Needle Felted Krampus Head

Inspired by my friend Diane Hawkey and the making of her ceramic Krampus figures and Krampus head ornaments, I wanted to create a needle felted Krampus head. And of course I like to have a visual reference for creating things and why not share here. I don’t have every little detail, for that I would have to teach a class. For now, this is just a fun inspirational project. Hope you enjoy!
PS – check the bottom of the post for the link to Sarafina Fiber Art with video references if you want to learn more about needle felting.

Ceramic Krampus Head Ornaments by Diane Hawkey
Using 1 piece of 26 gauge wire, I made these wire forms.
I then covered them with Sarafina Oats Core Wool.
I also melted some Sarafina Swax and covered the Core Wool (using the colour shapers).
Here the Swax has set up. To get it this smooth, I rubbed some Sarafina Ewe Smooth on my hand, then when the Swax was still warm and pliable, I pressed it in and smoothed it out.
One set of horns in my hand for scale.
Here I’ve got 4 sets of horns done, and have made a face shape using Sarafina Carob Core wool on the Sarafina Zullitool.
The head shape is attached to the horns with more core wool, and then I added little ears to make the head seem more goat-like.
Using more of the Sarafina Carob Core Wool, I create a bunch of face shapes (Sara from Sarafina came up with an awesome tool she calls the Face Ace – I love it!)
Using a Sarafina technique for blending face shapes, this Krampus is really starting to look disturbing and kinda evil.
Here is a different head where I began to fill in the black of the eye.
I created a red tongue with Sarafina Christmas Red Core and teeny pointed teeth with Sarafina White. The Ewe Smooth helps roll out those teeny pointed teeth.
Here are the 4 that I made. You can see they all vary a bit and I tried out all kinds of weird freaky evil eyes on them.
I though they were a bit too smooth looking and not quite freaky enough, so I dug out some washed, but not perfect sheep curls to create a little beard and some hair.
Here is the whole creepy gang!
And a little bit of a close up.
I think I should work on a pointy nose for next year!

I do work part-time at Sarafina Fiber Art where I help purchase raw sheep fleeces, and help wash and dye them for kits and online inventory. One of the really cool things about working at Sarafina is learning things from Sara in person and seeing things as she develops tools and techniques (it really is magical). For those of you not working there, she has lots of videos showing off these tools and techniques. Over time, after making some of her projects, you can start to create your own creatures based off of your knowledge she shares. I want to help point you in the right direction so you can learn cool things too.

Here is a list of different Sarafina Fiber Art videos that will help you understand the techniques behind the above photos:
FELTING FOR BEGINNERS (if you are completely new to needle felting, start here!)
SWAX (this video shows you how to apply wax to your wool). Using Ewe Smooth – rub on your hands like a solid lotion – helps keep the Swax from sticking to your fingers.
FACE ACE (this one will show you how to use the Sarafina Face Ace to make shapes, attach shapes, then blend in the shapes with some fuzzy wool).
SARAFINA GOAT (this one will give you good goat face shapes, wrapping the horns, and swaxing the horns).

If you want to get started on your own needle felting adventure and are ready to buy supplies through SarafinaFiberArt.com, use the 1x coupon code for 10% off discount of Sarafina wool tools and supplies with: MARSHA10 at checkout.

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