Step Two: Take roughly twice the amount of wool as you used in the head, and use this to form the bear’s body. A good bear body is roughly pear shaped. The body should be felted slightly firmer than the head, you will be attaching the limbs via felting (and sewing) later on, but the body does not need to be soft for this. If you want to leave the tip of the narrow part of the “pear” slightly softer it will facilitate the attachment of the head.

Love miniature projects like this? Get your paws on a wide variety of projects, latest news from the world of miniatures, inspiration, expert advice and so much more with Dolls House & Miniature Scene magazine! From the authors of Needle Felting for Beginners, awarded BEST CRAFT BOOK in The Craft Business Awards 2021. Step Five: Take smaller amounts of wool and needle felt one small amount into a ball for the muzzle. Take another two equally sized small amounts and fold the wool over into a rough ear-shape, and needle felt some ears. Leave a loose part on the underside of the muzzle and on the under-side of the ears for attachment purposes.Make another long strand and anchor it a little way down from the top of the first line by poking it very firmly in place. Felt it at a 45º angle for around 1cm. Then firmly anchor it again. Step Nine: Use your darker colors to add detailing to ears, muzzle, eyes, and paws. Layering dark and light in the eyes can give you a more realistic look as well. Once you have the fine detail done, needle felt colored fiber on as “clothes” or needle felt a flat cloak, shawl, or even a hat. Take a tiny piece of wool from a contrasting colour and roll into a ball between your thumb and forefinger. Using your needle on the foam pad, felt this until it's round and flat. Pull/cut away the arm at about 0.5in long. Needle the cut/frayed end firmly into the body. The fur/thread will stay in position without anything more than the action of the needle. Repeat. Twist the wool strand as you felt gently along it and ‘draw’ a neat line. You might like to curve the line as you go so that it looks like the stem of a leaf. Poke the ends of the strand into the ball.

Poke the needle in where you have anchored it and, leaving the needle there, pivot the strand down towards the stem, making a triangular leaf shape. Remove the needle and felt along this line. If you’re not sure where to start, why not try one of Bergin & Bath’s needle-felting kits? There are lots to choose from and they’re all suitable for beginners as they include full step-by-step photographic instructions. Most projects start with a simple ball like this. Turn it into a hedgehog, a mouse or a polar bear.Wool – Polworth or Coridale roving is preferable. However, as long as the wool will felt you can use whatever you have on hand. I used a hand-carded lot of Romney wool, though commercially prepared roving gives a more uniform result. Needle and Thread to secure head and limbs if you intend to give the bear as a gift, or if it will be around children. How To Needle Felt a 3D Teddy Bear: I would like to add that, at least with needle felting, smaller does not mean easier. In fact, a roughly hand-sized bear is the easiest size to needle felt, anything smaller is much more difficult since it is easier to poke yourself. Anything larger than hand-sized takes longer due to the larger amount of wool that you need to felt down. Needle Felting Basics:

To turn your decorative balls into hanging baubles, tie a loop in some jolly thread. Place this on top of the ball and lie some matching wool strands over the thread. Felt the loop firmly in place. This bear will be very firm and dense, not like a plush toy. It's pretty durable, but I have never put one through a wash. I do believe they would survive a washing machine, but I would not put one in the drier. Hand washing would probably be best, and then just blot the bear dry and re-shape it, if necessary.

Now that all the bear's parts are in place, you can start working the wool down to make the features more defined and sized proportionally. Work little by little, don't focus too much on one area, move around keeping the arms, legs, ears the same size. Form a ball of felt from the remaining wool at the top of the body for the head by rolling it up and felting together with your needle. Each project is accompanied by clear, step-by-step instructions and beautiful photographs, and there are handy hints and tips throughout the book to help make the crafting process even easier. Detailed guidance is provided at the start of the book on the materials and equipment you need; how to sculpt a basic bear; make your bears' paws, feet and faces; and how to really bring your bear to life by carefully positioning the nose, eyes and ears. The techniques are easy to learn and soon you will be designing and making bears of your own to keep or give.

Work up from the top of the legs with your felting needle all the time shaping and forming the torso. Repeatedly pushing the needle in at a point below the belly will cause the body to bend upwards and make your teddy into a sitting bear. Cover any bald spots with smaller pads of coloured wool until you have a neat, even coverage all over. Slide your finger down to almost the tip of your needle and tap the surface all over to push in any loose strands. Split the wool into three lengths of around 7g each. Roll one of these tightly around the top of your finger, keeping the fibres straight. Blend the ends in by smoothing them with your other hand.Take a small amount of coloured wool fibre and rub it in your fingers until you have a little round pad. Place this onto the ball and very gently felt it, using the tip of your needle, until it is firmly attached.