling, it’s very hard to compare quality and buy what you like best. That said, none of the main manufacturers should be total duds, although you may prefer one over the other.

So, Needles from different companies can be different (using different formulas of metal for the needles). There is also variation in flexibility within a company’s line of needles. The needle shapes used in pre-needleing machines are stated to have greater flexibility in the web. (Two of the per-needleing options, Vario, and Conical both have a tapered shaft with varying sizes of barbs up the working part of the needles. We are now occasionally seeing them for sale). Some years ago, GB said it was researching a needle with even greater flexibility but came out with barbs that had extended run times. If greater flexibility is achieved in the industry, (so they can run their machines faster), this should also help hand felters. We will not have to be as careful with how we poke our fiber, while remembering rule#2 (the direction the needle goes in is the direction the needle goes out).

13.2-13.3) comparison of Dur and Regular needle barbs, and showing fiber in the barbs

We should also consider a recent complain about needle quality.  At the moment, there have been very few complaints of purchasing already worn needles. Worn needles can suggest that the needles have been used in needle boards, than are sold to us. We do not want used needles (ok that sounds bad in a number of ways!)  This does not seem to be a common problem at the moment, but it’s good to know if you get oddly dull needles.  Needles, that are already worn, will be more fragile and will break more easily than needles that are just starting their working life. Worn needles will not move fiber efficiently compared to a needle of the same gauge and shape that is not worn, and with the least distraction from rule #2, a worn needle will break. This is not operator error; it is a faulty tool.

Care of needles:

Where and how you store your needles may increase or decrease the chance of breakage.

I am sure you have seen me store my needles in my working surface. This has both pros and cons.

Pros:

• Needles are close to hand when working and have a predictable storage spot so less likely to get lost (as long as you remember where you put your mat)
• You can organize your needles from course to fine from one side to the other of your mat. This also helps reduce trial and error finding the needle you want, if you have unlabeled needles
• This works well on mats that are larger than your project

Cons

• If your project is larger than your mat, you lack storage spots (then a half pool noodle piece separate from the mat works well)
• If you forget to take all the needles out of the end of the mat before you start working, you may hit one as you are working.
• I have seen someone reach for a needle, forgetting they left another one in the way, bang it with their hand, and break it.

14.1) half a pool noodle divided into sections by gauge size

I have seen loose in a pill bottle, loose in a small mettle tin, loose in a glass jar or loose in a pencil case.  Other than the pencil case where depending what else is thrown in with the needles they may get damaged by other objects or poke through the fabric and stab the felter, the bottles, tins  and other hard surface storage places can dull the needle point, if the needles are left to rattle around inside. If you add a bit of wool or foam to the bottom for the tips to go in, it helps to keep the needles from rattling and protects the tips. I found some lovely screw top test tube shapes at the dollar store (silly people were selling them full of sports erasers, when clearly they were meant to hold needles!) I added a bit of wool and a piece of cardstock saying what type of needle and where I got them from in each container.  I keep the majority of my needles in the boxes they came in (wrapped in wax paper as they were shipped). but most people don’t buy in batches of 500 to get the cool storage box!  Try to find something that suites you. If you felt only in one place, then half a piece of pool noodle  on your desk or keeping needles in the end of your felting surface may work. For stay at home felters, I have seen some interesting needle “pin cushions” made from old tea cups or fine silver. If you are more mobile with your felting, then a few tight sealing containers with something to protect the needle tips and labels may soot you best.

14.2) A few of my needles and a couple of the needle holders. (the wooden handled one usually has a piece of pool noodle on the needles or I have stored in a tall pill bottle with the needles in beside it.

Humidity:

Unless you are living in an area of high humidity or using your needles on wet felting, while it’s still wet, rust should not be too much of a concern for most needle felters. If you are living in a damp or humid area, then take precautions to protect your tools. Storing them in sealed containers, using a light oil to protect them when not in use or trying silica packages to reduce the likelihood of rust may all be options.  (Stay away from cellulose sponges as working surfaces since they attract dampness, which is great when cleaning a kitchen but not for storing needles or using as a felting surface.)

Selecting the correct needle for the job.

