Needle Felting a Zebra: Apparently Not My Last One

I finished my second needle felted zebra today.

At the time, I was convinced it might also be my last.

I had spent several days working on him, and by the end, those stripes had about driven me crazy.

Zebras look wonderfully simple from a distance—black and white.

Then you actually try to sculpt one.

Every stripe has to follow the shape of the animal. They change direction around the legs, curve around the body, narrow and widen, and somehow still need to look natural when you're finished.

By the time I completed this one, I was more than ready to declare:

No more zebras.

Still, I loved the finished sculpture.

He earned a place on what I used to call my “shelf of honor,” where I could enjoy him until someone else decided they loved him enough to take him home.

Looking Back Now

This is one of those old posts that makes me laugh when I read it today.

Apparently I wasn't finished with zebras after all.

Years later, I would return to the challenge in a much bigger way and eventually teach an entire Felting Safari centered around an advanced zebra sculpture.

So much for “my last zebra.”

That's one of the things I enjoy about looking back at old work.

A project that once felt impossibly complicated can eventually become something you understand well enough to teach.

And those stripes?

They're still a lot of work.

But I have learned a few things since zebra number two.