Fleece Dog Miniature Felt Dog Kits

These kits to make small felt dogs contain glass eyes, wire, wool roving in the required colors, a felting needle, cord to and photos of the finished dog. They are available in a number of breeds, and are easily finished in an evening or afternoon. The finished dogs are very identifiable as to breed and would make cute companions for 1:6 scale figures (Barbie or other fashion dolls). If assembling the materials for a first felting project is difficult where you live, this would be a good introduction, as long as you have access to the Fleece Dog book for instruction in English.

The adorable felted dogs shown in Nobuko Nagakubo's book Fleece Dog are available as kits to allow you to assemble many of the breeds she features in her book. The breeds available as kits include: Afghan, Bernese Mountain Dog, Catalan Sheep Dog, Chihuahua, Dalmation, French Bulldog, Labrador, Miniature Dachshund, Miniature Schnauzer, Pomeranian, Papillion, Scottish Terrier, Shiba Inu, Siberian Husky, Toy Poodle, West Highland White Terrier, and Wire Haired Fox Terrier. Each kit will make a single dog.

Unfortunately kit instructions are in Japanese with diagrams and photos. A first time felter could not complete one of these kits without the opportunity to see the English instructions in the Fleece Dog book.

The kits come complete with all needed materials, including a felting needle, to make a single dog of a particular breed. A generous supply of fleece allows a novice to experiment with technique. The only thing missing from the kit is a thick piece of foam, or tightly stuffed felting cushion to protect a work surface.

The genius of the Fleece Dog book and kits is in the way Nobuko Nagakubo has adapted dog breeds to the colors and handling qualities of felted wool. Any of the kits would make a fine miniature of the dog breed chosen. A beginner can create a successful product with one of these kits if they follow the book instructions.

A copy of the book and a starter kit of your favorite dog breed would be a good introduction to the sculptural felt process as all the materials you need are included. As the kits don't come with instructions a beginners could use, they are not a place to start felting without also having a copy of the book for reference. For a more experienced felter who can work from photos, and has used wire eyes, finishing a kit satisfactorily is possible without a copy of the book.