As I mentioned previously, in industry this is very hush hush information and is the driving motivator in removing the full needle specification from the needle boxes we buy (ok some of us buy).

15.1)A few (seven of nine) of the needle boxes on my desk

-Are we choosing the most optimal needle for the job?     Another easy way to break a needle is either choosing the wrong needle for the job, or, not feeling when to change gauges as you are working.  Paying attention to how the needle feels (palpating) as you insert it into the fiber (End Feel), lets you know when to change from one gauge to another. For most projects, we usually work from courser needles to finer needles. As you start felting a sculpture, the fiber is not as dense or firm; as you continue to stab, poke and impale your project, the firmer the felt becomes. At some point, the feeling will change (this is that “end Feel” I have talked about previously). There will be an increase in resistance. Instead of adding more force (which can cause a needle to break), shift to a finer gauge needle. This should feel easier to insert than the courser needle you were just using. But remember, finer needles require stricter adherence to rule #2; the fine gauges are thinner and are more likely to break if used aggressively (“Kill It!!!!” type stabbing). Slow down, think, and then stab. In addition, dragging fibers with the tip of a fine or extra fine needle can be enough to catch and break or bend a needle. Just be careful if you like to adjust your fibers with your needle. (There are other pointy things that you can use to adjust fibers, such as a flower (boutonniere flower pin or stylus, that will save needles if you tend to break them this way.)

I tend to think of needles comparing them by how much fiber each will move.

• Increase fiber movement-
  • Gauge – a “Course”32g needle moves more than a “medim”36g & 38g moves more fiber than a “fine”40g & 42g which will move more that an “ultra-fine” 46g needle.
  • Number of barbs – the more barbs per side, the more fiber the needle can move. So a 333 moves more than a 222 which moves more than a crown needle (111)
  • Shape –the number of sides works with the number of barbs if you add one more side (a quod star needle) it will be more aggressive then a 3 sided needle of the same gauge and number of barbs per side.

Sometimes we want to be move less fiber and have greater control of smaller amounts of fiber, so you would look at the above list in reverse, ie. Use finer needles, fewer bards, and less sides to control smaller amounts of fiber per insertion of the needle.

When picture felting and using a multi-tool,

As I said before, you can also have problems when you are using a multi-needle tool as you work, the density of the felt increases. The spacing of the needles in the tool tries to grab the same fiber in multiple places (this can be more noticeable when working with longer fibers or combed top). This will feel like a strong resistance to entering the felt. If you increase pressure and force the needles in, they have a high chance of one or more breaking. Instead, stop and either shift to finer needles or take some of the needles out so you have them spaced farther apart in your holder.  Just because a needle holder can hold X number of needles does not mean you need to have all of them installed.

15.2-15.3) the Blue Fake Clover tool; it’s a bit noisier and not as smooth as the real clover tool but it’s also a lot cheaper. If you really like this tool try to save up for the real green version. Or try it, if a felter-friend has one.

It’s actually quite nice to have a few of the same style of holder (labeled) with different gauges in them, so you don’t have to interrupt your creative flow and stabbing.  You may want to indicate which holder has which needle by labeling or colour coding them. As you finish the outer layer of a picture, you may move to an even finer needle, which will give you increased fine control and, if you work at an angle to your work, a smoother finished surface.  For sculpture, if you are attaching limbs into a body, and if your attachment site is not too compacted, you may find a T32 moves vigorous amounts of wool to embed fibers from the limb into the core of the body.

I have had needles brake while using a needle holder. This is the most common problem I have with needles. While I do love a good needle holder, for its increased speed of felting (drat, just when I said not to rush) and its ergonomics, it is just more comfortable to hold.  For picture-felting, I often use the Clover or fake clover tool with the moving guard, but I also use it on 3-D sculptures occasionally, too. When I was working on Mrs. Mer’s lower fish body into her butterfly koi tail, I was using the fake clover tool with T40s or T42s. I caught the armature (she is very thin there, so the armature is close to the surface), and I broke most of the needles in the holder (DRAT!) and switched back to a single needle.

