Have you ever completed a spinning project and found that you have a small amount of fiber left over? Or have you acquired small fiber samples that you don’t think are worth the trouble to spin?
I don’t know about you, but I hate to just throw these small bits away. So, I’ve thought of a couple of things you can use them for:
- Leave them out for the birds for nesting material - I’ve had mixed success with this - the birds seem rather picky about the fibers they like.
- Card it in with other types of fiber to create an interesting batt
- If it’s an animal fiber, particularly wool, use it for needle felting
The last idea - needle felting - is my personal favorite, even though I don’t do as much of it as I’d like. If you’ve never done needle felting before, you might want to give it a try - it’s actually quite fun! All you really need is wool or alpaca or another animal fiber, a needle felting needle, and a surface to work on so you don’t accidentally stab yourself. You can use needle felting to create an embellishment on a knitted or crocheted object or you can create an entire new object with needle felting - like some of the wonderful creations at Glass Dragon Bears Etc.’s Etsy store.
If you’d like to learn more about needle felting, here are a couple of sites to visit:
- All Buttoned Up has an excellent written tutorial on needle felting
- Fiber Arts Video has posted a few videos that demonstrate how to do needle felting
If you’re looking for supplies for needle felting, one good source is Paradise Fibers. They have:
- Felting tools,
- Roving/Fiber, and
- Books and videos on needle felting to help speed up your learning curve
What other uses have you found for leftover fiber?
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