To make a miniature needle felted raccoon for a dollhouse or miniature scene you will need the following:
- Wool or silk roving (unspun fibre) in white, grey, or grey brown, and black. It is easier to felt with wool than silk, but silk allows for tinier animals and finer details. Either fibre will work for a 1:12 scale miniature. If you are working in smaller scales, you may want to learn to felt with silk.
- A needle felting mat or piece of thick foam to protect the surface you are working on and help keep your needles from breaking.
- Medium, fine, and extra fine wool felting needles. These are very sharp long needles with notches up the shaft, which pull and mat fibres together. They are available from yarn suppliers who sell felting materials and are also available online. I used sizes 38, 40 and 42 to create this raccoon. If you intend to work only with wool, sizes 36, 38 and 40 are also suitable.
- A six inch length of fine (3mm) pipe cleaner in a color to match your fibre. This will form the body frame and allow your raccoon to pose.
- A photo or picture of a raccoon It is far easier to get the shapes right for a sculpture if you have a photo or model in front of you.
If you have not tried felting before, you can buy materials in starter kits Buy Direct
Particular colors of wool roving for various projects are available singly or in sets Buy Direct.
Felting needles can be purchased in assortments of various sizes Buy Direct
