Thursday, June 26, 2008

Felted pets.

Hey its been a while since i did a feature of stuff I found on Etsy. I don't have any new art to show you, so lets talk about the art of others :)

Lets talk about needle felting. More specifically, needle felted sculptures. I've heard of felted hats and bags and stuff, that's easy. But until I came to Etsy, I have never heard of needle felted sculptures. It turns out that a handful of etsians specialize in needle felted sculptures of pets - many will even make custom sculptures of your pets.

Let me start by saying that this is an art that I really know absolutely nothing about (hell, i don't even know how to knit besides "knit" and "purl"). But from what i gather, this is a process of carefully matting yarn into specific shape and texture with the use of a needle. Needle Felted sculptures are not cheap and this is because they require a lot of time and skill to make. I admire needle felters a lot - I have seen a lot of magnificent pet sculptures on Etsy :)
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This lovely Pomeranian in full coat comes from Gfelted made by Gerry. The fur texture is amazingly realistic-looking (and I'm a groomer, I can tell ;). Gerry has a huge range of dog breeds in her shop, with all sorts of fur textures, from silky to double coated to wiry to corded. The little Chinese Crested on the right shows a combination of smoothness and silkyness. Wonderful skill! and of course... I just had to include this last one - and Italian Greyhound! I'm in love! Definitely click on these pictures and see a larger version to see the detail!


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Amelia of Amelia Makes Art makes felted sculptures in a very different style. Those big expressive eyes are felted along with the rest of the sculpture. I particularly love how she handles patterned coats, such as this brindle puppy below... Most of Amelia's work is custom and these are examples of dogs based on other people's pets! Pet sculptures are not the only thing in her shop - she's also got felted soap, paintings and prints of her artwork, as well as commissioned pet portraits.


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Kay of KaysK9s makes keychains with the felted portrait of your pet. The details in the face are amazing. She also has a vegan options, for those that are allergic or do not wish to use animal fibers but still want one of these amazing sculptures.

Kay also makes full body wool sculptures, brooches, pins, and adorable cards and magnets featuring lovely photographs of her sculptures.

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Like I said, I am totally in awe of their talent. There are many other needle felters on Etsy - and not all of them focus on pets - search for it. They are an amazing gift for a fellow pet lover, or for yourself. And a wonderful tribute to pets that are no longer with us.

10 comments:

rose AKA Walk in the Woods - she/her said...

Too, too cute!!!

Thanks for pointing me here!

BeadedTail said...

I've always admired these "felted pets" so really enjoyed reading your feature!

DreamON said...

Those fuzzball puppies are amazingly cute! The pom is my favorite. Good Feature.

artpaw said...

great finds!

melroska said...

I love these felted animals, nice to see so many in one place!

Rosebud Collection said...

What wonderful stuff you have here..
It always amazes me what kind of work everyone does..Beautiful..and thanks for sharing..

Morrgan said...

They all look fantastic, I stop to admire soft sculptures like these every time I happen to see them. :)

Patrizia said...

AMAZING!

twenty pound tabby said...

The realism in these felted pets amazes me.

castelane said...

I am a long time needle-felter. I illustrated a picture book with this technique. I would be happy to answer any questions you or your readers have about needle-felting. I also have a movie on my site of my daughter and I making a simple felt sheep. It's a great way to see this unique craft in action. Check it out at: www.kimchatel.com