Best needle felting classes and tutorials: Learn how to felt

Although it isn’t as popular as its threaded cousins like embroidery or crochet, needle felting is currently going through something of a renaissance.

And for good reason.

With just a few simple supplies and a quick needle felting class, you’ll be equipped to create your own fuzzy animals, caricatures, accessories, or any number of wooly things!

To help you get started, I’ve put together this list of the best needle felting classes and tutorials from around the web! Let’s get to it!

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How to choose the best needle felting classes for you

Before we get to the list, I wanted to take a moment to give some advice on picking the best course for you.

There’s a lot you can make with needle felting, but if you’ve found yourself here reading this, odds are you already have some idea of what you want to make.

Read also: 100+ creative hobbies to try and how to get started

Each of the needle felting classes below focuses on a different finished product. I’d recommend picking the one that most closely resembles what you want to make.

Don’t worry if it’s a bit different! As you learn, you’ll be able to put your personal spin on things and create designs of your very own.

Several of the needle felting classes below even encourage this and give helpful tips for customization! If you want something more complete, you can also check out our favorite all-inclusive needle felting kits.

Best needle felting classes

With that out of the way, let’s get to the best needle felting classes online! I’ve pulled from a variety of online course platforms, some of which require a subscription and others are single payment. Keep this in mind when selecting the class for you!

1. Needle Felting: Creation of Characters with Needle and Thread

As far as the best needle felting classes for beginners go, this Domestika course really takes the cake.

Mexico-based instructor Carolina Alles walks you through everything from the absolute basics to advanced techniques. You don’t need any prior knowledge of needle felting or any other textile craft.

The final project is a finished animal caricature, but the class covers enough techniques that you can adapt to whatever theme you like.

Learn more: What is Domestika? Is it worth it?

Since this course is on Domestika, it’s available for a one-time purchase of about $10-15 (depending on sales). That gives you unlimited access with no subscription necessary!

On the other hand, if you’re looking to take multiple needle felting classes on Domestika, subscribing to Domestika Plus for a month will actually save you some money!

If you want to take things to the next level, this instructor has another course you might want to check out. It’s all about making miniature clothes for your needle felted creations, and it’s called Confection of Miniature Clothing.

2. Needle Felting Animal Creation

If you were hoping to learn how to needle felt more realistic animals, this next course is the one for you.

Known for her Colombia-based toy studio Juanamatú Toys, Katerin Gómez fills this Domestika course with tips learned from years of experience. You’ll not only learn how to felt, but how to design your pieces and care for them once they’re finished.

Read also: Best needle felting kits

Although the techniques can be broadly applied, the main project here is a needle felted animal. If you’ve ever wanted to needle felt your pet, this is your best chance to learn!

Like the course above, the audio is in Spanish with English subtitles, but that isn’t a deterrent when it comes to learning. Frequent sales bring it well below $15, with unlimited access after purchase.

3. Needle Felting Essentials

If subtitles are a dealbreaker for you, this Udemy course will be right up your alley.

It covers much of the same content as the courses above, starting with materials, then moving to techniques. In total, there are five practice projects: a bracelet, a mushroom, a gnome hat, a butterfly, and a doll.

Learn more: What is Udemy? Is it worth it?

That said, more than an hour of the 3-hour runtime is footage of the teacher completing bonus projects. This can be great if you like to watch someone working on their craft, but it isn’t the most educational way to spend your time. You can get that kind of content for free on YouTube.

Since it’s hosted on Udemy, it’s available for a one-time purchase with unlimited access after that. If you can get it on sale (it’s pretty pricey otherwise), it runs about $10.

4. A Beginners Guide to the Wooly World of Needle Felting

Next up is a series of needle felting classes that keep things short and sweet. Taught by Linda Facci, they’re hosted on Skillshare so you can access all of them with a single subscription.

Learn more: What is Skillshare? Is it worth it?

First, there’s a short introductory course (see above), followed by three separate needle felting classes covering different projects: a dog, a cute skunk, and a llama.

