Last Updated on August 8, 2023
Explore our guide on “How to Sew Felt Fabric”: Felt is a versatile and delightful material to work with, perfect for creating a wide range of crafts and projects that add color, texture, and personality to your life. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced crafter, sewing felt opens up a world of creative possibilities.
How to sew felt fabric
Sewing felt fabric involves using embroidery needles and thread to create stitches that hold the material together. Common stitches include blanket, running, and whip stitches. Begin by threading the needle, choosing a stitch, and securing the thread. Practice and creativity will help you craft charming felt creations.
Here, we’ll explore the basics of sewing felt fabric and provide you with tips and techniques to make your felt projects shine.
Getting Started with Felt Crafts
Felt is an incredibly accessible and fun material to work with, making it a great choice for various craft projects. The possibilities are endless, from kids’ toys to decorative items and even fashionable accessories. Here are a few types of projects you can create with felt:
- Kids’ Crafts: Felt is an excellent choice for kids’ crafts due to its ease of use and versatility. Children can create adorable toys, seasonal decorations, and more using simple cutting and gluing techniques.
- Stuffed Animals: Crafting stuffed animals from felt allows you to create charming, heirloom-quality toys with intricate details. You can add buttons for eyes, beads for accents, and experiment with various stitches to give each animal its unique character.
- Felt Food: Felt food is a whimsical way to engage kids’ imaginations during playtime. Craft items like hamburgers, fruits, and vegetables that look almost good enough to eat!
- Accessories: Felt can be transformed into beautiful hair accessories, coasters, and even pin cushions. Its soft texture and vibrant colors make it an ideal choice for adding a touch of flair to everyday items.
Types of Felt
When it comes to felt, not all materials are created equal. Choosing the right type of felt for your project is important to ensure the best results. Here are three common types of felt:
- Craft Store Felt: This felt type is widely available and comes in various colors and sizes. While it’s suitable for kids’ crafts and simple projects, it may hold up poorly for intricate stitching and long-term use.
- Felt Wool Blend: A blend of wool and acrylic, this felt offers a balance of affordability and quality. It’s a popular choice for many crafting projects due to its durability, ease of sewing, and wide range of colors.
- 100% Wool Felt: Considered the premium option, 100% wool felt is soft to the touch and has a luxurious texture. It’s an excellent choice for heirloom-quality projects or items you want to cherish for years to come.
Essential Tools for Sewing Felt
Before diving into your felt projects, ensure you have the right tools. Here are some essential tools for sewing felt:
- Sharp Scissors: A good pair of sharp scissors is essential for cutting out precise shapes and details from your felt.
- Embroidery Needles: Choose embroidery needles with a gold eye, as they’re easy to thread and glide smoothly through the fabric.
- Embroidery Thread: Felt projects often call for embroidery thread to add decorative stitches and details. A wide variety of colors are available so that you can choose the perfect thread for your project.
- Hot Glue Gun: A hot glue gun is a handy tool for adhering felt pieces together quickly and securely.
- Iron-On Fusible Interface: This interface fuses felt layers together, creating a strong bond that can be stitched through.
Basic Stitching Techniques for Felt
Now, let’s explore some basic stitching techniques that you can use to bring your felt projects to life:
- Blanket Stitch: The blanket stitch is a versatile and decorative stitch used for edging felt pieces. To create a blanket stitch, start with a knot, bring the needle up from the back of the fabric, and insert it back down about 1/8 inch from the edge. Loop the thread around the needle and pull it through to form a stitch. Repeat this process along the edge.
- Running Stitch: The running stitch is a simple and functional stitch for attaching two felt layers together. Insert the needle up from the back, then bring it down a short distance ahead. Continue stitching in a straight line, maintaining even spacing between stitches.
- Whip Stitch: The whip stitch is similar to the blanket stitch but doesn’t show on the front of the fabric. Insert the needle through both layers of felt, then bring it back up a short distance ahead. Pass the needle over the edge of the fabric and repeat the process.
- French Knot: French knots are perfect for adding small accents to your felt projects. Insert the needle up through the fabric, wrap the thread around the needle a few times, and then insert the needle back down near the starting point while holding the wraps in place.
Finishing Touches and Tips
- When sewing felt, keep your stitches consistent and evenly spaced for a polished look.
- Practice stitching techniques on a scrap piece of felt before working on your main project.
- Experiment with different thread colors, stitches, and techniques to add dimension and personality to your felt creations.
- Use stuffing materials like polyfill or quilt batting to give your stuffed felt projects a soft and cozy feel.
Faqs – People also ask
What kind of thread do you use to sew felt?
Use embroidery thread for sewing felt. It works well and adds decorative touches.
Is it better to sew or glue felt?
Both sewing and gluing felt have their merits. Sewing offers durability, while gluing is quicker. Opt for fabric glue for strong bonds.
What are the disadvantages of felt?
Felt is stiff and lacks drape, making it unsuitable for flowing garments. Lightweight felt stretches more than heavy types.
Do you need to wash felt before sewing?
Yes, prewash felt in hot water before cutting or sewing for the best results.
Is sewing felt hard?
Sewing felt is beginner-friendly, whether by hand or machine. Its edges don’t fray, allowing various stitching methods.
Is felt a strong fabric?
Pure wool felt is resilient, insulating, and suitable for both decorative items and home furnishings.
What is the best needle for sewing felt?
Use a medium-sized needle (70/10 or 80/12) for regular felt on a sewing machine. Thicker felt needs a 90/14 needle.
How do you attach felt without sewing?
You can use strong tacky glue, a hot glue gun, or adhesive like E6000 to stick felt together without sewing. Aleene’s Felt and Foam Tacky Glue is also a good option.
Conclusion
With these tips and techniques in hand, you’re ready to embark on your felt crafting journey. Whether you’re creating charming stuffed animals, decorative items, or unique accessories, sewing felt allows you to express your creativity and make truly special pieces that will bring joy for years to come.
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