I'm so glad I found your channel! I have only tried felting once, last night, and it didn't go well haha, just need more practice I think. You keep talking about "mill waste" and I wasn't quite sure that that was.... could you explain? If you've already done so, I apologize!
No problem!! Mill waste is just stuff that’s left over from a fiber mill. They usually sell it for a pretty reasonable price. However, that’s only helpful if you live near a fiber mill. If not, you can just use core wool for the inside of your pieces. It tends to be cheaper and coarser than the colorful roving you’d want for the outside. But I agree, practice is great. It takes a while to get used to felting and figure out how much poking you need to get the results you want! Keep it up! (And I have another felting tutorial you might like coming out tomorrow!)
I didn't realize that the angle of poking made a difference. Is it the more acute or oblique the angle, the smoother the result? And, I wonder if angora would be any good for needle felting, or maybe in a blend?
Yes, a nice oblique angle smooths out the surface. Maybe because you're only dealing with surface fibers, so they all tighten up together.. Also it helps pull in the hairy wispy bits. Angora would definitely felt, but since it's so soft, it might take a LOT of poking effort. It would probably like a fine little needle for finishing, because delicate fibers like that tend to show poke holes. I like a nice coarse wool, because it felts so quickly, but the soft fibers are SO pretty! (and much nicer to touch!)
