Flashback: Needle Felt A Voodoo Doll Pincushion

Craft & Design
Flashback: Needle Felt A Voodoo Doll Pincushion

CZ_WebBanner_A_Flashback.gif

By Emily Smith

If you haven’t tried needle felting yet, you’ll be amazed by how simple it is. All you need is a felting needle (with barbs at the end), a foam pad, and some raw wool. The way it works is that the barbs on the needle get caught on the fibers and pull them together in a mass, sort of like dreadlocks. I recommend starting with simple shapes first, but once you get the hang of it, this tutorial is pretty straightforward. The most important part is finding the proper plastic backing so that when you store your needles in the pincushion, they don’t go all the way through the doll.


voodoo_pincushion_step1.jpg

Materials

Bottle cap, jar lid, or hard plastic material for backing
Raw wool in several different colors for the main body and embellishments
Needle felting needle
Piece of foam
to felt on
Scissors
Sewing needle
for sewing embellishments
Thread

Directions

voodoo_pincushion_step2.jpg
Step 1: To make the pincushion, you’ll need some sort of backing so that the pins don’t go all the way through the doll. I used a trimmed bottle cap for the head, and cut out some thick plastic from a disposable plastic container for the body. Try to find an object that’s rather flat, because backing that’s too thick or wide could distort your doll.
voodoo_pincushion_step3.jpg
voodoo_pincushion_step4.jpg
Step 2: Roll your wool into a ball for the head.
Step 3: Keep piercing the ball with your felting needle in order to obtain a round shape for the head.
voodoo_pincushion_step5.jpg
Step 4: Place the bottle cap or plastic cut-out underneath your ball.
voodoo_pincushion_step6.jpg
Step 5: With a new piece of wool, create a flat shape by piercing the wool with your felting needle. Be sure to work the material quite a bit, as you won’t be able to poke it much once it’s attached behind the backing.
voodoo_pincushion_step7.jpg
Step 6: Place the bottle cap with ball on top of the flat shape.
voodoo_pincushion_step8.jpg
Step 7: Puncture on all sides. The more you puncture the wool, the more dense the felt will get. Leave the neck fairly un-worked so that you can later attach the head to the body.
voodoo_pincushion_step9.jpg
Step 8: Now create another larger flat piece for the back of the body, much like you did with the head. Attach this piece to the larger piece of plastic (your backing), like you did with the head and the bottle cap, and pierce it on all sides. Like the head, it’s best to really work the material before attaching it so that it stays in one piece once it’s attached.
voodoo_pincushion_step10.jpg
Step 9: Attach the head to the body by stabbing through the neck. Be sure that it’s securely fastened. (Again, the more you poke the wool, the denser and stronger it becomes.)
voodoo_pincushion_step11.jpg
Step 10: Now start making the limbs. Create each appendage by rolling the felt into a tube shape, and then puncturing it on all sides.
voodoo_pincushion_step12.jpg
Step 11: Work the ends of the arms and legs by rounding, or shaping, as desired. Leave the end to be attached to the body fairly un-worked, so that attaching limbs to the body is easier.
voodoo_pincushion_step13.jpg
Step 12: Attach all limbs to the doll.
voodoo_pincushion_step14.jpg
Step 13: Now you can start adding embellishments to the doll. To create a heart, start by rolling a piece of red wool in your hands. The moisture from your hands will help start the felting process.
voodoo_pincushion_step15.jpg
Step 14: Attach the heart by shaping it on the doll.
voodoo_pincushionstep16.jpg
Step 15: Fill in the heart with more red wool.
voodoo_pincushionstep17.jpg
Step 16: Now sew X’s where the eyes should be. Feel free to sew more embellishments where you’d like to see them. Be creative!
Step 17: Enjoy your new pincushion voodoo doll in all its glory!
About the Author:
Bio_Photo.jpg
Emily Smith is a graphic designer, illustrator, and crafter based in Vancouver. She is an avid textile artist and community organizer with a focus on facilitating collaborative and creative workspaces, teaching workshops, and organizing crafty and creative events. She enjoys foraging for unlikely materials, increasing bicycle safety and visibility, and becoming more self-sufficient while lowering her carbon footprint. Follow her on her blog at bluemollusc.com or Twitter @emilysmith2000.

6 thoughts on “Flashback: Needle Felt A Voodoo Doll Pincushion

  1. partycraftsecrets says:

    So great! I’m a fan of the voodoo doll; especially for Halloween – I turned a gingerbread biscuit into a voodoo doll:
    http://partycraftsecrets.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/gingerbread-voodoo-dolls.html

  2. Jessica Gilbert says:

    <3 This! This is going to look perfect sitting on my sewing table .. making people wonder. lol

  3. donna701 says:

    There is an optical illusion on the picture that accompanies Step 12 (red wool for heart). When I looked at that picture, I saw the palm of your hand with an large, angry gash running the length. I knew it couldn’t be true so I kept looking and soon saw that you were holding red wool in your palm.

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

Haley Pierson-Cox from Red-Handled Scissors is a maker of crafts, a lover of cats, an avid swearing enthusiast, a cross-stitch book author, and a general purveyor of quirk. She's also sometimes an irritable cartoon named Tiny Cranky Haley. https://www.redhandledscissors.com

View more articles by Haley Pierson-Cox

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK