There are hundreds of needle felting starter kits out there. What are they and how do you pick one? Starter kits are usually not project specific. They may include wool, supplies and tools. A few provide tips or instructions to make a small piece. I’ll show you five types of starter kits and help you decide if one of them is right for you.
What type of felting do you want to try?
The first thing to think about is what type of needle felting do you want to do? If you’re doing 2D needle felting, look for a starter kit that includes carded wool. It’s the go to wool preparation for 2D. If you’re doing 3D needle felting, you can use carded, combed and core wool.
What do you want to make?
The wool in a starter kit might be bright, earthy or neutral colors. Which of those would work best for the subjects you want to needle felt? If you’re making birds or video game characters, brights might be best. If you’re doing landscapes, earthy colors would be more useful.
Do you already have tools?
If you do, consider looking for an upgrade or explore kits that don’t have those. I’ll share two starter kits below that only include wool. If you are looking for a kit with tools, make sure that it includes a reusable stabbing surface and at least 2-3 needles (in case you break one).
Will you use the supplies the kit includes?
Some starter kits advertise themselves by the number of items they include. But If the kit has a lot of things that don’t apply to what you want to make, it’s a waste of money. For instance, the first kit I share below includes eye pins, jump rings, plastic eyes, hot glue sticks, and lanyards. If you’re doing 2D needle felting, you’ll probably never use any of those.
What’s your price range?
Since there are so many starter kits, the price for them varies wildly. Figuring out how much you’d like to pay will help you narrow the pool of kits. It will also make it easier to compare the ones that fit your budget.
Where is the wool from?
If you care about sheep, you may be interested in learning where the wool in the kit came from and how it was processed. Locally sourced wool may contain VM (vegetable matter like hay or grass). VM is easy to pick out and it’s a signal that the wool did not go through as much commercial or chemical processing. This type of starter kit is a little harder to find but they are available. Take a look at the second kit I shared below for an example and look for this in information in the kit description.
Let’s look at five needle felting starter kits I purchased! These are great examples of different types of kits. They’ll also give you a feel for what you might want to look for.
I have included Amazon affiliate links for some of the items below. This means I may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you click through and make a purchase.
Kit 1: Bargain priced all-in-one from Walmart (similar kit on Amazon)
- Regularly $19.99, purchased on sale for $13.99
- Advertised as including 62 Pieces
- 40 – 3 gram bags of merino wool individually packaged
- A storage box with a wood needle holder, 8 needles in 3 sizes, a tube to store needles, scissors, 2 glue sticks, an awl, 2 leather finger protectors, a bag of small accessories (1 key chain, 6 wire eyepins, 5 jump rings, 5 pairs plastic eyes in 3 sizes, and 3 plastic eyepins), and 10 multi color lanyards
- A foam felting mat
- Likes: For the price, it’s great! Nice assortment of colors, it’s merino wool & wool individually wrapped. The awl is one of my most used tools ever. The wooden needle holder is a nice touch and useful to try. The felting mat is a generous size. The assortment of tools and supplies could all be used for needle felting.
- Dislikes: It doesn’t list the needle types – they are triangles and included 2 size 32 or, 3 size 38 and 4 size 40. You have to have hot glue gun that fits the glue sticks. The finger protectors are a little snug.
Kit 2: Carded, locally sourced wool from Make Life Cozy
- $19.50
- 22 colors (roughly 2 ounces) of wool roving sourced from New England sheep, wool does have VM (vegetable matter)
- Two 38 star felting needles made in the USA by Foster company
- 5 by 5 inch by 2 inch thick foam mat
- 4 x 6 inch piece of 100% wool felt
- safety pin for project from printed instructions
- printed wool color list, tips to get started, and project to make a pin
- Likes: Love the little knots of wool, carded wool can be used for 2D or 3D needle felting, identifying source of wool as farms in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, the felting foam mat is high quality
- Dislikes: Some of the wool had too many nepps, printed instructions did not include photos or a drawing of what the project will look like
Kit 3: Wool only – 57 colors of South American Merino from Acorns And Twigs
- $34.90
- 5 grams (.18 oz) chunks of 57 colors of 100% virgin South American Merino Wool Top
- 100% fully recyclable and biodegradable cardboard box
- Likes: The wool is lustrous, soft combed top in gorgeous colors. There’s a generous amount of each color. There is a list of color names in the description so you can order more. Box is eco-friendly,
- Dislikes: None
Kit 4: Simon Brown’s Hare Set from Sweet Pea Dolls
- $19.00
- Special edition color set put together by felting artist, Simon Brown (The Gentleman Felter on Instagram). The set features all the colors and fibers needed to make Simon’s hares
- 20 grams (.7 oz) of Hamanaka Wool Candy H441-127-803 Sucre Light Brown
- HandCrafter Superfast Felting Wool, 10 grams (.35 oz) each of the following colors: V605 Camel, V701 White, V708 Black, V803 Hazelnut Coffee, V804 Mix Brown, V805 Caramel, V809 Nutlet, V835 Sand, V838 Greyish Brown
- This kit does not contain any instructional materials. The descriptions says that core wool is also required to make Simon’s hares. He uses and recommends the Hamanaka Needle Watawata core wool batts.
- Likes: Generous amounts of high quality wool. They specifically called out that you will need core wool and gave Simon’s preferred brand. Feels like a fun challenge to try to figure out how to make a Simon Brown hare if you have some felting experience. Sweet Pea Dolls also offers Simon Brown’s Fox, Wren and Robin Color Sets.
- Dislikes: None It’s exactly what it says it is.
Kit 5: Premium quality with 3 wool preps, wool mat, and carbon steel color-coded needles from Desert Breeze Distributing
- $69.50
- 12 Colors of Carded New Zealand Maori Wool. 1/2 ounce (14 grams) each
- 5 Colors of Combed Merino Wool. 1/4 ounce (7 grams) each
- 2 Ounces (56 grams) of Corriedale Wool to use as core wool
- 15 High-Carbon Steel Color-coded Felting Needles
- 5 – 36 Gauge Star
- 5 – 38 Gauge Star
- 5 – 40 Gauge Spiral/Twist
- 5″ x 5″ x 1″ 100% Wool Felting Pad
- 2 Leather Finger Guards
- Pamphlet that describes the kit contents, explains how to use them, provides getting started tips, and a step-by-step needle felted owl tutorial
- Likes: The high quality wool in a variety of preparations (carded, combed and core). The needles are amazing quality and color-coded. The needle tin box is strong and will accommodate extra needles. The wool pad is a generous size and should last a long time.
- I suspect the Maori wool in this kit is from DHG (Dyeing House Gallery in Italy). The pamphlet says it was dyed in the Tuscany region of Italy. But it doesn’t say it is DHG so that’s just my opinion.
- Dislikes: None. It is pricey, but it’s fantastic!
If these types of kits don’t fit what you need, why not try designing your own? Use these as inspiration. Choose a supplier that offers small amounts of wool and needles. Figure out what you’d like to try and create a kit you love.
Last Updated on April 2, 2024
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