Felt is a material loved by many hobbyists and DIYers.
Given that it is also easy to use, it becomes highly useful to many embroiderers like us.
Unlike thinner fabrics, felt does not wrinkle when working with it, but instead, offers a pretty sound base for all felt embroidery projects.
Even if you are a beginner, it’s unlikely that you’ll find this material complicated to work with because it’s very flexible, which makes it perfect for creating felt embroidery patterns.
A little bit about felt:
Felt is neither knit nor woven, but instead, it is made up of small fibers and is really compact. Generally, the materials used to make felt include polyester, wool, or fabric. Among these, wool felt works better for embroidery purposes.
Keeping that in mind, let’s move on to see how you can use embroidery on felt in the following.
How to Create Felt Embroidery Projects
So, before going into the process, there are only two essential tools that you’ll to complete any felt embroidery projects.
1. Stabilizer
Although felt is a sturdy material by itself, we still suggest using stabilizers to help achieve precise embroidery designs.
Be it washable or tear-away; any kind of stabilizers will work fine with felt. However, we suggest using a tear-away stabilizer for small projects because it is easier to remove and will not disrupt the patterns.
But for large projects, we would recommend using cut-away stabilizers for a quicker removing process.
2. Embroidery Needles
Because felt is a thick and stiff material, it becomes necessary to use a sharp needle.
The recommended size of a needle for felt embroidery is 11 for complete and tidy stitching.
However, the felt quality also plays a role in achieving delicate stitches. Therefore, make sure to find one which won’t snag when stitched.
What to Make With Felt Embroidery
Here are a few embroidery ideas which you can make using felt as a material:
1. Applique or Sewing Stickers
Making appliques with felt is pretty easy, along with the right tools in hand. Give these little sticker patches a try to make colorful DIY cloth designs.
2. Christmas Tree Ornaments
Rather than spending a lot of money each year, why not put in some of your embroidery time to create Christmas ornaments? They are cheaper and will last longer. This is a great reason to keep your felt offcuts, as Christmas ornaments are typically quite small.
3. Coasters
Want to create useful materials with felt? Coasters or mug rugs are a popular choice amongst embroiderers. Handmade coasters are unique and much more valuable. Homemade coasters would make a great personalized gift.
4. Tags or Key Chains
Last but not least, felt tags are becoming very popular to use for gifts and luggage. If you have a lot of baggage, having a matching set of tags would definitely help locate all your luggage quickly at an airport. Not only that, but you can also create beautiful key chains with embroidered felt.
Tips
As we mentioned earlier, using a stabilizer is essential to keep the felt in place. It is recommended to use one which is either light or medium weight.
And the ideal ones for felt embroidery are cut-away and tear-away stabilizers.
If you’re stitching with the help of a hoop, a washable stabilizer can be easier to remove. You can just soak the embroidered pattern in the water and wait for the stabilizer to dissolve.
Use two fabrics at once if you want to create unique designs, especially when making coffee mug rugs or coasters.
If you are interested, you can check out small and large embroidery machine options here.
Finishing up
And there you have it! We hope you found this short article as a good reference for future felt embroidery projects. And of course, you can always try felt for other creative ideas besides the ones we listed.
Until then, have fun!
