Felt Alive Gallery

Welcome to my gallery of needle felted dolls!

felt alive needle felted dolls by kay petal
Felt Alive original needle felted dolls are each hand-sculpted from wool batting using barbed felting needles with no sewing, no stuffing, no wire armatures and no paint!  Even their eyes, teeth, clothing, hair and accessories are needle felted wool.  The dolls stand, flex and bend nearly like they are alive.

The needle felted dolls in my gallery are not available for sale but I do have limited openings for commission work.   Call for more information.  541-592-3499


Felt Alive Needle Felted Dolls

Celebrity Caricature Collection

This is li’l Spinal Tap

this is spinal tap dolls - needle felted wool sculptures by kay petal

This is Spinal Tap is a hilarious fictional mockumentary about England’s loudest band.  These go to ’11’


Li’l Dr. John


The Li’l Coneheads

The Coneheads - needle felted wool caricature dolls by Kay Petal - Felt Alive Wool Sculptures - copyright 2015


The Dude (aka Jeff Bridges) from ‘The Big Lebowski’

The Dude from The Big Lebowski - needle felted doll

SONY DSC


Li’l Mick Jagger

needle felted wool Mick Jagger caricature doll by Kay Petal – Felt Alive Wool Sculptures


PSY
Korean Pop Singer / YouTube Sensation

PSY - Korean Pop Singer


Dial ‘M’ for Man in the Moon
My (slightly greenish) tribute to Alfred Hitchcock …in the moon.

hitchcock-moon8

“Good Evening”


The late, great Freddie Mercury

SONY DSC

And Here is with his dear friend, Li’l Elton John

freddie-mercury-elton-doll-


Li’l Whoopi
Such an amazing face to bring to life in wool

Whoopi Doll
A li’l Whoopie! Needle Felted doll.

this is my original Whoopi – I made her on commission for a fan of Whoopi.


Li’l Bob Dylan

Needle Felted Bob Dylan Doll - by Kay Petal - Felt Alive Wool Sculptures

Needle Felted Bob Dylan Doll - by Kay Petal - Felt Alive Wool Sculptures

Needle Felted Bob Dylan Doll - by Kay Petal - Felt Alive Wool Sculptures

Needle Felted Bob Dylan Doll - by Kay Petal - Felt Alive Wool Sculptures
This is my second version of Dylan


Li’l Wille Nelson
Felt-Headed Stranger

Li'l Willie Nelson Needle Felted Wool Art Doll

Li'l Willie Nelson Needle Felted Wool Art Doll

Li’l Willie Nelson #2
This is my second version of Willie

0-willie-dolls-a_needle-felted-01.JPG


Kathryn Williams and The Pond
Here is a talented and fun group of musicians with their mini Felt Alive dolls.
The POND


Li’l Weird Al

Li'l Weird Al Needle Felted Wool Art Doll


Li’l Rabbit with John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick

Li'l Rabbit with John 'Rabbit' Bundrick

legendary keyboardist for The Who photo courtesy of http://www.rabbitwho.com
As a longtime fan of The Who, this project was such a thrill for me – and would you believe that I didn’t know Rab owned a red and black western shirt until I saw this photo? Uncanny, is what I say! When Rab’s doll arrived early in the morning, he dug through his closet to find his matching red shirt to pose for a photo for me! (Can you see his pajamas under his shirt 🙂 Thanks for being such a great sport, Rab!!


Lil Lyle Lovett

Lil Lyle Lovett

I’m a huge fan of this man’s musical talent


Li’l Jay Leno

Needle Felted Jay Leno Doll by Kay Petal


Li’l Bono

Needle Felted Bono Art Doll by Kay Petal Li'l Bono from U2Felt Alive needle felted wool dolls are made without the use of wire armatures!

