Felting Needles: They All Look The Same!

So, for my first post I am starting off small. I wanted to write a little something about felting needles, and my trick for telling one from another.

Any needle felter will tell you that it can be

quite difficult to tell felting needles apart. Felting needles, however, do have slight visual differences. For instance, you can see the difference between a triangle shaped needle and a spiral shaped needle if you hold them side by side and look closely (very very closely!). But no artist wants to sit there and study their needles to find out which one they need to use! Needles should be for stabbing, not studying!

So whats a felter to do you ask?

Fabric Washi Tape by HIART on Amazon.com

Well, thankfully, some needles now come color coded. These needles are my absolute favorite! Bright, pretty colors tell you which needle is which, taking all the guess work out of it. But what if you have a particularly useful needle that does not come color coded?

This is where you may have to get a little creative. Some people use craft paints and paint the handles of their needles, which works fine. But if you're like me, you may prefer a faster and less messy way to code your needles.

I find that fabric washi tape works well. You could also use regular washi tape as well, but I like using the fabric kind because it adds a little extra grip to the needle. I just wrap the tape around the top of the needle, making it a little fat in the middle for that extra grip.

Not only does it work well for telling them apart, but they look darn pretty too!