Discover the Best Felting Classes in NYC
While needle felting as a hobby may not be as widespread as similar activities like embroidery or crocheting, felting offers a relaxing craft for creating clothing, tapestry, and ornaments using barbed felting needles. Anyone interested can find courses that help beginners learn at their leisure for their leisure.
Enrolling in a class can teach participants the tools and materials needed for needle felting. A class also provides a good start for learning about the hobby by allowing students to practice on projects along with others, which can create an environment for exchanging ideas about felting techniques. Taking a class in needle felting in New York City could lead to finding a more satisfying way for relaxing that results in something that can be shared with friends and family.
Why You Should Learn Felting in NYC
Felting involves creating fabric or items connecting loose fibers from wool or other types of animal hair. Natural fibers other than wool include alpaca, mohair, cashmere, and synthetics fibers. While synthetic fibers can be used, the results will differ from using natural fibers.
Working with felt can open a new world of creativity for people looking to find a new hobby for helping them cope with the anxieties of life in a chaotic environment like New York City. As a hobby, felting can be relatively inexpensive and allows individuals to practice honing their skills with materials they can find at any fabric or hobby stores. It should be noted that felt is different from other woven fabrics, which means that felting is not interchangeable with knitting or crocheting, so it would be a good idea to designate projects tailored for felting.
Hobbyists may also find it beneficial to join a group for exchanging ideas and experiences on felting that also allows them to interact with new friends throughout the world for finding support and learning different techniques from others interested in felting. Felting can be a productive hobby for helping relieve stress through a creative outlet resulting in gifts for family and friends.
In-Person Felting Classes & Schools in NYC
Felting provides a great hobby for individuals to develop a productive way of relaxing along with being able to show off the fruits of their labors. While there are plenty of live online courses available for learning about needle felting, some people simply feel more comfortable learning inside a classroom with an instructor standing right there in front of them. For those individuals, there are courses throughout New York City for picking up skills with felting.
People interested in learning about felting as a hobby can attend the Wet Felting workshop offered through East Village Hats, located at 80 E. 7th Street in Manhattan. In this workshop, participants will learn about the wet felting technique, which is a process for laying Merino wool by agitating the material with hot soapy water in order to create a strong and textually dynamic fabric. Through this workshop, students will learn about the process of felting by understanding how to create seamless structured forms to use in making hats, bags, and other items. Upon completing this class, students will have produced their own felted and blocked hat ready to sport in front of any crowd.
This class supplies all material for training. This workshop costs $350.
East Village Hats also offers the Needle Felting workshop. Needle felting, in comparison to wet felting, is a dry felting technique using barbed needles for felting wool. This course teaches participants about the basics of dry felting, which is considered a good approach for adding decorative details to any hat, tapestry, wool garment, or sculptured form as a finishing touch.
This workshop costs $195.
This class is designed for beginners and supplies all the material for training.
Anyone with some experience in felting may be interested in the Tufting workshop offered through Hannah Via Art, located at 269 Powers Street in Brooklyn. In this workshop, students will learn about the process for creating items like tufted rugs or wall hangings from sustainable and durable materials sources. Students will be able to choose their own designs and colors while working with their own hands using a tufting gun.
This workshop costs $295.
People can check out the Loop of the Loom, located at 227 E. 87th Street, to enroll in the Nuno Felting Scarf workshop, for learning to apply the technique for making felted scarves. The Nuno process involves wet felting and is a more traditional physical process. While this workshop has adapted a less physical approach for using the Nuno technique, which provides less strain with creating layered textiles from fabric and natural fibers based on the ancient felting process, the technique remains physical. This class also provides a supportive group environment where students work among others in learning this highly regarded felting technique for creating clothes, tapestries, and ornaments.
This three-hour workshop costs $120.
Again, students should be aware that Nuno felting is a physical approach that requires endurance for participating in the course.
Anyone interested can enroll in the Felt Hats class, offered by Lisa Shaub Fine Millinery, located at 134 Orchard Street. Lisa Shaub Fine Millinery is a custom hat maker that has been located in New York City for over 30 years and is best known for its hats seen at the Kentucky Derby. This two-hour course offers discussion and demonstrations on basic hat blocking techniques for working with felt. Training focuses on finishing techniques, trimming, and deciding on styles for creating felt hats. Upon completing class, students will have designed a hat to show off to the envy of everyone.
This two-session course costs $295.
Virtual Felting Classes & Schools
For anyone working in a busy place like New York City who’s interested in taking a felting class for starting a new hobby, it’s understandable that some people might not be eager about getting back out into traffic after a long day at work to find a classroom somewhere. This is why virtual learning provides a convenient option. For instance, live online courses can help anyone learn skills for lessons on needle felting from expert instructors.
Virtual training offers convenient options for learning new skills for personal, social, or professional reasons.
Anyone interested in learning about felting as an activity can enroll in the Needle Felting WebJam (with Starter Kit) online course offered through CraftJam. CraftJam focuses on arts and crafts as a way of improving cognitive skills through group participation for helping with personal interaction among people. This workshop teaches students needle felting for sculpting wool using special barbed needles by stabbing the wool and meshing the fibers together to create textile items. Needle felting is relatively easy to learn, requires few supplies, and can be done almost anywhere for passing the time.
This beginner’s course costs $41.
Students will need to have a reliable Internet connection along with a computer, tablet, or smartphone that has a microphone in order to access this virtual learning course as well as participate. Participants should log in five to 10 minutes before class to make sure that they are able to connect.
People looking for a way to participate in the holiday season by creating their own decorations can enroll in the live online Felt, Fabric & Paper Ornaments class provided through the Evanston Art Center. The Evanston Art Center focuses on appreciation and expression of the arts by offering classes, exhibitions, interactive arts activities, and community outreach to help people better express themselves.
This course is for individuals who would like to participate in the holiday season by developing creative skills that allow them to contribute to the festive atmosphere by being able to make their own ornaments. These ornaments can be used to decorate homes during the holidays or shared with others as gifts. Whatever the purpose, being able to create felt, fabric, and paper ornaments can contribute to the holiday spirit in several ways.
This five-session live online course costs $140.
Participants must have a reliable Internet connection along with a computer, tablet, or smartphone that has a microphone in order to be able to access and participate in this virtual learning course. Students should log in five to 10 minutes before class to confirm they are able to connect.
People can enroll with the Newark Museum to take the live online Virtual Workshop: Needle Felted Owl class. This workshop provides a good way for getting started with needle felting. The class focuses on the tools and materials needed for developing felt sculptures using different types of wool along with techniques for creating different designs.
This two-hour virtual workshop costs $66.
Students will need to have a reliable Internet connection along with a computer, tablet, or smartphone that has a microphone in order to be able to access and participate in the class. Participants should log in five to 10 minutes before class to confirm being able to connect.
Private Group Felting Classes in NYC
Anyone interested can use CourseHorse for staging in-person or virtual team building events in New York City covering a variety of subjects. For example, CourseHorse has felting-related team building group events like the Virtual Ugly Sweater Making Party (Materials Included) workshop that focuses on creating a bond among people by getting them together to design their own unique holiday attire.
Organizations unable to find the group event that fits their purpose can use the website’s contact form to book a needle felting course as their own private event. CourseHorse also allows clients to adjust their group size after booking an event if needed. CourseHorse provides customers who have booked team building events with access to the education provider’s existing network that includes print and digital publishers.