General Information about Felting Needle Types
Articles and Information on Needle Felting
Sampler Pack (try six of the most common needles)  
Needle Prices
Link for Needle Tools

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PRICE UPDATE!!!
11-9-2010   For a few years the prices from the needle manufacturer have been slowly going up.  We have tried to hold our prices steady and absorb the increases.  Unfortunately, the prices are now such that we can no longer do this.  As of today, our felting needles will have to increase in price.  In addition, the needle prices now differ considerably from one needle size to another. Our new prices will reflect this difference.  Thank you for your patronage,  Kathe and Pat

Needles for the Clover Needle Tool

Clover Company has designed a felting needle tool that has a nice guard that comes down and covers the needles for the user's protection.  This is great, but the cover is not very long and the longer felting needles are not guarded by the cover since they come down below it.  We carry several needles that will work with this special tool.  Our coarse needle (gauge 32), star fine (gauge 38), extra fine (gauge 40) and ultra fine (gauge 42) do fit this needle tool.  I do use the longer needles as well, but I cover the tips with a Styrofoam ball to protect them and myself.

Needle Types Information
Pat Spark copyright 2002, 2006

 While there are several hundred different types of needles used by the industry, the home felter only has access to a few different types.  Some factors to consider when deciding on a needle type for a project are:

A.       Needle gauge.  There are different sized needles for different projects.  The 32 gauge is for needling hair onto vinyl dolls and for needling coarse fiber such as Karakul.  (I call this the coarse needle.) The 36 gauge needles are used for needling medium fleece such as Romney or Cotswold.    (I call this a medium needle.)  There are also 40 and even finer gauge needles.  The higher the number with wire (as with thread), the finer the diameter.  So 40 is smaller than 36.  I use the 40 for needling very fine fibers and for needling fine pre-felts onto silk cloth backgrounds. (I call this needle the extra-fine needle.) I use the 38 for merino fibers and call it a fine needle.  I like this needle for needling merino pre-felts onto a cotton cloth ground. The coarser needles are good for preliminary work, doing the deep penetration necessary to "rough" in a sculpture for instance.  The finer needles are better for detail work done when the felt is already partially hardened by the coarser blades.  You do not need to penetrate deeply into the felt surface to add details and the finer gauge leaves less of a hole.

B.       Blade style.  While there are several blade styles, there are two blade styles that most needle felters use.  The most common is the triangular blade.  This blade is shaped like a leather needle, with three sharp edges.  The notches are along these sharp edges.  The other type of blade is the star blade.  This one has four edges and is shaped somewhat like a star.  There are more notches since there are more than 3 edges.  This needle is good for helping to attach fine fiber to cloth.  It is also good for detail work.

C.      Notch placement and depth.  On some needles available to us, the notches are placed about 1/8 inch away (3.2 mm) from the point and on others, the notches are placed about 3/8 inch away from the point.  If the notches are closer to the point, you won't have to push down with as much effort to start getting the fibers to tangle. 

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 LINKS TO ARTICLES ON NEEDLE FELTING   (Need help learning about needlefelting?  Here are some articles and other links that might help you.)
Fiber Choices for Needle Felting
Preparing Merino Top for Needle Felting
Pictorial Needle Felting
Needle Felt Rose Scarf
Felting Needles and Their Uses (posts from Feltlist)
Felting Needle Bibliography (as of 2004)

·      Star Style Blades