Needle Felting – Feltmakers Ireland

Sunday Session Recap: Felting Alongside Friends – A Creative Sunday Gathering

Published on April 16, 2026April 16, 2026 by Feltmakers Ireland

A group of people engaged in a workshop or activity around a table, with various bags and items on the table, featuring a mix of ages and clothing styles.

By Adrienne Dempsey

On Sunday, the 12th April, a small but dedicated group of Feltmakers Ireland members came together for a truly enjoyable session of wet and needle felting. The day was filled with creativity, shared techniques, lively conversation, and plenty of inspiration. It was also especially lovely to welcome two new members into the group.

The morning unfolded in a vibrant display of colour and texture, with members working on a variety of beautiful pieces. Creations included felted hearts, bowls, bags, jewellery, and intricate 3D needle-felted animals. There was also great interest in embellished work using Angelina fibres, which added a distinctive sparkle to many projects.

A sincere thank you goes to Margaret Ryan Collins, Christine Bond, and Sandra Chase for demonstrating wet felting techniques and sharing their expertise with the group. Adrienne Dempsey and Sam Fagan also demonstrated printing and embossing with fusible Angelina fibres, showing how these can be used to add decorative, eye-catching elements to felted pieces.

Throughout the session, members collaborated and supported one another. Highlights included beautifully crafted wet-felted bowls and hearts, embellished brooches, works-in-progress such as felted bags, and charming needle-felted creations like a delicate bunny. It was wonderful to see both finished pieces and projects still evolving.

We rounded off the session in the best possible way—with tea, coffee, great conversation, and delicious hot cross buns. A special thanks to Lorna for providing this lovely treat. Thank you to everyone who contributed their time, skills, and enthusiasm. It was a warm, inspiring, and thoroughly enjoyable creative morning shared among friends.

Here are photographs from our session:

Two women engaged in a crafting activity, working with materials on a table. The image includes four smaller pictures showcasing their finished craft pieces against a red background.

Sam Fagan (left) and Adrienne Dempsey (right) demonstrate working with Angelina Fibres.

Two women engaged in crafting activities at a table, using colourful wool and tools, in a creative workshop setting.

Christine Bond (left) and Mary Lee (right) wet felting together.

A handmade turquoise felt heart with a central decorative pattern in shades of red and pink.

Mary completed a wet-felted heart and embellished it with Angelina Fibres.

A handmade felted bowl with a green and blue interior on the left, and a multi-coloured abstract design on the right.

Christine completed a wet-felted bowl, front and back.

A round textile art piece with a central dark pattern surrounded by a gradient of light blue and grey fibres.

A close-up of a round, blue felted wool item with a textured centre, featuring metallic threads for added sparkle.

Adrienne Dempsey shared her needle-felted, embellished Angelina Fibre brooches.

An elderly woman with short white hair wearing glasses, focused on crafting with yarn, seated at a table in a workshop setting. She is dressed in a green coat and scarf, with a partially finished green and black bag in front of her, surrounded by various crafting supplies and materials.

Hilary Osman is working on her unfinished projects, adding a button closure to her felted bag.

A rectangular piece of felted wool in shades of blue, red, and hints of turquoise, featuring a textured surface.

Sandra Chase shared her wet-felted bag; it is a work in progress.

A woman with glasses smiles while holding a bright orange heart-shaped felted item, surrounded by various handmade felt animals including a hedgehog, fox, owl, and panda, showcased in a collage format.

Lauren Kirwan completed a wet-felted heart and shared a beautiful display of needle-felted pieces.

An elderly woman in a red jacket holds a handmade felt rabbit while smiling at the camera.

Mairéad de Burca shared a lovely needle-felted bunny.

Two women engaged in a creative crafting session, working on a table with various materials including colourful fibres and tools.

Margaret Ryan Collins (left) and Pat Duggan (right) wet-felting together.

A decorative round object with a textured surface, featuring a mix of deep orange and blue colours. It has a small, orange top resembling a balloon.

Pat completed a colourful wet-felted bowl.

Two women engaged in a crafting activity, one slicing a piece of material while the other observes. The setting is a well-lit indoor space with tables and decorations in the background.

Sandra (left) and Laura (right) wet-felting together.

Book cover titled 'The Complete Photo Guide to Felting' by Ruth Lane, featuring colourful felted materials and key highlights about felting techniques and tips.

Great book shared at the session, “The Complete Photo Guide to Felting” by Ruth Lane.

A handwritten note explaining the history of hot cross buns, detailing their ingredients, traditional consumption on Good Friday, and modern-day availability in supermarkets.

Lorna Cady’s ongoing series: Buns (or biscuits or cakes) with History!

May Session

Our May Session will be our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday, the 10th of May, from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM. There will be the usual business of the AGM, plus a special guest speaker, Zoë Daly of the Wicklow County-based company Ériu. There will be the annual drawing for a Bursary of 250 euros for a member to use for a textile-related workshop. Of course, we will enjoy tea and coffee, and member-supplied tasty treats.

We hope to see you there!

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Update: Felt & Fabric Design Transfer Workshop POSTPONED – Members Welcome to Come to Felt Alongside Friends instead

Published on April 11, 2026April 12, 2026 by Feltmakers Ireland

Promotional image for a felt and fabric design transfer workshop. It features a round, cream-coloured felt bowl with an embroidered bee design on the front. The top text includes details about the workshop, highlighting a postponement due to fuel issues and an invitation for participants to bring their own projects.

UPDATE:

Due to the Fuel Situation, we will reschedule the Image Transfer Workshop to a later date so that members affected by fuel rationing can attend. Details to be provided later.

Felt Along Session

HOWEVER, members are VERY welcome to come this Sunday for an informal felt-along session.

If you have any WIP (works in progress), incomplete textile projects or wish to Felt Alongside Friends, this Sunday’s Session is the opportunity to do so.

Please bring your wet and/or needle felting kits to this session, along with your fibre.

The usual tea and coffee will be provided.

The Details:

When: Sunday, the 12th of April, 2026, 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM.

Where: CIE Sports Hall, Library Square, Inchicore, Kilmainham, Dublin, D8

Additional Information:

If you can, please bring a home-baked good to share and a travel mug (so we can reduce our use of disposable cups).

And, as this is the season of coughs and sneezes, please refrain from coming if you feel unwell.

NO Zoom Access to this Sunday Session:

Unfortunately, we will NOT be able to provide Zoom access for this Sunday’s session, as our tech support (Juliane) cannot attend. Thank you for your understanding.

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

This Sunday: Felt & Fabric Design Transfer Workshop – with Adrienne Dempsey

Published on April 10, 2026April 6, 2026 by Feltmakers Ireland

A felt bowl featuring an embroidered bee design, promoting an April workshop for felt and fabric design transfer.

This Sunday, we will learn how to transfer designs onto felt fabrics using soluble fabric and heat-transfer techniques with committee member Adrienne Dempsey.

In this workshop, we’ll explore different methods for transferring designs and bring them to life through needle felting.

You’ll create a motif that you can use in your own artwork or transform into a decorative piece, such as a brooch.

Hand-stitched felted bee design on a natural fabric backdrop within an embroidery hoop.

Close-up of a handmade felt brooch featuring a black and yellow bee design on a circular beige background.

Materials we will use:

•Linen and silk canvas fabric
•Heat transfer materials, fabric pens
•Soluble fabric
•Vilene, cotton batting, calico, and Pellon
•Parchment paper
•Needle felting wool (black & white and a selection of colours)
•Felting needles
•Iron
•Embroidery threads & beads (optional)