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I took the machine out of the box. Now what?

Where do I begin? Here is an approach that I used to share embellishing with a needle felting machine. It is a great first project.

I recently had the opportunity to share my Embellisher with my best friend's 13 year old daughter, Sydney. She had a great time making scarves for Christmas presents using polar fleece. I also think that this is a great beginner's project or a project to share with your kids. Here are some of the things that we tried. I regret that I did not take pictures while we were doing the scarves, but I will try to redo some of them and insert photos soon. In the meantime, here are the ideas:
Polar fleece is very easy to work with. You can use roving, yarn, or other fibers and attach them directly to the polar fleece using the Embellisher. I would suggest that you make a practice scarf. (This is how I had Sydney start when I was showing her how to make them.) We took a strip of polar fleece and then we turned the long edge over and used the Embellisher to "stitch" the edges down. This gives the edge of the scarf some body. Next, I showed her how to lay roving on the top of the scarf and embellish it and then lay it on the back of the scarf to embellish it. There is no right and wrong side with the Embellisher, but the look is very different depending on which side you look at.
Now that you see the difference, try some of these ideas.
1. Cut a shape out of one color fleece and embellish it to another piece of fleece. You could make a polka dot scarf this way.
2. Lay some yarn in a pattern on the fleece and embellish it to the fleece. Any pattern will do. I like to make plaids that way. It is really cool if you use some fancy novelty yarns. Just be careful not to cut the fiber until it is attached. The Embellisher sometimes causes the fiber to "shrink" as it is embedded in the fleece.
3. Lay some roving on the fleece. Start with a shape. Then try thin lines. We eventually wrote words with roving on the fleece. We used a hand felting needle to hold the roving in place as we formed the letters. If you don't have a hand felting needle, you might try writing words with yarn instead.
4. Lay two pieces of fleece together along an edge and slightly overlap. Use the Embellisher to join the two pieces.
That should give you a start. Also remember that you can use decorative threads and stitch using a sewing machine and you can also embroider using an embroidery machine. Some combination of these ideas should surely get you started.

When Making Felt using Roving

I find it is much easier to make felt from roving if you use a stabilizer. I use Vilene, a non-woven, non-film but substantial, water-soluble stabilizer. I use a piece of Vilene that is at least 6 inches longer and wider than the piece of felt that I plan to make. I use this extra Vilene to help me move the felt under the felting needles. (Other brand names of products that are similar to Vilene Water Soluble Stabilizer are Aquamesh, Washaway, and H2O Gone.) Using the stabilizer is not "necessary", but for a new felter, it will surely make the process easier.
If you have never worked with roving before, it may take a bit of explanation of how to get the roving ready to use. The merino roving that I sell has a fiber length of 4-6 inches. The fibers are going in the same directions, but they start and stop at different places. To pull the fibers in the roving apart, you need to let the fibers slip by each other. So, first you need to hold the roving with your fingers against the heel of your hands with your hands AT LEAST 6 inches apart. Then, to fluff it up a bit, pull your hands apart quickly once to "snap" the roving. It will shock the scales on the wool and make it easier for the fibers to slide apart. Now, still holding them the same way, slowly and gently pull and the fibers will start to slide apart. If they don't, try snapping the roving again and then try to get it to slide apart. If does take a little practice, but the two biggest problems when getting started are holding the roving with your hands too close together or pulling too hard. It's not obvious that these things would cause a problem, but it does make sense when you understand how the roving is processed and how the scales lock fibers together to make felt.
When I want to make felt, I want to make sure that the felt is an even thickness. Using a technique that is often used when making felt using a wet felting technique, I lay a layer of roving horizontally on the stabilizer to cover the area that I am felting. I then top it with a vertical layer. Fluff the roving so that you get even coverage and use very thin layers. I usually use 4 alternating layers when I want to make a piece of flat felt. I start with two layers and attach that to the stabilizer. When making felt using these layers, I usually make a line vertically down the center of the piece and then another line horizontally. This secures the layers of roving to the stabilizer so that it is easier to manipulate. I then work over each quarter until I have felted the entire piece. To make sure that the felt is even, you can hold it up to the light and see if there are any thin spots. Then, I go back and lay down the next two layers making sure that you fill in any thin spots. Then, repeat the process of needling the roving . You can use different colors in each layer or more than one color in the same layer. After you are comfortable with the thickness of the felt, you should check the reverse side of the stabilizer. You will notice that one side of the felt looks different than the other. You can needle/punch from both sides to get a stronger felt, or you can needle/punch from just one side.
Your felt will have two sides that may look different. There is no "right" side or "wrong" side. You can use whichever side you like best. The top will be sharper in color separation. The reverse will be a much softer blending of colors and is often more fuzzy. Sometimes, you want the sharp separation. Sometimes, you want the blended colors. It is really nice to be able to get two choices from the same technique.
When you are satisfied with your felt (or want to see what it is "really" going to look like), you can wash out the stabilizer. First, cut away any excess stabilizer. I use a drop or two of Dawn dishwashing liquid and run the felt under warm running water. You can squeeze the felt until the stabilizer dissolves and disappears. Then, lay the felt to dry (or if you are in a hurry, you can throw it in the clothes dryer for a few minutes.
You can add more roving to your felt after washing out the stabilizer, but wait until the felt is dry.

Making 3 dimensional felt using the Embellisher

When I first received the Embellisher, I was thrilled. I began making lots of felt that was flat. But, I had always wanted to make a felted hat. I knew there had to be a way. I started, though, by making a bowl. I found that I could make 3 dimensional projects by making flat felt and then, after washing out the stabilizer. While the felt was still wet, I formed the felt over a form that was the shape I wanted. Look for more on how to do this section in the future.

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About Denise

I took the machine out of the box. Now what?

Where do I begin? Here is an approach that I used to share embellishing with a needle felting machine. It is a great first project.

When Making Felt using Roving

Making 3 dimensional felt using the Embellisher