WoolPetsWoolpets, Needle Felting Kit, Easy, Hedgehog, 1006

Happy granddaughter

The end result was very cute, and the instructions were clear, but this was certainly not easy to make. While the instructions were clear enough for a complete beginner (I had never needled felted in my life... or even heard of it!), it's quite hard to get the right shapes and proportions. The texture at the end is also quite time consuming -- after making the first hedgehog, I used the included pattern as a starting point to make "baby" hedgehogs (just tiny versions of the original), which I found were much easier, as well as faster, and I could make the texture by just blending the various colors of wool from the start, rather than spending hours creating tiny curls after finishing the body. However, I was never able to get the shapes quite right, or get the pieces to fully blend together. The finished product looks good, but not nearly as good as I'd hoped or expected. I purchased this product in a toy store, which probably clouded my judgement a bit. I expected it to be easy simply because I'm an adult, and this is supposedly the easiest level of a child's craft. But even so, I'm pretty good at crafts, especially those involving needlework. I taught myself to knit, crochet, embroider, cross-stitch, spool-knit, and I don't even know what else anymore. To a significant extent, I even taught myself to sew, although I did have some about of help with that... but everything else, I've learned from booklets, kits, and online instructions, without any trouble at all. I've always been pretty easily able to get thread, yarn, and fabric to go exactly where I want it to, with little to no instruction. Most recently, I've learned to cross-stitch... and after a tiny, beginners counted-cross stitch kit (I never tried stamped cross stitch), which I finished in 2 evenings, I jumped right in to a full-sized, complex pattern... which I actually altered, and while I haven't finished it, I've had no trouble so far and don't anticipate any. So for me to try a craft using needle and yarn, using a kit (apparently) aimed at children seemed like no big deal. But it turned out to be quite frustrating to get the shapes even close. I am admittedly something of a perfectionist, and I could look at my work and recognize that others, both children and adults, might be satisfied with what I produced, but to me it was, while cute, and recognizable as a hedgehog, pretty far from the example I was trying to replicate.This was my first needle felting endeavor, and while I haven't done much of it since then (only one project, I think), I quite like it. It's quite satisfying to stab something repeatedly with a needle -- a good outlet for stress -- and the end results can be quite nice. Despite the shortcomings of this kit, I still enjoyed making the hedgehogs (one full size, as per the instructions, and 3 or 4 "babies"), and still have quite a bit of wool left to make more. Also, the kit came with 2 needles, which appear to be high quality, since I still haven't used the second one, and was able to use the first to finish another needle felting kit after the included needle broke less than half way through.It's also worth mentioning that this kit requires a needle felting pad, which is not included. This is printed on the packaging, and I bought the pad at the same time as the kit as a result, and I actually appreciate that I can buy the kit without purchasing a new pad each time (cost aside, it's more environmentally friendly that way), but if you're buying it online and/or don't catch that this is required, it could be disappointing to open the kit and discover you can't start it right away.

I love these Woolpets kids. I purchased this at a local small store, and I was able to make 2 hedgehogs from it, about 3 inches each. The instructions are very thorough, and this is a great beginner kit. However, I will say that I did not follow the part about make the texture on the back by making tons of tiny curls- this was simply WAY too timing consuming. Instead, I manipulated the wool to make it look wavy and pretty uneven in texture. My hedgehogs came out great! I would highly recommend these kits for anyone who enjoys needle felting. I have several other by this same brand, and they are excellent.

I'm a beginner, and hoped this would be easy enough for me to try as a first project. The instructions would have been clear enough if I'd had some experience, but I found them too confusing. I really had no idea how to complete this project, and ended up giving up very quickly. Fun and very cute, but I don't think it's for a complete beginner.

They didn't offer a piece of foam to the kit. Makes it difficult to use unless you are set up for felting already.