Favorite Supply Sources/Resources for felt making

Websites

Aurelia Wool http://www.aureliawool.com/ Victoria, B.C.Canada Lots of colours! which is hard to find. Also great 'net layout and BIG thumbnails of the fibres.recommended by lexis

Ayala Talpia's Website www.fiberfanatics.c om USA
Ayala's books; and felting needles for sale in addition to tips and info about Ayala (recommended by radal 16)

Birkeland Bros. Wool http://www.birkelandwool.net/ Vancouver, BC, CANADA 3573 Main Street near 20th Ave. phone 604 874-4734 Birkenland Bros. is run by a father-daughter team and the business has been around since the 1930's. They have needles for felting, wool roving and batts (in mostly softer colours), and some brighter mohair accent bits in little baggies. They also carry spinning supplies and run classes in knitting and spinning (but not felting!). When I visit the store they are friendly and helpful, but I haven't tried ordering anything online 'cause i don't need to!(recommended by k8kre8s) when Lexis visited the physical store she found

Quote

selection is SUPER limited to big bags and primary colours

So am wondering if their selection does not change depending on what the spinners have requested.

Cristie Bears http://www.christiebears.co.uk/ UK
A friend ordered a kit from them and was pleased with it. They had good colours of roving for bear making and some nice detailed instructions. (recommended by Mata)

Decadent Fibers. Their website is partially in place http://www.decadentfibers.com USA
Needle felting kits for wonderful pumpkins, sunflowers, other flowers, and the scarf I made. Looks like they will have roving, needles and more later. (recommended by jenistar)

Deep Color Studio www.deepcolorstudio .com Kensington, CA, USA
cater mostly to spinners and wetfelters, colors of wool are fabu. felting needles, one size only all at good price

Deer Run Sheep Farm. http://www.deerrunsheepfarm.com/fleece.html USA They sell coopworth roving. It has a high wave to it. It needle felted very quickly. I think it is a great wool for starters. (recommended by Inspiring and EarthDiva)

Dream Spin Fibres http://www.dreamspinfibres.ca/ The woman who runs this is in Ontario Canada and is very friendly.
Fast shipping and Bee-U-Tee-Ful fibres from local farms and from Australia.
(recommended by lexis)

Dudley spinner http://dudleyspinner.com/
run by a woman named Deb. She is super helpful and although how much her store is stocked varies pretty widely, she has been fantastic about custom-dyeing all kinds of rovings for me, and has been able to turn up lots of wierd fibers on request. (recommended by rachelyra)

http://www.earthguild.com/ Asheville, NC USA
Lots of fibery and craft supplies Good prices. Romney type wool in natural colors and dyed that needle felt very quickly. Also have dyes , needles and books. Downside is no on line ordering...have to call. (rec. by dragonflyducky)

Edinburgh Imports http://www.edinburghimports.com/ UK
Mainly a teddy bear supplier, but they have needle felting supplies. I've bought eyes from them as well. (and teddy bear supplies) and they are really great. Fast shipment, etc. (recommeded by nest)

Fibrecrafts http://www.fibrecrafts.com/ UK They have roving, but they don'y have as many colours as Wingham Wool Work (noted by Lynnidings)

Gnome-Sweet-Gnome-Gifts on Ebay http://stores.ebay.ca/Gnome-Sweet-Gnome-Gifts Canada I purchased 2oz. roving in a variety of colours from this seller in BC. Super friendly. Shipping was at cost and they didn't charge a handling fee. (recommended by Ember77)

Halyon Yarn http://www.halcyonyarn.com/ Bath, MEUSA
Wonderful. I've bought most of my roving from them. It's nice too you can order a sample card which is most helpful. They have the two needle holder that I love for needle felting (ddd).(recommended by nest & dragonflyducky)

Hooked on Felt http://www.hookedonfelt.com/ Plainwell MI USA
I ordered some needles and holders from them. Great transaction. Very pleasant. The needle holders are great because they hold more than one at a time and I found the price to be VERY reasonable. Seriously. I paid less in U.S. dollars for one of their 4-needle holders including shipping than it would cost me for one here at my local wool store. They have a pretty extensive website. (recommended by Ember77)

http://www.kindredspiritsdesigns.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=15 USA
Under the "project supplies" section of their products page, they also have small roving "color kits" for shorter money than the Mielke's bag of candy (though you get less roving). The needles, though it doesn't specify, are 36's and sold in a pack of 3. It's nice roving, though a bit gnarlier than the Mielke's. A little easier to felt. recommended by Jenistar

Lavender Fleece Farms http://lavenderfleece.com/ MI, USA
They grow lavender plants and raise Icelandic Sheep. Laurie carried several styles of needles in a variety of sizes. There is not a great deal of info on her site, but she was wonderful in describing the needles and their use in emails. If you like very personal service, speciality fleece, from a small home type farm in the USA. She is not a needle felter, she is a shepherdess and herbal Gardener. So she does not have patterns, kits, etc. Just lovely lavender, fleece, felting needles and spinning wheels. (recommended by GraceOblivious)

MAPLEROSE http://www.maplesplendor.ca on Baker Street in Nelson, BC (it's in the south-east part of the province). Canada They ship in north america. k8kre8s found this store in brick and motar form on a road trip they offered a great selection of colours and funky wool styles to choose from.
(recommended by k8kre8s)

http://www.maryjanesattic.net. San Francisco, USA really nice! She had lots of bright colors, and happy to do custom work. (recomended by Rachelyra

