Put simply, needle felting is making wool into amazing 3D objects by agitating the wool with a needle!

By following these 8 steps, you can needle felt your own simple and cute little bumble bee friend!

Step 1: Gathering Your Materials

For this project, you will need:

Note: I chose yellow, white, brown, and black for my felt colors, but a rainbow bee is completely allowed!

Step 2: Understanding Your Materials

A large variety of wool is used in felting, but majority of what you see (including in this tutorial) is wool roving.
Felting needles have barbs on the end, allowing them to catch and push the wool together as they enter. A normal sewing needle does not have barbs and will not do the same thing.

You do not want this needle in your finger. So, it is a good idea to wear something protective over your thumbs. Moleskin works well!
You also do not want to stab the table, as felting needles are surprisingly fragile and very expensive. Using a pad of Styrofoam or upholstery foam can protect your surface.

It is also wise to keep a pair of wool sheers on hand in case something gets too large; you would be better off clipping it down than pulling it completely apart.

Take two small pieces of your white wool felt and roll them each into a little ball.
Poke each little ball with your needle in quick repeated motions. As you press, it will firm and flatten down into a disc.
Once your white felt has been tapped down into ovular discs, set it aside.

Take a large piece of your yellow wool, and again round it into a ball
Poke it with your needle, continuing to roll and pinch it into a sphere as you poke.
He will need a face at some point; so take your needle and flatten one end of his body to make him a little more cylindrical.

Wrap two thin strips of your brown felt around the body of the bee, to give him stripes
Poke them down to secure them.

Pinch a tiny piece of black wool into the shape of a stinger- I find this best done by pinching it into a triangle, poking it together with the needle, twisting it, and poking it some more.
Attach it to the rounder end of your bee body by holding sticking it to the side and poking the black into the yellow with your needle.
OPTIONAL: if you would like, take thin piece of yellow and spread it around the base of the stinger to make it look more natural, and poke it into place!

Now returning to the wings, pick up one of your wings and apply one of the slim edges to the bee torso, the same way you did with the stinger.
Once the wing is securely on the bees back, you may use your needle to gently make shape adjustments. It should like more or less like a half oval.
Repeat the same thing with the second wing, a small distance away on the bees back. How far apart the wings are is a choice belonging to the artist!

Using your needle, gently hollow out two small spaces on the flat side of the bee torso. These spaces are where his eyes will be placed
Take two small eye pegs and press them into the prepared holes.
Tap your needle around the newly affixed eyes to ensure they are secure.