wool guide for needle felting and wet felting

wool there are so many to choose from and I thought that I would create a guide
that is rated from easiest to hardest. I started origially with merino roving and
that stuff is slippery unless you get a courser type or a mixed breed type. I find
the courser the better as it still gives a nice finish.


Easy beginner wools
Merino cross batting very easy to work with comes in a variety of colors and usually
easy to buy. I bought this from Ebay.



This merino roving is a courser grade and is great for beginner to work on eve though its roving its not as slippery as some finer merino roving you can buy, comes in a huge range of colors and I also bought this lot off an ebay seller who dies
who own wool in eco friendly colors.


Dorset wool
I have been using dorset wool lately and it felts similar to C1 Norwegan
batting and Dorset wool is really good and easy to felt, I'm really loving
it though am finding it somewhat hard to buy as Dorset wool is supposedly
known as a meat breed and not for its wool, supposedly Dorset wool
does not wet felt that easily though from my understanding of it. I have found sellers on Etsy but its not as widely available as others.


Intermediate wool
I find if you scale down on the course side to a softer feel all it is
that it takes longer to felt. It's not that much harder but when you start
on it then it gets easier to work with.

Finer merino roving is available in most colors and people die their own
very easily.



Alpaca wool is normally in batting form, I find it relatively easy to felt
but can have longer fuzzies that you may need to trim. I love the natural un dyed
versions but I also love the fantasy colors people can create when creating their
own battings. Comes available from ebay quite easily.




Advanced wools
I have a small selection of fine fibers that work well for longer haired items
or for decorative purposes.
Camel
is very soft and felts easily and I reccomend using it over core wool

Cashmere
so soft to the touch but hard to start off with again good to work over core wool
and can be found on most sites like ebay but Etsy seems to be a goer for fancy yarns and wool


Baby Camel
is very soft and felts easily and I reccomend using it over core wool and it seems to be quite popular. Its somewhat soft but also very similar to alpaca. Can be found in gourmet wool suppliers on Etsy and other similar sites.



Silk merino mixed wool roving I find this great to use in wet felting projects as well as decorative accents in needle felting as the wool itself is very soft and takes ages to felt. Can be found in a huge range of colors and I have bought this easily off ebay from a lady who dies her own wool.


Tussah silk is very popular and is durable and has a really lovely natural sheen to it in the light. Perfect for hair.


Bamboo fiber
is used in wet felting and needle felting for decorative purposes is widely available over the internet.


this is a basic guide for those who don't know the variety of wool out there, these photos were taken by me from wool in my personal stash. I hope this helps you to gain more knowledge.