Needle Felting Lesson: Sunflower Field

Welcome to the needle felting lesson: Sunflower Field​. Together we’ll work throughout the process of developing the sixth illustration of my picture book, Flock of Rock! Thank you for sharing this journey with me. This lesson was originally recorded in April 2024.

Felting the First Layer of the Sunflower Field Background

Before we begin adding flowers the shadow background is going to have a series of long stems and blobby (this is really a word, I looked it up) leaf patterns. Everything we’re adding at this stage will have more detail added on top of it.

Felting Sunflower Petals

In this video lesson, we section off small pinches of wool in two tones to form sunflower petals.

Assembling a Felted Sunflower

In this video lesson, I begin with a round felt base and attach the sunflower petals and seeds to form the flower.

Adding Sunflowers to the Distant Field

In this video lesson, we first add undefined pinches of yellow to the field to add the flowers. Then we felt them into circles, some are adjusted into an irregular shape and others remain geometrical (they remind me of Klimt flowers). The brown seed centers are added I turn one of the 2D flowers into a 3D pop by adding the petals directly to the base.

Still Image Gallery

Tip: Click on the first image and then scroll through the enlarged format, you’re able to see everything much better.

Attaching Sunflowers to the Foreground

This gallery includes pictures showing the progress of adding more detailed flowers to the foreground of the sunflower field, including close up shots of how I attach the petals to the flower felted to the base layer.

The still image gallery will be added soon. As of 4/22 I started having technical issues with both my Adobe Suite software and my external hard drive. My drive and laptop are bound for the Computer Doctor! I hope to have the still image gallery photos added by Friday, when I plan to convert this lesson to my master class content and online shop, but that could be delayed until I get the tech resolved.

Master Tip

When you know there are elements of your picture that will be placed right where your hand naturally wants to rest as you work, do that section last. In these two images, I indicate where in the field my hand is typically resting, so I develop that section last.

Meet Your Instructor

Hi, my name is Hillary Dow. A few of my many hats include mother, wife, traveler, outdoor adventurer, author, family chef, marketing professional, felting artist in Maine, and oh so many more. I write children’s books illustrated with my wool creations. It is such a thrill to be a part of helping someone develop their skills and CREATE artwork. Thank you for joining me!

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