Learn how to needle felt

LEARN how to needle felt in a community workshop led by Cherie Riding at Cape Clear.

The session costs $60 and all materials will be provided for participants to make a felted reef fish.

The workshop will be relaxed, and participants will be encouraged to get creative.

“All the materials are covered in the cost so what we are looking to do is to learn how to use the wool and use the needle,” said Ms Riding.

“We’ll look at how to blend wool to get different blends on different creations.”

Ms Riding first got involved with needle felting when making some dolls for her grandchildren.

“I got into felting back in 2019 when I was going to make cloth dolls for my grandchildren but then I stumbled across a video about needle felting and I thought that makes a lot more sense,” she said.

“I needle felted them some dolls from the drawings they’d done, and it’s just gone from there.”

Ms Riding initially started holding workshops in 2020 but they were stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Members of the community later asked her to begin them again.

The artform involves creating figures or shapes out of wool with special needles and Ms Riding said she enjoys how calming it can be.

“With needle felting, poking the needle into wool can be extremely relaxing,” she said.

“You can do it anywhere and some people find it a great time for prayer or taking out their frustrations.”

The workshop will be held on Friday 24 May from 10am at Cape Clear Recreation Reserve. To register, call 0404 874 657.