15.4) Oh the Embarrassment! Multiple broken needles in my fake clover tool (I hit twisted armature wire close to the surface of the sculpture I was working on

Needles also break if you catch them in the twists of a wire armature.  Again, slow down and feel as you carefully insert the needle. Designing your armature so it is buried as deeply in your sculpture as possible will make the outer layers less needle-eating. I have not lost many needles to wires but occasionally if I grab a finer needle than I thought I was grabbing, (who put it back in the medium part of my working surface and not the fine section over at the edge? I need to have a chat with that person….oh drat.) I did lose a couple of needles working on those little chickadees, but I did do a lot of chickadees, so the bird-to-dead-needle ratio was still low.

I have a couple of needles that have bent but not broken. I have kept them; they are often just perfect for getting into a spot, especially when I know there is an armature wire close by.

Note on wire: There are lots of options, and it’s a huge topic, so I won’t get too distracted here, but some types tend to be greater needle eaters than others. Some of this is what you have regionally and get used to using. I would like to investigate this further, but not today. Just slow down and be careful if you are working with sculptures with an armature of whatever wire you have chosen.

Are we using a work surface that you feel comfortable with and that works with your project?  

There are many different surfaces and felting supports. Each of these options has a different feel as the needle hits the surface of it.  Chose the one that feels comfortable and work for you, as well as what seem most appropriate for the type of needle felting you are doing. If you have the opportunity, try out as many as you can before buying the ones you like.

• Foam –packing, upholstery(avoid those with fire retardant), eco-friendly foam, pool noodle, high density, sponge, vary in price from free to expensive
• Hybrid – felt covered sponge, cheaper than the wool mat
• Burlap rice bag- (goes on sale for Chinese new year!) quite heavy but nice to sculpt on. Not lightest choice for mobile felting. remember to Lift work frequently.
• Wool mats – thinner .5” ironing mats, 1-1.5” wool felting mats, make your own wool mats, are more expensive but last longer then the foam mats.
• Clover brush tool, to bristle broom used as a work surface; Smaller in size, than other options. Cover brush tool is quite expensive but dose last well.

Support surfaces for working on 3D sculptures:

• Small rice bags, pieces of foam or pool noodle can support a limb or part of a sculpture, so you are not air stabbing and have a greater chance of ether braking the needle or stabbing yourself.

 

 16.1-16.3) a few of my work surfaces. Note the heavy zip-lock freezer bag covering my wool pad I have fund it reduces wool transfer to the wool mat. (There is green wool imbedded in the mat which is why I now am protecting it).

Another way to break needles is a shift between your working surface, and what you are working on. It is not too common since most picture felters are often working on surfaces larger than there image, but I have had this happen. While I was working on the landscape moose bag (mid weight canvas ground fabric), on the far edge of the image and the foam kneeling pad shifted inside the bag, taking out my single T38-333 needle! (Snap!!) I could fix that by having the working surface the same size as the interior of the bag so it would not shift or move. (ok, working on the handle of my walker as I was sitting on the walker was also not the best choice of working location). Now you know my shame. I, too, have broken needles!! But not too many, and usually there are long stretches where I don’t break any.

While thinking about working surfaces, we should also consider working depth. This means that the depth the needle is inserted into the work and work surface, the deeper into the work surface the needle goes increase the likelihood of breaking a needle due to accidentally shifting your vector as you remove the needle. It also uses more strength, which can fatigue the felter faster than working only as deeply as needed to embed the fiber into the picture or sculpture.  You only need to move the fiber to imbed it in what you are working on, you don’t need to deeply impale the mat. Do you remember the industry report that suggested the first barb was doing the majority of the work? If we inspect the needle we are about to use and notice the position of the barbs on the working part, we can then insert the needle to the depth that will engage the barbs, thus moving the fiber where we want it to go. If you are trying to stab in a more shallow manner, you could switch to a crown needle whose barbs are located very close to the tip. I have used this type of needle effectively to add colour to one side of a thin petal without adding it to the other side. (I was also, work at a very shallow needle angle to achieve this!)

Angle of inserting must be the same as angle of extraction (another way to say rule #2)

17.1)  simplified instructions that came with one of my random needle purchases.

The angle you impale your work will change the effect you see at the surface. Remembering always, that the direction you move the needle is the direction the fiber will move. Working at a lower angle and with finer needles will reduce the look of indentations in the surface. This helps give a smoother surface finish but the lower angle seems to increase the braking of rule #2 and then the breaking of the needle. So, stay focused and pay attention.

