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Maker Team member Felicia of @felicia_murray made quite a splash with her Needle Felted Corals tutorial last month! As promised, she's back to show you how to incorporate those individual pieces into an organic wall hanging. Let's head out to sea with Felicia!
Last month, we dove into needle felting sculptural underwater corals. This month, we are taking what we learned and made, and creating unique wall hangings inspired by the sea! This is the perfect first needle felting project after learning the basics. Your finished piece will make the perfect handmade gift for a sea-loving friend! Or you can keep it for yourself to add to a unique gallery wall.
Skill Level: Intermediate
Time: 2-4 hours
Supplies:
Needle Felted Corals from previous tutorial
Corriedale Roving (Orchid, Sky, Midnight, Fern, and Purple shown)
Needle Felting Foam
Needle Felting Pen
Wool Blend Felt for two circles in desired size
Frixion Tracing Pen
Scissors
Embroidery Needle
Embroidery Thread
Hot Glue Gun
Glue Sticks
Directions:
Tracing the Pattern - You can create this wall hanging in any shape you choose. I chose a circle!
1. Trace the shape of your wall hanging with a disappearing marking pen. For a circle, use a bowl or embroidery hoop to draw your outline. Leave at least a ½" space around the outside of your shape.
Attaching the Corals - My process is very intuitive, so I start at a random point on my shape and choose as I go where to place things. Be free with your design and have fun with the process! I will take you through my steps, but feel free to mix things up when it comes to placement, color, and technique!
1. Barnacles: Needle felt around the outside of the barnacle at a slight angle, pushing the fibers through the felting cube below. I decided to start the piece with a cluster of three Sky colored barnacles.
2. Brain Coral: Starting at one end of the felted “tube”, felt around the outside edges as you twist and place it in an organic pattern. I added two different sized Orchid tubes to create a wavy shape.
3. Tubular Corals: Felt around the outside of the coral, and then the inside circle. I then added a small layer of wool to the inside of the coral to cover the white felt.
4. Flat Felted Surface: I like to add these areas into my pieces so that there is a good range of dimension. Simply needle felt thin layers of wool into the surface, covering the area and shape that you want.
Once you get the hang of attaching your corals to the wool, you are good to go! Experiment with different sized corals and your placement of colors. Here is a frame lapse of my process:
I then added Branch Corals for some three-dimensional fun!
Finishing Your Piece - Once you are done filling your shape with magical underwater corals, you are ready to prepare your piece for hanging!
1. Remove the disappearing ink by ironing/steaming. Cut around your circle with a ½" allowance. Cut slits around edges.
2. Hot glue the edge to the back of the piece.
3. Attach a felt backing with a circle that is slightly smaller than original pattern. Hot glue in place.
4. Sew on a loop with embroidery thread for hanging!
You did it! Isn’t wool just incredible? These pieces look so unique when hung on the wall and are definitely a conversation starter. I like hanging mine by some plants or placing them above a shelf with added décor. This project opens doors to what you can achieve with wool and needle felting. Imagine a forest inspired wall hanging, or a floral inspired piece? The possibilities are endless!
Thanks to Felicia for designing and writing this tutorial! You can follow her on Instagram @felicia_murray or visit her website. Stay tuned for more tutorials from Felicia and the Benzie Design Maker Team!
