I usually felt for hours at a time, most of the day, everyday so finding a comfortable needle felting tool was a top priority! I felt with a single needle and up until a few years ago I didn’t use anything other than the bare needle. The needle wasn’t comfortable and my fingers ached after hours of felting. I tried several ways to make the needle more comfortable to hold. I tried dipping the end of the needle in plasti dip, which did help a tiny bit for comfort but the plastic soon fell apart and came off the needle. My husband made some wooden ends for me and they were awkward no matter what size he made them. I have purchased holders that are hard to hold in my hand and I have always gone back to using just the needle. I finally found the perfect solution and have been using it with complete comfort ever since.
Have you ever noticed how natural a pen feels in your hand? Well, that is how I came upon this idea. I will show you how I take a pen and turn it into the most comfortable felting needle holder you can find. You will need a pen, wool and your felting needle.
1st find a pen you are ready to discard. Not all pens work, so you will have to try a few. My favorite is the one shown in the picture below. You will want to choose a pen that screws together.
Take the pen apart and discard the spring and pen part.
Insert the needle into the pen so that it comes out the end. It should come straight out the end, not at an angle. If the needle comes out at an angle you need a different size pen.
Take a small amount of wool roving and jab it down into the pen to hold the needle in place. You will need to pack the wool into the pen firmly, I used a wire in the picture below.
Screw the top back on the pen after the wool is packed in tightly and your new felting tool is finished.
Find more great tips on needle felting!
- Successful Needle Felting Projects for Beginners
- Needle Felting with Jacob Wool
- Needle Felting with Armatures
- Top 10 Needle Felted Sculptures of 2015
- 4 Needle Felting Secrets to save you time, money and headaches.
- 5 Common Needle Felting Mistakes
- Teresa Perleberg’s Needle Felting Academy
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#1 Needle Felting Tool: I love the idea! How clever! I tried it today and here is my experience, It took me quite a while and many tries to pack the wool around the needle so the needle was aligned in the center of the pen hole. I finally took the needle out, packed the pen with wool then pushed the needle down through the packed wool. Worked perfectly. Am going to make several for other sizes.
Now, if someone would just figure out a needle size and type identification system. I’ve color coded mine but in every case the color wears off with very little use. Once the color goes I have no idea which needle I have. Suggestions?
I suggest that you use an enamel such as nail polish to mark your felting pens. Just a tiny blob of colour on the clicker or the clip, is easily seen and won’t rub or wash off. (Nail polish works fabulously to mark earbuds, too – Right = Red.)
Great idea thann you for sharing. I’ll give it go
I just made the needle holder with the empty pen holder. So simple, but terrific.
I have a stupid question, if the needle breaks, is it hard to get the packed wool out?
Hi Holly,
A good pair of tweezers will have that wool out in no time!
Thank you for your question!
Thank you such a good idea!!!!my sister and I did reborn dolls hair…this would have helped so much!!!
The simplest ideas are always best, thank you
What a perfect idea. I will give it a try.
Hah! That’s so funny- I came up with this idea by myself last month! I used a bigger pen and threaded beads onto the needle to stop it falling out, and used a hot glue stick instead of wool. Great idea!
Who would have thought!! 🙂
I’ll have to give this a try since I also like to felt with a single needle for more control.
Thanks for the simple but great idea!
thank You I will give this a try, looking forward to my first kits to arrive so I can get started
I shall certainly give this a try…. thank you for sharing this. X
I’m brand new to this craft and Will definitely make one of these. Thanks for sharing.
Great idea, and totally in tune with my upcycling ways! Thank you for sharing xxx
Can’t wait to give it a try
What a great idea!!!!! Due to major trouble with my hands I cannot hold anything thin for more than a moment of two. I use the fattest lens I can find for writing so I tried it with some of my empty lens (I knew I’d find a use for them!!!) It’s perfect!!! I made a few for the different needles I use!!!!
Thank you so much,
Debbie in beautiful Burbank, California
Wow, my granddaughter would say. That’s a fantastic tip. It works excellent. Before I had some problems with handling the needle, because I have Dupuytren’s contracture (a hand deformity). Thank you, kind regards from Germany .
Erika
That is a fantastic tip! Thank you so much! I am new at all this!
Thank you! What a great idea.
What a fabulous tip. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Brilliante! With 7 grandchildren I want to introduce them to the fun of needle felting….this much stronger, safer, and more accurate “pen” holder will help me to walk them through the process without undue stress on timid fingers…..mil gracias!
What a great idea. I want something that is comfortable from the start so I’m not losing interest because my hand hurts. Thank you!
Fantastic idea, thank you for sharing.
This is an exellent tip. It works for me fabulous!! Thank you for sharing!
I have just discovered needle felting, and have purchased some basic supplies. I really admire your work. You certainly have an accurate eye for realistic detail. This is a fantastic and obvious tool so simple yet perfect for the job. I have only used needle on its own without any holder so far. Thanks for the tips and advice here. I’ve pinned this tip as I think it’s genius.
I’m an artist working mainly in pencils, pastels, watercolours and acrylics, though I have had fun creating character cakes a few years ago, I guess this would be the nearest thing to creating sculptures I have done before. I also work with paper craft card making, and working in mixed media, on canvases, recycling, creating 3D projects and love creating paper flowers. Sorry to go on so long.
I live in Scotland so international shipping may be an issue with the additional costs, to get your felting packs and projects delivered here, more’s the pity.
Thanks for sharing.x
Very helpful can’t wait to try it
I’ve made several of these and they are great. I have a small, medium and large needle size. Great idea. Thank you.
Patti