Mielke's Fiber Arts http://www.mielkesfarm.com/flt_ndls.htm WI, USA
A family fiber business. They offer several varieties of roving and lots of fiber art supplies, plus a few free on-line tutes/projects. Needle felting supplies, bright colorful roving, and other fiber supplies and equip. They offer a nice pack of mixed size felting needles with color coded tops-- so you can try out the various sizes and see what you like. (recommended by GraceOblivious) (Jenistar notes that ordering process is cumbersome)

Norwegian Wool http://www.norwegianwool.co.uk/
Great for Norwegian wool in the UK, fast service, good colour range. (recommended by MsP)

Outback fibers http:// www.outbackfibers.c om USA
A good source. (recommended by EarthDiva)

Peace Fleece -- httpL//www.peacefleece.com USA
My favorite resource for all things fiber. They have everything from roving and yarn to felting tools and kits, plus supplies for knitting and spinning. It's a small, friendly family company, great range of materials knowledgeable about everything they sell. The best part, though, is that they support struggling farming communities around the world, and give back a lot of their profits to support peace and education. Much of the wool they sell is a blend from Maine and other countries (including Russian, Israeli and Palestinian wool), in efforts to promote peace. You can order online, or pick up in person, and they have wholesale rates, too. Happy Felting! (recommedned by MishMoshStudio)

http://www.rhlindsaywool.com/products/index.htm Boston, MA USA
Prices here are great. Mostly for getting large quantities in natural colors. Can get raw fleece, batting or scoured, carded, but nothing dyed. (rec by dragonflyducky)

http://www.thesheepshedstudio.com/ (Encampment, WY USA) I have ordered from her...GREAT prices, she gets wool from Brown Sheep company, has yarn overstocks as well as plain fiber...some is superwash so make sure you don't get that if you're going to be felting. Her stock is always changing. She is great at communicating quickly via e-mail and helped me get a nice variety of browns together for a project. (recommended by dragonflyducky)

http://www.scottishfibres.co.uk - Lothian, Scotland
fast delivery.. after I ordered and was about to pay I mentioned I'd forgotten Yellow for tux's feet and she threw some in free of charge. I liked (maybe this sounds daft) the old fashioned hand written invoice that came in with my parcel. It shows they are good on customer care and things and whatnot. (recommended by Johanino)

http://www.thesheepshedstudio.com/ (Encampment, WY USA )
GREAT prices, she gets wool from Brown Sheep company, has yarn overstocks as well as plain fiber...some is superwash so don't get that if you're going to be felting. stock is always changing. She is great at communicating quickly via e-mail and helped me get a nice variety of browns together for a project. (recommended by dragonglyducky)
www.spinnradl.it Italy.. they have pretty stuff at reasonable prices! recommended by Mata

Wier Dolls www.weirdolls.com they have a nice section for felting supplies. (recimmended by EarthDiva)

Wingham Wool Work, http://www.winghamwoolwork.co.uk/. UK You can order 250g bags of roving in different colorways (e.g. blues, reds, multicolour) or individual colours in amounts from 100g. (recommended by Lynnidings)

Walk in the door Stores

Romni Wools on Queen Street in Toronto, Canada
They're a really popular wool/yarn/fibre store here. Huge store just crammed with gorgeous textiles. They have needle felting kits and bags of wool roving (some with silk in it which don't felt up as easily, so be careful and examine what you're buying). The bags are on the pricier side but you get a lot. When I went they were out of the smaller starter kits of roving which give you a variety of colours and I didn't want to buy a big bag of just one colour since I was only starting out. I will go back and check things out again. (recommended by Ember77)

On-line tutorials/classes

Topic - Dying
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/dyelog/B1063361308/index.html

Topic- Hat making
Blog on making a felt hat. REALLY cute and interesting to read:
http://scrubberbum.typepad.com/moth_heaven/2006/01/ladies_start_yo.html

video on making a wet felted hat http://www.hatshapers.com/Felting_Instructions.htm

Topic - Iranian method of wet felting. Free Video shows the whole process
addy - http://www.peaceindustry.com/pagesinternal/film.htm
This clear video is great for anyone who is a little hazy on the wet felting process for larger items. The 15 min video in not explicitly an instruction video. It is a documentary of traditional Iranian Felt Making entitled 'Namad' (Farsi meaning felt), that follows the felt making process of Haj Alii Halajion, shot by Dodd Raissnia in May 2003.

Topic: Misc.
http://www.blacksheepdesigns.com/

http://www.feltmaking.dk/english/pictures07.php

Topic - info on breeds + staple of fibre
addy - http://www.peak.org/~spark/feltingwools.html and http://www.gfwsheep.com/blood.count.html
free or pay for use - free
brief review what is covered in the tute - I found this table, which seems to list at least which wool from different breeds are short/long or fine/coarse. And the second link seems to explain some of the numbers/scales they use
( recomended by PurpleHeather )

Resources
http://www.feltmakers.com
It seems to be a growing hub for those interested in felt making.
Theres some good links and a reading list of books on feltmaking. (suggested by Jane Doe)