Needle-Felting Repair Kit for Knitwear + Online Tutorial
The MM Needle-Felting Repair Kit contains a bunch of carefully-sourced tools and supplies to help you give a new lease of life to that epic woolly jumper or lush thrifted cardi.
This super satisfying technique is quick and easy to do making it ideal for mending newbies!
Use it to fill holes, threadbare areas or diguise a stain on your much-loved knitwear with a kaleidoscope of colours and shapes, or work from the 'wrong' side (inside of the garment) and use a similar colour wool for more discreet repairs.
Packed inside a handy storage box with magnetic closure, you’ll find fluffy colourful clouds of naturally-dyed wool fleece, an earth-friendly felting mat & a couple of plastic-free felting needles contained inside a glass tube with cork stopper.
Kit Contents:
- 10 x 2g balls of naturally-dyed British Wool Tops - a special kind of wool that has yet to be spun into yarn. This 100% wool fleece is sourced from the Shetland Islands in Scotland and naturally-dyed in Oxfordshire using well water and plant or insect dyes. We have five limited-edition colour sets for you to choose from - Fiesta, Sunday Funday, Only Dreamin, Fresh Granita and Winter Solstice. This is enough wool for 100s of small repairs - a little really does go a long way.
- 2 x Twisted (Spiral) Felting Needles - a special kind of needle with tiny barbs on the end which is used for needle felting. 1 x #38 gauge for mending thicker knits (purple tip) & 1 x #40 for lighter knits (red tip).
- 1 x Earth-Friendly Felting Mat (approx 10cm x 8cm) - use it to protect your work surface and prevent your needle from breaking. This mat is made up of two layers: a soft top layer made of 100% wool and a firm bottom layer made of a wool mix.
- Exclusive access to our needle-felting video tutorial for newbie menders - a short 8 minute masterclass to help you get started. Instructions to access this class will be emailed to you shortly after you purchase this kit.
FAQs
Does this only work for knitwear?
Needle-felting works best on wool garments made from animal fibres e.g. merino wool jumpers, cashmere cardigans, gloves, hats, blankets & even felt slippers - basically anything with a fluffy texture. Smooth fibres like cotton or polyester are much more difficult to felt and it's likely the wool fleece won't stick securely in place. It's always worth a try though!
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How well do these repairs wash and wear over time?
A needle-felted hole will endure a fair amount of wear and tear, but overall darning is a little stronger. For long-lasting results, make sure to hand-wash and air dry any needle-felted garments to avoid any shrinkage.The finished wool 'patch' will have no stretch to it, so avoid using this technique if the damaged area has to stretch over the body when worn such as tight cufffs, socks and armpits.
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Is there a limit to the size of holes you can repair with needle-felting?There is no limit as such, but you might want to try working on smaller holes first (approx 1cm in diameter) and build up from there. You'll start to learn how much fibre is just enough, to avoid your repair looking puffy or feeling lumpy/stiff.
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Can I use wool from my stash?
Sure! Simply tease the fibres apart until you end up with something that resembles cotton wool. You might need to stab it with your needle a little more than usual, but it should work all the same. This is handy to know for those with sensitive skin as it means you can use other lanolin-free fibres that are often not commerically available.
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What does it look like on the reverse side?
The hole looks as those it's been 'plugged' with wool. You may have a few fuzzy fibres showing, but simply trim these away or felt them a little with your needle to make them disappear.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Can I do invisible repairs using this technique?
Sort of - more discreet rather than invisible. To achieve this you're going to want to use a similar colour wool to the garment you're repairing and work from the reverse side (the inside of the garment).- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What other tools are useful when needle-felting?Fabric marker - for drawing the shape of your mend before you start. Use whatever you prefer, but always test it first on your garment and remove any marks before ironing!
Scissors or Thread Snips - useful for trimming away any loose fibres when you've finished your mend.
Cookie cutters - if you'd prefer not to draw an outline of your shape, then you can place a cookie cutter over the hole instead.Wool comb - to help you harvest some 'donor' wool from your garment for discreet repairs.