At Mr X Stitch we love to review textile art and embroidery books for you. There are so many great books to discover, packed with needlework inspiration and textile techniques, so we dive into each book to find out what’s good, what’s bad and let you know why you should pick it up.
If you’ve ever wanted to try needle felting, I Felt Awesome by Moxie is the perfect book for you! Let’s find out more!
Moxie. She’s an all around awesome person, amazing artist and an incredibly talented needle felter who loves introducing people to needle felting and has a lot of excellent advice on the subject. It’s worth visiting her website so you can appreciate the scale of her work and get a sense of her perspective on this felty format.
Needle felting can seem like a daunting technique to try – it does involve stabbing, after all – but when a book like I Felt Awesome comes along, it really inspires you to get stuck in.
Moxie brings the perfect balance of technical proficiency and good humour, so that you feel confident in trying to make felt, and to explore creating forms with it. Starting with flat felt and moving through an assortment of shapes and construction methods, you discover all the ways of turning fluff into stuff.
There are dozens of photos throughout I Felt Awesome, from the very in-depth technique section to the various projects. Each project comes with its own set of challenges, but the process is deconstructed for you, so you won’t feel out of your depth.
The projects come in a range of skill levels, and are broken into three main categories: Wearables, Playables, Form not Function.
Within each category, Moxie’s design sensibilities and playfulness come to the fore. The contrast between hard appearances and soft forms in explored in numerous ways.
Whether it’s small earrings or race car scarfs, or whether you want to launch a successful career producing desk bowling alleys to start a sports phenomenon, I Felt Awesome cannot help but inspire you to try making things!
Moxie’s philosophy is timeless and yet she doesn’t fall into the familiar tropes of other felting authors. Moxie has created some incredible felted installations in the past and her fearlessness and leftfield approach to the form is one of the reasons why this book is such a success.
We’ve made I Felt Awesome our first pick in our Needle Felting Gifts post for good reason. It contains all the techniques and tips you need to be a confident needle felt practitioner, and by taking the time to work through the technique section, you gain a stable base of technical knowhow.
But it’s Moxie’s creativity that really makes this book shine. Nothing in the book is mediocre. Each design will make you smile, and even if you don’t make any of them, they are bound to spark new ideas within your own creativity.
If you’ve ever even thought about trying your hand at needle felting, do yourself a favor – go get this book! You will not regret it!
I Felt Awesome by Moxie is published by North Light Books. Get your copy here!
