Charles , a Needle Felted French Bull Dog

Here is a felt made for a lovely lady in the U.S.A  .... This little guy was great to make because the markings made him so distinctive . The face came through with real soul. 

Hello Charles

Soulful Charles

In the crochet garden

My bone is bent ! It is all your fault 

I am going for a hike

Bon Voyage Charles

The lovely real Charles

Napoleon in Needle Felt ..... the French BullDogThe Real One

The Real One 

I have been Naughty .... guess what I have done 

With Friends

Don't trip over the bone Napoleon

Lairy

Guilty

Little Legs

I love my Bone

Bonnie becomes a Needle Felted Black French Bull Dog

 Here is Bonnie , made for a lovely family in Germany . I was having a battle with my old camera when I took these pics. It is so difficult to photograph black , so many apologies for the pictures. Bonnie is still beautiful though.

Having a quiet moment with my bone

Look into my eyes

Going shopping ..... need a bone basket

The real Bonnie

Look over there ..... I want that thing !

ByeBye Bonnie !! 

Hamlet the Needle Felted French Bull Dog

Here are some new pictures , this is a needle felted dog made as a custom order . Hamlet was quite complicated because of the Brindle coat . The owner wanted a stand and a frog to complete the look.Stands are woodland needle felted mounds .... they are called Tuffets. Little Miss Muffet sat on her Tuffet !

The Real Hamlet

Here is  a Doggi-Bear called Hamlet

He is standing on his Tuffet

He has a Froggi friend

Hello Everyone ! Do you like me?

I can see an Angel .... look Froggi ! An Angel fly by !!

In the garden

Bon Voyage Felty Boy

Louis the Needle Felted Frenchie BullDog

My latest creation ..... I am posting very late because I have been so very busy ! Louis is a custom make .... had a very cute face . He is now happy in a country far,far away . Miss you louis !

Take a seat Louis ...Park your Bone , it looks heavy 

Would you like a cup of tea ..... perhaps a Passtis in a nice green glass ?

A close-up of little Louis

Dropped the Bone 

GO tO wORK ON  a Bone

The real Louis ...... sadly missed but is running around happily in the next place.

PoTaTo Needle Felted French Bulldog -Custom Made

Here is a little one I made this summer for a very nice customer . This is Potato and now lives in Hong Kong . I loved all the cute markings , the fibre used was a nice Finnish wool . The woodland stand is also all made with wool ... the mushrooms are bendy and Potato can stand up on the grassy mound as there are little holes for the feet.

Little Potato on the Toadstools stand

Walk About

Hug that Bunny

Closer View

The real Potato

Making a Needle Felted Dog Head

This is an ongoing post on how I make these dogs , eventually I hope it will be a full pictorial guide on how to make your own dog. I was helped so much by internet how to blogs . This is my way of giving something back. 

STAGE 1 .

This is the very beginning , making this takes about an hour to form , use your hands and needle to mould the wool to shape . The best fleece to use is Corriedale , Cheviot ..... most downland types of fleece with a short staple length of fibre.

Come back next time and see the head take shape with the inclusion of Reborn Eyes.

The very start of a Frenchie head ......this is simply a fistful of wool.
This is washed lambs wool of an English downland sort of sheep .

I mostly use a single needle felting needle called a 38 star
I have made an extra little mound for the snout..
Needle Felt them together and then layer corriedale top over the whole shape..
It will seem very floppy at this stage but do persevere.

STAGE 2.

This is how it looks after lots and lots of needle stabbing with a 38 star needle
I will make an extra post about the eyes I use , they are called Reborn eyes and they are
usually used for dolls . To shape the head use the shape of your hands and mould the wool to shape along with
the actual needle felting . Push it around until you are happy. I look at dog skull shapes online to help me
with shape and eye socket placement. I do not worry too much about complete reality because these are fantasy
dogs, that said you do have to base them on some level of the reality ladder.
The eyes are acrylic and half domed. I carefully pull some fibre from the corriedale wool and glue a little wad into each eye. . Then I needle felt  them onto the front of the head. Picture details to follow.

Pumkin ! A Fantasy French Bulldog Dolly Needle Felt Sculpture

Here is Pumkin , she is a fantasy creation made with soft wool and a full armature . She sold on ebay .

SHE HAS A LOVELY RIBBON COLLAR , You can find these gorgeous ribbons from a  great site
http://www.hollandfabrichouse.com/shop/home.php I added a flower and crystal necklace.

Close-Up

With a little Mate

Fighting about the Bunny

Niko the Needle Felted Brindle French Bulldog

Here is Niko , I made this one for a lovely guy in the U.S. . Niko is no longer with us but his spirit lives on . Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the real Niko and his owner Erick . 

nIKO's owner is an artist and makes the most gorgeous Frenchie stuff , I will add more info later.