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Content Created by Tracey of Baker Street Living 
While prefelt is often made using wet felting, it can also be created using a needle felting method. Needle felted prefelt is ideal for small pieces, detailed work, and times when you want to avoid using water altogether. There is no shrinking, which makes it easy to get the perfect size every time. One of my favourite things about making my own prefelt is that I can get the exact colour and thickness I want without shopping around.
What You’ll Need
- Wool Roving
- Large Felting Pad – Big enough for your full project
- Felting Needle Tool. with felting needles (36 or 38 gauge needles work well)
- Finger Cots
How to Make Needle Felted Prefelt
1 – Start by pulling apart small thin sections of wool roving. Lay the wool down in thin, even layers on your felting mat. Alternate the direction of each layer, one horizontal and then one vertical, to help the fibres interlock evenly. If you are new to needle felting or using a single needle, it is a good idea to wear protective finger cots.
2 – Using your felting tool, gently poke the wool straight up and down. Work across the surface, tacking the fibres together without compacting them too much. The goal is to stabilize the wool, not fully felt it. If you are planning on using the needle felted prefelt as a base for a felting project, the felting
Flip the wool over and repeat on the other side to ensure the fibres are holding together evenly.
3 – Keep adding layers until you get the thickness and tightness you desire.
4 – Once you have the thickness and tightness as desired, you can now use your needle felted prefelt for other great projects.
5 – If Desire press with an iron using the Wool heat setting.. This helps to flatten and tighten the wool.
How to Use Needle Felted Prefelt
Needle felted prefelt can be used in many creative ways, including:
- Wet felting projects for faster felting
- Cut-out shapes for decorative designs, adding embellishments and other felt accents
- Small needle felted projects that can be added to wool projects such as scarves, socks, slippers and sweaters,
- Wall art, ornaments, and textile embellishments
Because it’s already partially felted, prefelt speeds up the felting process while giving you more design control.
Helpful Tips and FAQs
Tips for Successful Needle Felted Prefelt
- Don’t over-felt: Too much needle felting will turn your prefelt into finished felt, making it harder to blend into other projects.
- Use light pressure: Gentle pokes help keep the fibres loose and workable.
- Build slowly: Thin layers create stronger, more even prefelt than thick clumps of wool.
- Experiment with colour: Layering different colours of wool can create beautiful blended prefelt sheets
Making Needle Felted Prefelt with a small Felting Pad
If you don’t have a large enough delting pad, just do the project in sections. Move the prefelt around on your pad to ensure even felting. This is very hard to do on a small handheld pad, but it’s no problem on a 10-inch pad. When making things such as scarves, large artwork, or pillow coverings, you may need to work in this way, doing a section at a time. If you are looking for a good quality felting pad and don’t have a preferred brand, I recommend Wood Buddy. I have found their felting pads to be of good quality and very long-lasting.
Best Wool for Making Prefelt
If you’re just getting started:
- Choose Merino Wool Roving for soft, fast-felting prefelt
- Choose Corriedale wool roving for sturdier prefelt
Both are reliable, beginner-friendly options that work well with both needle felting and wet felting techniques.
Using a single needle
You can make needle felted prefelt with a single needle, but it will take much longer. A tool that holds multiple needles at once is a time saver and makes the process much faster.
No matter which wool you choose, making prefelt is all about experimenting and enjoying the process. Each fibre has its own personality, and part of the fun is discovering how different wools feel and behave in your hands. Start with a small project, try a few wool types, and don’t be afraid to mix and layer fibres. With a little practice, you’ll quickly find your favourites and create prefelt that’s perfectly suited to your creative style.
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