Needle Felt Forget-me-not Tutorial

All of the flowers in bloom alongside an upcoming family wedding inspired me to have a go at putting together a felted bouquet. My garden was overflowing with forget-me-nots at the beginning of the month, and their delicate blue flowers were the perfect inspiration for this tutorial.

What you will need:

• Felting needle (I used a 38 gauge star needle)
• Felting mat (a thick, dense sponge works)
• Wool in light blue, white, and yellow (as well as green if you want to add a stem)

Creating petals

Felt until the petal feels moderately felted and won’t fall apart when you lift it (about thirty to sixty seconds) (image 2), and then flip it over and felt the other side. If your petal is too thin to hold its structure, just add a bit more wool to the weak areas and continue to felt. Be mindful that felting for too long on one side can potentially attach the petal to your mat, so keep felting and flipping until the petal feels thin but firm. This should take about three minutes (image 3).

Repeat the above steps four more times until you have five petals. Then, grab your white wool and add a small white line in the centre of each petal, about half way up from the narrow end (image 4).

Forming a flower

Now, it’s time to shape your flower. Lay three of your petals in a fan shape, with one in the centre and two either side, with the loose ends overlapping and the white stripe facing upwards (image 5). Then, place the last two petals on top, but with the white line facing downwards (image 6).

Begin felting the loose ends together, rotating the flower often to ensure it is felted all the way around (image 7). Regularly check the shape of your flower as you are doing this, if you have any wonky petals now is the time to adjust them and felt them into shape, make sure to also felt the centre of the flower to ensure the petals are firmly attached (image 8).

Finishing details

With a little bit more white wool, felt a small, white centre to the flower (image 9). And with an even smaller bit of yellow, add a yellow dot to the very centre (image 10).

Lastly, you can use a pair of straighteners to smooth out the petals and use scissors to trim away the loose ends (image 11). This step makes a huge difference to the finish of the flowers.

Now your flower is ready to use for your project. I incorporated mine into a bouquet by adding buds alongside a green base which I wrapped around sturdy wire, but you could use them to add 3D elements to 2D art, attach them to characters, incorporate them into displays, whatever you wish!

I hope you enjoyed this short tutorial and if you’re interested in learning how I created the tulips or foliage in my bouquet leave a comment to let me know.

Keep calm and carry on crafting!