A Masterclass in needle felting dogs: Methods and techniques to take your needle felting to the next level

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The second problem, and the biggest, is the omission of how to felt long fur & how to cut fur to replicate breeds’ coats. There is one finished model’s look, yet that’s all there is. There’s no accompanying photographs to illustrate the stages of fur application in sequence or the final trimming, with vague text instructing ‘cut in the natural direction’ & ‘work from bottom to top’. Covering four different breeds of dog ( Dachshund, Chihuahua, Yorkshire Terrier and Poodle ), with step-by-step instructions and photos , Cindy takes you through the processes of creating different body shapes, proportions, armatures, coats, and blending, as well as realistic accessories such as eyes, noses, mouths, ears, and nails. On first reading Volkun's 1 star review, I felt that this may be a reviewer with an axe to grind, so scathing was the tone and while I didnt agree with her opinion, she was and is entitled to it. Felting needles:Medium, fine, and extra fine needles are useful. These are very sharp long needles with notches up the shaft, which pull and mat fibers together. They are available from yarn suppliers who sell felting materials and are also available online. We use sizes 38, 40 and 42 for miniature animals. If you intend to work only with wool, sizes 36, 38 and 40 are also suitable.

Photo of your chosen dog:It is far easier to get the shapes and proportions right for a sculpture if you have a photo or live model in front of you. Roving or unspun fiberin your choice of colors. Dogs take small amounts of material, less than an ounce of wool roving overall generally in 1:12 and 1:6 scale. Most yarn stores sell roving for felting, often in silk and wool. Costume suppliers and doll making suppliers usually have mohair roving for dolls hair or actors beards and mustaches. If necessary you can use wool fibers from old sweaters or knit projects, try to card it out into loose, straightened clusters before using it for felting. There’s a handful of mentions of two unknown techniques to attach a long coat, ‘work in the center’ & ‘end of the length’ which were used without introduction, explanation, or photographs to illustrate step by step in the middle of the project. The reader does not know what these methods are or are referring to.

We’d been waiting a long time for this release, except it’s left omissions (which were unexpectedly, joked about at the end) and covered basic techniques warned that you should have known already, which are explained (and instructed with photos) in other, better felting books.

Pipe cleaners:Most miniature dogs require a single pipe cleaner as a body frame, fibers on pipe cleaners make it easier to catch the wool roving. If you don't have pipe cleaners, use wire, something around 24 gauge should be fine. So, if you are a felter and wondering whether this book is for you, I would say with all confidence that this book IS worth purchasing, there's plenty of information on techniques, tips and supplies within the covers. Glass eyes or beads:2mm wire ended glass teddy bear eyes were used in this example (not suitable if these dogs will be near young children) You can also sew or glue on suitable beads, or felt eyes made from needle felt scraps in place. Of course Volkun is entitled to her opinion and I respect that and I was going to say nothing further except to post my own review with just a passing reference to Volkun's review. Search Press supports the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising of the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (DAAC), and the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (EDAA).

£9.99

I read R's comments on Volkun's review and I'm far more inclined to lean towards R's point of view than Volkun's. I'm a felter with six years experience and do commissions of dogs myself and Cindy-Lou Thompson is one of those felters whose work I admire so when I heard she had a book due to be published, I made sure I got one. A lot of the sculpting & touch up processes is done through acrylic paints & pastels, pens, hairspray, hot wax, and varnishes. If you’re not prepared or have any experience in painting or these other skills, then these projects are definitely not for you, or for anyone who doesn’t already know how to wield these complicated & often messy mediums. All the detailed work is left not to felting but wax, clay, & paints/pastels. It’s misleading in a book dedicated to fibre art.