If done properly, needle felting animals can look incredibly realistic and just as good, if not better than taxidermy, no blood and guts are involved for one thing. If I haven't got anything better to do tomorrow I will attempt to make the above dog that I bought from Home Bargains, it cost a princely sum of 99p. I've watched a few Youtube videos on the subject and feel confident enough to give it a stab. I don't know how well it will turn out as it contains no instructions, it just gives you tips and advice, there are no templates with it either. I will post a picture of the finished result in due course.
I was going to buy a live dog to model for me but having seen the prices people are charging on Pets4homes they can very well sod off, £3750 for a French Bulldog* the opportunist Cs!
When I've finished making it, I'll be selling it for 75 quid, if anyone is interested, let me know.
*Mitzi doesn't have a penchant for French Bulldogs she was just using it as an example and would never contemplate buying anything with French in it's title that goes for French mustard, French fries and French marigolds.
A beautiful addition to anyone's mantelpiece, that! Not mine, of course - it's far too tasteful pour moi. Jx
ReplyDeletePS I assume "French letters", French kissing and the French Horn are also banned chez Mitzi?
Bien sûr, rubber johnnies, snogging and bugle, if you please.
Delete"buy a live dog" - ? Have you seen one ....
ReplyDeleteIn retrospect, a dead dog would be a lot cheaper.
DeleteIt would fit well with my tiny bears, but £75 is a bit steep!
ReplyDeleteSx
Good grief Scarlet, you didn't think I was being serious did you? My thinking was if someone is willing to pay £3750 for a dog then they must be somebody out there daft enough to pay £75 for a bit of fluff.
DeleteThink of the skill, the craftsmanship, the sleepless nights that it will take you to create such a felted canine (without instructions). You should be pushing the price higher. There is always someone daft enough.
DeleteI am a little 'meh' at the moment, please excuse my lack lustre comments.
Sx
Not to mention the pain, I've lost count on the number of times I've stabbed myself with the needle and drawn blood. It's at the embryonic stage at the moment, I'm waiting for my fingers to heal before continuing.
DeleteNo instructions and no templates? What is it then, just a square of felt? Does it come with stuffing, or will you have to raid the pantry for a box of Paxo?
ReplyDeleteP.S. I agree with Ms Scarlet (again), in that you should charge a lot more than £75 for whatever you create. Pop it on Etsy, say the felt is "vintage", and you're bound to get a couple of hundred quid!
It's sculpture using unspun wool with no stitching or stuffing involved, the pack comes with 4 different coloured wool, 2 needles that look like allen keys and a stabbing mat, the longer you stab at it, the harder it becomes. If you read the small print, it clearly states a monthly payment option of £75 a month for 12 months, I think £900 for something made by my own fair hands is worth it.
DeleteI'm sure if my intention was to make a felt dog like this it would probably turn out as a rabbit at best. I don't make the rules, that's just how it is.
ReplyDeleteI used to live a hedonistic lifestyle before the lockdowns and now I'm reduced to making felt dogs and doing jigsaw puzzles, I've turned into my mother. The dog I'm making looks nothing like a dog more like a cooked chicken.
DeleteHahaha. I knew I was turning into my mother when I started eating snacks over the sink so as not to dirty a plate. Maybe this is a bit of a long pause and you can go back to your previous lifestyle or mesh the two together and use someone's back as a table for small puzzles or drawing. I like the drawing, it sounds fun for both giver and receiver. Lots of swirls here and there....
DeleteI think a cooked chicken made out of felt would be DARLING. Claim that that was your intention all along.
ReplyDeleteHoly Cow - Mitzi, how does that damn dog look now ?!
ReplyDeleteThe pressure is unbearable : Show yer dog now, please ...