Note: if you have obvious needle dents, the surface of your work looks a bit like the skin of an orange, it is just that you need to felt a bit longer. The surface above the dent is not felted as much as the dented area, keep going.

Moving fiber to firm an area

Although your needle should always insert and exit in one direction or vector, You don’t have to only work from the outside to the inside.  you can push fiber through your sculpture towards the surface on the other side. You may want to do this to firm up the under structure in that area. An example would be when I was making sheep heads (they were for sheep pins), I know they still are not quite totally sheep-ly yet, but I am working on it, (I think it’s the bridge of the nose and lower mandible angle that’s messing me up. I should go visit Ann and have a chat with some of her sheep).  I noticed a couple of times, I would get the nose exactly as I wanted it, but it was not as firm in the understructure as I would like. who wants a floppy nosed sheep?. I didn’t want to have to add more wool from the outside and change what I had just sculpted.  so I worked from the not yet finished back of the head, to move fiber by stabbing through the sheep head towards the nose. If you are aware where the barb placement is on your needle you can push fiber to the depth that you want to firm up.  I know I should have made the understructure firmer before going on to sculpting the final nose shape but sometimes I get over excited and work in a less than optimal order.

When I want to enthusiastically move fiber but still have reasonable control, I gravitate to one of my 36g needles I am often using coriedale which is a bit bigger fiber than merino. If you were sculpting with Merino wool, you would find the needle a bit more enthusiastic since more fibers would be cot in the barbs.

Another way to think about moving fiber from the other side, is if you have watched or used a drill and you want the bit to go into the wood but not through it. you can measure the depth you want with the bit and then add tape so you will stop when you get to the tape and before you go through the wood.  If you need to work from the back of a sculpture, and have trouble guess-timating, you could try a bit of painters tape on a single needle to get the depth you want?

Holding a single needle

• Consistency in how you hold the needle
• Comfort in holding the needle (no death grip and hand cramping!)
  • Different shaped holders require different hand positions, the main shapes being a pen like grip or a nob like grip. I have seen only one that is held as you would a hammer.
  • Add something to the needle shaft to make it larger, tool dip, tape, elastics
• Practice, if you are comfortable with using your tools you will have better control and brake fewer needles.

There are various ways to hold a single loose needle. A couple of my Japanese authored  books were very specific about having the crank in the crock under a knuckle and stabilizing with your thumb and second finger. This is not comfortable for everyone; a modified version may work better for you. You need to find something that is comfortable so you can be consistent in how you hold your needle. You want to feel that the needle is an extension of your finger like you feel a pen or pencil is an extension of your fingers when you write. (We don’t do a lot of writing anymore, I will have to come up with a better example soon)

You may have grumpy fingers that don’t like to grip fine skinny needles. Then a needle holder or other way to make the needle fatter will make holding the needle more comfortable.  Wrapping from the crank down the shaft with elastics (I like postal dropping elastics) or using tool dip may give a better feeling grip. If that does not help enough, there are single needle holders or any of the multi tool holders can be loaded with just one needle.  The multi tools can be a bit more cumbersome feeling with only one needle, you may prefer the grip and ease of seeing your work with a single needle or pen tool.

Most of the single needle holders have the needle positioned off center, which can also happen when you use a single needle in a multi needle holder. This can feel a bit odd and can make it difficult to coordinate where you are exactly poking the needle. This can increase the chances of breaking a needle.  The holders are a more ergonomic choice than a single needle. If you are careful to hold the needle holder in the same position, it will be easier to anticipate where the needle will poke with a little practice.

18.1-18.3) not too expensive wooden single needle holder stores and holds a single needle. The needle is positioned off center, so try to be consistent in the orientation and how you hold it for better control.

Note: there are 2 sizes of the wooden single needle holder being sold at the moment. They look the same if not seen together. The older one is much smaller in diameter and only comes in clear finished wood. The more resent model is available in both clear wood and in a few colours. If you got the older one, and find it a bit skinny, try adding a foam pencil grip to it if you are finding it a bit thin.

-Distraction, which leads to forgetting to follow rule #2.

