If you're just starting out felting, the variety of wools available and what they are all used for can be pretty daunting! The Hawthorn Handmade team have rounded up the essential things you need to know about the most common types of fibre and wool, and how they needle felt so you can get to grips with the basics and start experimenting with felting today.

Sprouts - whether you love them, hate them or tolerate them, needle felted sprouts are seriously cute and a fun way for beginners to get used to needle felting techniques. Check out our tutorial and have a go at making your own little cuties! They can be turned into earrings, necklaces, brooches, keyring and more! #needlefelting #beginnerfelting #diyhandmade #moderncraft #britishwool #craftproject #felting #needlefelted #craftlove #crafttutorial #crafttutorials #sprouts #ilovesprouts

Hoops aren’t just for embroidery! If you’re looking for an alternative, modern way to display your photos, then try repurposing an embroidery hoop. It’s super quick, easy to do and looks great hanging on your wall or propped up on a shelf! We’ve the full step-by-step tutorial on our website. Happy crafting! #hawthornhandmade #diyhandmade #moderncraft #embroideryhoops #craftproject #hoopart #modernembroidery #createmakeshare #handmadegiftideas #handmadegift #repurposed #repurposedart

Embroidery is a relaxing way for you to connect with your inner creative and enjoy the process of making something beautiful. Here are our top tips which will help prevent you from getting in a tangle and boost your stitching confidence! #beginnerembroidery #embroiderykit #moderncraft #embroiderylover #embroiderylove #stitchedbyhand #dmcthreads #craftproject #craftkit #modernembroidery #creativehappylife #craftlove #createmakeshare

TOP TIP! If you've got lots of left over embroidery thread, why not re-purpose it! It's the perfect material to make your own mini tassels. 1) Take your thread and wrap it around your open fingers to create multiple loops 2) Wrap smaller pieces of thread around the centre of the big loops. Tie to secure. 3) Once you have added all the colours you want, fold the strand in half. Wrap another piece of thread around the neck of the tassel to form the tassel shape. Snip the ends to finish!

Use cookie cutters to create needle felted shapes! 1. ✂️ Place cutter onto a needle felting foam pad. 2. ✂️ Fill cutter with wool to the brim making sure it's all full. 3. ✂️ Stab the wool repeatedly with a needle felting 38-gauge star needle taking care around the edges. 4. ✂️ Once the wool has felted together, gentle ease the woollen star from the cutter (flip it over and felt the other side if you wish). 5. ✂️ Tidy up the edges using the needle, taking care of your fingers. Have fun!

If you've just started weaving and feel confused by exactly what you need to get started, we’ve pulled together a run-down of the essential tools you’ll need. Some, you’ll already have in your home, others you’ll need to buy, but we keep things simple so you can focus on being creative and build your weaving confidence and know-how. #tapestryweaving #hawthornhandmade #learntoweave #diyhandmade #weavingloom #moderncraft #britishwool #craftproject #craftkit #woventapestry #weaving #fibrecraft

🦊We are loving making these cute cards for Christmas this year! This time it’s our gorgeous needle felted fox brooch which has been pinned onto a crafted card ready to give as a gift. Simply pop the finished card into a gift box and he’ll be sure to make someone’s day. (Handmade card ✔️handmade gift ✔️lots of smiles all round ✔️). 😍Check out how to make the card on our website under Written Tutorials. Happy crafting! #christmascrafting #handmadechristmas #needlefelting #christmascards

Think outside the box if you are making and gifting our needle felted brooches this Christmas. 🎁 Instead of just wrapping them up in paper or popping them in a box, try pinning them onto a handmade card instead! They are the perfect size and will be sure to make your loved one smile. Here’s one we made using our Mini Needle Felting Black Sheep Brooch Kit. 🐑 #christmascrafting #handmadechristmas #needlefelting #diyhandmade #feltingkit #moderncraft

Recycle your Hawthorn Handmade packaging and use it to create beautiful embroidery hoop frames in which you can to display your stitched art! 2020 is the year we all need to make a point of doing our best to recycling and repurpose what we can, so we’ve been getting creative with our embroidery kit packaging and used some of it to decorate an embroidery hoop (the full tutorial is on our website). #embroideryhoops #hoopart #repurposedpackaging #repurposedecoration #recyledpaper

🎄Christmas is officially just round the corner! Are you planning on making gifts for people this year? If you haven’t started yet, it could be time to craft a little love❤️for Christmas. These needle felted cuties are already in the festive mood! 🐭 #christmascrafting #handmadechristmas #needlefelting #beginnerfelting #diyhandmade #feltingkit #moderncraft #britishwool #craftkit #felting #needlefeltedanimal #needlefelted #creativehappylife #craftlove #needlefeltingkit #needlefeltedmouse

Needle felting is the process of transforming wool into 3D objects using a barbed needle. Felting needles have very small barbs near the point that, when stabbed through wool, catch on the scales of the fibre and push them together. The more and more you stab, the more the fibres matt together gradually turning the wool into solid felt (and awesome creatures like thse gorgeous felted robins!)