Susan Melkowski works with her felting needles.
A love of cats and a gag gift led Susan Melkowski to discover an art form that she shares through her craft and by teaching others.
“My needle-felting journey began three years ago when a friend gaveme a book titled ‘Crafting WithCatFur.’ I have four cats and have always loved animals and trying new artsy/craftsy things, so he thought this would be a great gag gift. Neither of us suspected that an idea in this book would spark my interest in an art form I knew absolutely nothing about at the time,” she says.
That idea was needle felting. This craft has little to do with the squares of felt that one can buy in craft and department stores. Rather it begins with wool or other fibers such as cat hair.
Needle-felting is a process used to turn wool into art. The basic needle-felting tool is a felting needle which is a multi-barbed needle approximately two inches long that is inserted into wool thousands of times. The barbs of the needle push wool fibers from outside to inside and knot the wool fibers together. The soft, fluffy wool can then be shaped into anything you have the time, expertise and patience to shape it into.
“I do both two-dimensional needle-felting, referred to as ‘painting with wool’ and three-dimensional needle-felting, ‘sculpting with wool.’ This art form is not widely known in the U.S., but is quite popular abroad. I had to order some supplies from the U.K. and Japan early on, but as needle-felting is becoming more popular in the states I have had to rely less often on foreign sources.
Melkowski first learned about this craft from the book by Kaori Tsutaya that her friend gave her, so she had to teach herself how to transform wool into her adorable animals.
“I am basically a self-taught needle-felter. I ordered a basic needle-felting kit online and started out making some very simple little projects. It is so satisfying to start with a few felting needles, a felting pad, some wool and an idea and end up with a piece of art.I quickly discovered how relaxing it is and how much I liked it. There are lots of needle-felting videos and tutorials available online, but I don’t have the patience to watch them, so I just figure it out on my own. So far, that’s worked very well for me. Investing in a variety of quality felting needles has really helped me progress, and I learn things every time I do a new project.
“Two-dimensional feltings usually take two to three hours and are less time-consuming than three-dimensional ones. Smaller, less-detailed 3Ds can be done in about that same time frame, but something like a commissioned dog typically takes between eight and 10 hours to complete. I have spent over 20 hours on some particularly complicated pieces, however,” she says.
Melkowski not only crafts her own ideas, she also creates commissioned pieces – usually of a beloved pet.
“My favorite subjects to sculpt from wool are animals, and I especially enjoy doing commissioned wool sculptures of beloved pets. Many of the ones I do are memorial pieces, and it means a great deal to me when I finish one and the pet parent tells me that I’ve perfectly captured the pet’s look and personality in the piece. It’s also very rewarding when I post a photo of someone’s felted pet on Facebook and someone other than the pet parent tells me they recognize the pet,” she says.
She and her felting partner, Doris Peters, teach needle-felting classes, which she says are becoming very popular. They teach classes at Holston Mountain Artisans in Abingdon, Virginia, in Burke’s Garden, Virginia, and in homes and on front porches.
“I have needle-felted artwork at CDR Frame Shop in Bristol, Virginia, Holston Mountain Artisans in Abingdon, Virginia and Burke’s Garden Artisans Guild in Burke’s Garden, Virginia, I also am a vendor at Abingdon’s Farmers Market when I’m not out of town or teaching classes. My biggest source of new customers is by referral from other customers, though I can be found on Facebook and contacted through FB Messenger, and I recently started an Instagram account to make photos of some of my work easily accessible - #becauseshefeltlikeit. Anyone needing a relaxing hobby should check out needle-felting. You just might become addicted,” she says.
