Felting Lesson: Flying Motion Lines

step by step tutorial

Materials List

Felting needles

Sturdy foam or wool pad

Wool fabric panel cut to size

Core wool or natural roving

Wool for your sky color and motion lines

Yellow wool for the sun

Fleshtone colorway

Wool in a color palette for dress & shoes

Curly locks/fibers for hair

Each of the image galleries in the Felting Lesson: Flying Motion Lines includes step-by-step instructions that walk you through the process of needle felting a fairy flying directly into the sun, accentuated with motion lines rippling across the sky. The illustration I am working on in this lesson will be in the children’s book featuring the Sun Fairy of Lichendia. This lesson was created in April 2022.

*For optimal viewing, click on the first image in each gallery to open the full view and then scroll through. If you view the images in the preview galleries only your view will be a cropped version of each image and you will miss out on the descriptive captions I have added to each picture. Enjoy!

Thank YOU for being part of our community. Enjoy the lesson? Please write a review on Google!

Base Layer Sky & Sun

Before we dive too deep into the felting lesson: motion lines, the development of the base layer comes first!

Begin with a base layer of core wool and place the sun.

Once the blue wool is covering the remainder of the base, continue adding more yellow wool to build up the ball of the sun.

Continue to build up the ball of the sun.

You can either leave the ball of the sun protruding over the edge of your base, or felt it inward so that it aligns with your edge as I have done here.

I've learned that spending time at this point to firm up the base layer of colored wool makes for a sturdier base over the long haul. A little extra felting and tidying up of the edges now helps with the longevity of how your piece will remain over time. The less you felt the base layer now, the fibers will more easily loosen slightly over time.

Arms, Head & Face, Hair, Shoulders

Use core wool to gauge the sizing of your fairy, then shape the arms and cover each with flesh tone wool of your choice.

Unless you're making a very large piece, the head will be very small so be sure to felt carefully (I often poke myself when working on very small details).

Even if the colors for your eyes and lips seem a bit dark, it will help the features pop from a distance - like stage makeup for dancers (can you tell Eva's dance recital is fast approaching?).

For The Sun Fairy I use curly locks, but you can use any color or style wool for the hair of your fairy.

Attach the flesh tone wool over the shoulders by first securing the wool in place along the back front shoulder, which is also helping to secure the neck and head more firmly in place.

Covering the shoulders with flesh tone wool will provide the fibers necessary to wrap around the end of the arm and attach it to the body.

Continue felting the shoulders to create the desired size and shape.

Torso, Skirt, Legs, Felting a Bend at the Knee

I begin the dress by securing the wool in place at one corner and then felt the hem in place across her armpit and back. A thin accent color helps her dress match the other illustrations in the series. Next, I felt down the torso and secure the waist.

Using my felting needle I define the shape of the torso.

Gathering a puffy clump of wool fibers for the skirt, I secure the fibers in place at the waist, leaving the bottom hem of the skirt loose and fluffy.

Adding a thin layer of yellow wool over the orange skirt adds the final touch of color for the dress.

Rather than leaving her skirt fluffy I felt it lightly so that is appears more firm. After all, she is flying really fast and so her skirt should appear blown back, now airy and fluffy.

Follow the same steps for the legs that were used for the arms. Create the correct size and basic shape with core wool and then cover with your desired flesh tone color and add a simple shoe.

On each leg leave a tuft of loose fibers at the top of the thigh so that you have more wool to attach to the torso under the skirt.

Here I am using my needle to point at the fibers, but to attach I angle my felting needle parallel to the legs and felt directly up into the torso.

To bend the legs at the knee use your felting needle on the backside of the knee. The more you felt the back of the bend, the more angle you will create.

Fairy Wings

I create four separate wings pieces and felt each one in place on her back.

Most of the felting to attach each piece occurs in the small of her back, allowing the wings to remain floating.

The more firmly felted wings are prior to attaching them to the fairy, the better the structure of the wing will hold up over time.

The extra wing surface in the distant wings gets felted directly into the base. This creates more stability for the fairy overall.

Fixing a Color Gap

A gap in color coverage appeared between the blue sky and the yellow of the sun. Before adding motion lines I needed to fill in that gap with the same color as the base sky.

Even from this angle, we see the strip of white wool in the sky.

First, I color match the blue wool.

Then I lay it in place and felt it to fill the gap.

Selecting a Color Palette for the Motion Lines

Now that the fairy is felted into place we know exactly where her figure will be creating motion across the sky. Think of this like the “BAM” or the “POW” bubbles you see in comic strips and graphic novels. Our goal here is to create the illusion of movement as the Sun Fairy flies full speed into the magical sun spot. With the base layer of blue sky in place, I raid several bags of blue wool to pull out shades that, when combined, will provide light, mid-tone, and dark blue lines.

Start With Loosely Felted Broader Lines

To start, use a mid-tone blue to lay in larger, loosely felted wavy lines.

Once the larger wavy lines are in place you'll instantly begin to see a feeling of movement.

Carry the waves all the way from the edge of the sun to the edge of the illustration.

Still using a light touch and loose felting, begin adding another wave in a darker shade directly next to the mid-tone shade of blue.

The more shades of blue that are included, with alternating placement, the more motion we begin to see.

Detailed Motion Lines

Now I begin to layer in light blue motion lines continuing to alternate between dark, mid-tone and light.

Using a small strip of wool, place one end next to the sun and felt it in as the anchor.

Follow along the length of the strip with your felting needle to secure the motion line in place, creating a wave or zig zap shape as you go.

I prefer to leave some loosely felted fibers next to more firm, more tightly felted fibers for the contrast.

Keep going in and alternating shades until you have the just the right amount of motion.

Adding light accent lines within the center of a darker section adds even more depth and motion. They don't all need to be lined up next to one another.

Another way to add visual interest and motion is to combine short wavy shapes with longer, flowing shapes. Think about the type of motion you are trying to portray.

Sun Fairy Flies Into the Sun, the appearance of motion is created by needle felting intentional lines of color with wool.

Remember, if you over do it, taking out felted wool is a cinch, you just give it a tug!

I used dark blue lines around and behind her hands, to help her light flesh tone really pop!

There you have it, needle felted motion lines!

Hillary Dow Felting Master Class Instructor fiber artist

Meet Your Instructor

Hi, my name is Hillary Dow. A few of my many hats include mother, author, artist, booker (leave the vacation booking to me, I’ve got this), family chef, marketing manager, 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!

Join Hillary's Felting Community

Be sure to check out new felting lessons delivered directly to your inbox! Each session includes a lesson that is subject matter specific, or simply work on your current project while picking up new techniques and tips! In my felting lessons, I am always working on illustrations that will be in upcoming books. As you watch and learn, you are also sharing the experience of Lichendia, a woodland fairyland coming to life!

Sign Up Today

Want even more?
Take your felting to a whole new level! Membership is $200 annually or monthly payments of $16.50.
Join the Felting Master Class today!

Needle felting leaves on trees, instructor Hillary Dow

Needle Felted portrait of the Sun Fairy by Hillary Dow

Learn how to needle felt a fairy village complete with fairy mushroom houses and window boxes!

The Sun Fairy Cover Illustration Thumbnail Hillary Dow

The Sun Fairy cover Illustration, Needle Felting a Picture

Check out the Felting Master Class!

Did you enjoy the lesson? Please click here to write a Google Review!