Today we’re excited to review a lovely new book, Needle Felting: Sculpting People With Wool by Terese Cato. Terese was taught to sew, knit, and crochet by her aunt. Her aunt didn’t have any formal training, only the skills learned from her own mother, Terese’s grandmother. Cato learned how clothes were constructed, how to make patterns with a marker and a stack of newspapers from her aunt. When Cato was young and she ran out of fabric she started looking in her brother’s closet for clothes he wouldn’t miss. She’d rip out all the seams from his clothes and use the fabric to make her own designs. Cato learned her “can do” attitude from her aunt, and that has allowed her to excel in painting, weaving, quilting, woodworking, and woodcarving. We first heard about this book when Terese was writing the section of the book about sourcing wool for needle felting, and we’re so thrilled that she included a Strauch carder in her book. Terese does an excellent job explaining different types of wool. This is Terese’s third book, Sculpting People With Wool is a comprehensive guide to sculpting people with wool for both beginner and experienced needle felters. With this thorough guide it’s easy to learn to create three-dimensional sculptures with wool. The step-by-step directions will teach you how to sculpt each part of the face and body to create charming characters.

Needle felting is a fun and easy craft. If you choose a smaller project you’ll find it’s much faster than knitting, and a great way to use your carded fiber! We hope you’ll give needle felting a try!