What an Awl Does in Felting

An awl opens space inside wool rather than felting fibres. It’s used to make holes for eyes or wires, create small indentations like nostrils or joint sockets, protect needles from strain, and shape firm wool without over‑compacting it. It’s most useful in dense 3D work where a needle can’t reach safely.

How to Hold and Use the Awl

• Hold it like a pencil with fingers behind the point.
• Apply light pressure and rotate only if you want to widen the opening.
• Always work on a felting pad to prevent slipping.

Creating Holes for Eyes or small limbs, whiskers, and claws and beaks.

• Firm the wool first.
• Mark the spot with a light needle poke.
• Insert the awl to the depth you need.
• Widen slightly with a small rotation with pressure.
• Remove the awl and place the eye or refine the opening with light felting.

Making Indentations

For nostrils or other small holes, insert the awl and deepen gradually. A little needle felting afterward helps the shape hold. The awl creates depth without over felting the surrounding area.

Working Safely

• Push away from your supporting hand.
• Keep fingers behind the point.
• Use a firm pad.

Caring for Your Awl

• Wipe the point clean.
• Keep the tip sharp.
• Avoid dropping it to prevent bending, keep out of the way of children.

When to Use an Awl vs a Needle

Choose an awl for depth, clean openings, and protecting your needles. Choose a needle when you need to felt fibres together rather than open space.

Guide to Wool Types for 3D Needle Felting

Choosing the right wool shapes how your sculptures behave under the needle. Some fibres build firm cores quickly, others create smooth outer layers, and some add texture or special effects. This guide breaks down the most common wool types used in 3D needle felting and what each one does best.

And remember: if your fibres aren’t behaving, they’re just shear rebels.

What Are Nepps (and What They Actually Do in Felting)

Nepps are tiny, compact wool pills created during carding. Because the fibres are already tangled into tight little knots, they don’t draft, and they don’t fully integrate into surrounding wool the way regular roving does.

This is exactly what makes them useful: they sit on the surface of your felt and create texture, speckling, and organic irregularity.

2D Needle Felted Pet Portrait Tutorial

A gentle, structured guide for creating flat wool “paintings” of beloved pets. 

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