• Stay focused.
• Stick to listening to audio books rather than trying to watch YouTube or a movie will help too.
• Slow down and enjoy the process of felting, don’t rush to finished the project.

Once a needle has broken:

If a needle breaks in your sculpture, extract it!! A strong magnet and fine embroidery scissors or an Exacto knife can be helpful. I have an empty pill bottle I use as a sharps container. I can then dispose of the broken needle bits in a real sharps container later.  You can usually get a real sharps container (for needles and syringes) at a pharmacy. However, the pill bottle is just easier to carry around with your work. If you have a few needle felting friends you may want to share a single sharps box amongst you.

19) A tall pill bottle will hold broken needles until you can drop them in a sharps box.

So for us, if we are buying needles ultimately sourced from companies with good quality control and not leaving them in humid places, it is more likely to be operator error. Of which the most likely that we have been momentarily distracted ,

(Look squirrel!!!) 20) Squirrel on fence distracting us!

and forgot rule #2: “the vector the needle goes in, is the vector the needle goes out”. No changing direction mid stab!!!

Hints that may help

-Speed felting sounds fun but can lead to both broken needles and the need for Band-Aids. If you are finding it hard to slow down your enthusiasm, (well, it is needle felting and just fantastic, so I can see the problem!) and you have switched from listening to Techno to snooze massage music and it still isn’t helping. You could try the pink closed-cell foam insulation. Mine has a giant pink panther on it, and it comes in sheets up to 4’x8’ in case you want to work really big! But you can buy smaller pieces, too.  Why I suggest this unusual work surface is that when you stab it, especially with enthusiasm, it screams! If you break rule #2 even slightly, it will also break the needle. So, the screaming reduces the depth of stabbing, and the solidity will make you much more careful about keeping watch on how you move your needle. It may take a few broken needles, but it seems to be very good at focusing your attention so you don’t break many more.

21) Pink closed-cell foam (Home Depot) rigid foam insulation

A final way to break needles I had not considered:

It was brought to my attention by one of my local guild members that another way needles break that I had not considered; she said that her needles break immediately after stabbing her. This is because once they have drawn blood, she breaks them. Well, that will teach them never to do that again, but it may be less expensive to use finger protection (I did review a few options to keep the pointy end of the needle and your fingers separated). Which would bring us to a review of rule #1: “the pointy end goes in the wool and not in your fingers.”  So easy to say! So hard to remember,  sometimes!

Now, what do you think, should we blame our tools or was it operator error after all?

Have fun and keep felting!

P.S. I hope this wasn’t too long and that it might get you thinking about your needles in a different way. (and you don’t have to break them if they try to stab you back!). I overdid it a bit on Monday at the guild library, but it was wonderful to see friends again! Now I’m off to bed.

PSS: My brain still seems to have roving bits of anaesthetic in it, making me forget. I missed adding this, so unfortunately, it’s at the end now.

Practice (Time)

The time you have been needle felting is also a factor.

new to needle felting

• enthusiasm, not sure how it all works, so want to stab deeply to make sure it works!
• coordination, it takes a moment to get a feeling for where the tip of the needle is. Less eye-hand coordination = more Band-Aids and broken needles.

With practice and noticing barb placement, the type of enthusiasm changes, and the eye-hand coordination develops.

When first picking up a needle, you are intrigued and excited! Most students want to stab deeply and quickly, trying hard to do this new, exciting thing that takes eye-hand coordination they may not have used in quite this way before. When I started, I had a thick kitchen cellulose sponge, then traded that for a 3 inch thick foam piece. I initially stabbed both myself and what I was working on. I also went through quite a few broken needles.

As time passed, I have worked on thin surfaces and slowed down on the speed. I have dramatically decreased the broken needles and the need for Band-Aids. It’s still just as exciting to see fluffy wool turn into something, but the violence of attack has changed, and it’s more of a considered stabbing now. (Oh no, I sound dangerous again!)

I hope I don’t wake up again and realise a piece is missing. Really I will get back to having my whole brain free of anaesthetic eventually, they promised.

Thank you so much for reading to the end, or skimming it at least! Have fun and keep felting, whether it be wet, dry or damp (some of each)!!