What Goes Into A Felted Animal

One of the biggest questions I get asked is: "How long do these things take to make?' The answer: Many, many, many hours.. lol.

Depending upon the animal's size and complexity, it can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to complete it. One of my most popular sellers is the mouse. Standing at 5 inches, these cute little guys usually come with a theme (Christmas themed is my most popular mouse). I LOVE making mice! I've made so many mice you'd think I'd be banging them out like an assembly line! But actually, each one still takes about 3 days to complete.

Even though I've worked out all the kinks when it comes to making mice, the perfectionist in me cannot rush the process. I'd have to say their tiny hands & fingers probably take the longest to make. Just making the wire base for their little hands can take up to an hour! Then all 10 fingers must be delicately wrapped in wool, and secured with hot wax. It's a tedious process that usually results in some painful finger tips for myself in the end (from repeatedly touching hot wax).

After learning what goes into a 5 inch mouse, you can probably guess that all other larger animals take even longer; like weeks longer.. lol. To date, the longest I've worked on one particular animal was about 5 weeks. This was for an 18 inch giraffe who had a million spots (at least it felt like a million!). He was my first giraffe and I was so proud when I finished him. He still is my most favorite felted project.

But soon, I may have a new animal that will trump the giraffe (as far as time goes)! Currently, I am working on not 1, but 2(!) very large polar bears. I plan on dedicating a post to these guys once I get the process going.

It is going to be a fun challenge!

Happy Felting! - Danielle