As mentioned above, you will need a Skillshare Premium subscription, but you can also get a free one-month trial by clicking below. That’s more than enough time to watch all of Linda’s courses (plus many more)!

5. The Basics Of Needle Felting

There’s one more series of needle felting classes on Skillshare I want to highlight before moving on, this time from Malaysian fiber artist Zainab Mohamad Ali.

The initial lesson (linked below) is a comprehensive introduction, but she has five additional classes with more project-based tutorials.

Read also: Best punch needle kits

Lessons also show how to use an interesting 2D needle felting technique to create wool paintings, which is a different way to make needle felted décor.

Also, remember that Skillshare is a subscription service, so you can get the above classes plus these ones under a single subscription — or log onto the platform and enjoy a free one-month trial!

6. Art Toy Creation: Needle Felting Technique

There are a million and one ways to create your own art toys, but when it comes to using wool this Domestika course is the best there is.

This needle felting course is somewhat similar to the first one on the list, but it focuses on creating a character based on an object rather than an animal.

Get inspired: Needle-felted farts and cute characters by Ed Mironiuk

The instructor creates two characters (ice cream and a strawberry), but you can adapt them to whatever you like.

One thing to keep in mind here is that you will need a few more tools and supplies if you want to finish the final project. Also, the course audio is in Portuguese, but the subtitles are easy to follow and I guarantee it won’t be an issue!

7. Needle Felting: Paint Portraits with Wool

If you’ve been searching for unique needle felting classes, this one is a winner, especially if you love animals!

During this Domestika course, fiber art wiz Dani Ives will show you the steps to create realistic animal portraiture. Before getting into specifics, your teacher will guide you through basic techniques and processes.

Next, you’ll learn how to tackle your subject matter by learning how to create features such as fur and whiskers and form soft gradients through color blending. Like all Domestika needle felting classes, you’ll be challenged to complete a project: making your own animal felt portrait.

Before taking this course, be sure to check the list of materials you’ll need: you can click below to learn more. If you don’t have a specific image to work with, no problem; you’ll have access to downloadable pre-printed samples you can use.

Once you’ve completed your work, you’ll learn how to frame and display your piece and get lots of tips on photographing your project to make it shine on your favorite social media platform!

8. Intro to Needle Felting

This next needle felting class is short and sweet, which can be good or bad depending on what you’re looking for.

Taught by popular crafter Rad Megan, this 10m introductory course will set you up with the basics and little else. But as is often the case with crafts, the basics might be all you need.

What makes this course attractive is the platform it’s hosted on. Creativebug has hundreds of these kinds of quick classes on needlework, sewing, knitting, and more.

Learn more: What is Creativebug? Is it worth it?

Production values are a step above Skillshare, and it’s considerably cheaper, too. It typically runs less than $8 a month, but there’s also a special promotion for a free 60-day trial— it doesn’t get any better than this!

This is especially great value if you want to try out lots of new crafts before diving deep into one that you like.

9. Figurative Fashion Embroidery with Needle Felting

My final pick is something completely different from the rest of the needle felting classes on the list. Instead of creating little creatures or animals, it’s about enhancing your embroidery with a little needle felting work.

As such, it’s perfect for those of you who are already into embroidery. Using these techniques, you can add that extra punch to your pieces to make them really stand out with unique textures.

Read also: Best embroidery kits

Although of course, you don’t need to have any experience with embroidery to take the course. You’ll learn everything you need to know for both needlework and needle felting.

Textile Illustration with Acrylic, Felt, and Embroidery is also a great class to try out on Domestika if you’re looking to explore mixed media work with needle felting and embroidery further.

This course is also great for those interested in fashion. It finds a great intersection between needlework and fashion illustration that you won’t find anywhere else online. The class itself is again hosted on Domestika, which means it can be picked up for about $10 on sale.

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That’s it for this list of the best needle felting classes you can take online! Which one will you be taking today? Let everyone know in the comments below!