Needle Felted Wool Dolls

Li’l Springsteen with Li’l Bono


Li’l Donald Trump
circa 2009

Needle Felted Donald Trump Doll by Kay Petal


Li’l Ellen DeGeneres

Needle Felted Ellen DeGeneres Doll by Felt Artist Kay Petal


The Li’l Beatles

The Beatles - Needle Felted Wool Art Dolls - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

The Beatles are some of my earliest caricature work.


Li’l Spock

Spock Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal
“Felt Long & Prosper”

Li’l Travolta

Needle Felted Wool John Travolta Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal


Li’l Mr. T

I Pity the Wool!

Needle Felted Wool Doll

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal


Li’l Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan needle felted wool doll by needle felt artist Kay Petal


Li’l Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash needle felted wool doll by needle felt artist Kay Petal


Li’l Elvis!

Elvis Presley needle felted wool doll by needle felt artist Kay Petal


Li’l Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe needle felted wool doll by needle felt artist Kay Petal


Li’l Bob Dylan

version #1

Bob Dylan needle felted wool doll by needle felt artist Kay Petal


Li’l Janis Joplin

What can I say? She’s my li’l rock star for sure!
Needle Felted Wool Doll

Janice Joplin needle felted wool celebrity doll by needle felt artist Kay Petal


Li’l Elton John

Elton John needle felted wool celebrity doll by needle felt artist Kay Petal


Li’l Conan O’Brien

What fun it was to bring Conan’s quirky look to life in needle felted wool!

Conan O'Brien needle felted wool celebrity doll by needle felt artist Kay Petal

Li’l Conan dreams of meeting Big Conan some day!
Needle Felted Wool Doll

Li’l Willie Nelson
version #1

Willie Nelson needle felted wool doll by needle felt artist Kay Petal
I’ve been a fan of Willie for many years and it was a great thrill to bring him to life in wool!


Li’l Sarah Palin
Needle Felted Wool Doll

Sarah Palin needle felted wool doll by needle felt artist Kay Petal

Sarah Palin needle felted wool doll by needle felt artist Kay Petal
I actually grew up with Sarah in Wasilla, Alaska. She was my very first celebrity caricature doll – I made her during the election in 2008 and sold her on eBay to a political doll collector.

And that’s concludes my collection of celebrity needle felted dolls but stay tuned – there will be many more!


Custom Needle Felted Caricature Dolls

Every so often I make custom look-alikes of friends and family

This is Saige and Li’l Saige!

Needle felted wool art doll caricature

Needle felted wool art doll caricature


Gabe & Carly

Needle Felted Wedding Couple
Gabe & Carly and their li’l wedding couple.


Patti & John

Needle felted wool art doll caricature

The real Patti & John

Needle felted wool art doll caricature

Li’l John & Patti


Jessica & Li’l Jessica

Needle Felted Doll by Kay Petal

Aren’t they gorgeous?

Needle Felted Doll by Kay Petal

felt alive original designs

The next group of needle felted dolls are purely from my imagination! And if you want to learn how to make needle felted creations of your own, I offer several fun workshops of my designs.

Felt Alive Needle Felted Witch

Felt Alive Needle Felted Witch

She has some attitude for sure. And like all of my dolls, she is fully jointed with a natural range of motion. And she stands on her own without the use of wire armatures – all without sewing even one stitch!

Needle Felted Santa
Needle Felted Wool Santa Dolls by Felt Alive Wool Sculptures

Andy
Needle Felted Wool Doll

Andy Needle Felted Wool Doll

This little guy came to life while I was teaching a 3 day long doll workshop!
My student’s tell me he looks like Clint Howard, Ron Howard’s brother.

Petal
Clementine
Needle Felted Wool Doll

Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay

Jim Timmie

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal
Needle Felted Wool Doll Jim Timmie came to life while filming my needle felted dolls video workshop. That’s why he has one shoe on and one shoe off! I had to demonstrate making both bare feet as well as feet with shoes.

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

 Kay Petal
Katie

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by
Needle Felted Wool Doll This is as close to a self portrait as I’ll likely ever get. I was a mushroom in a ballet when I was 5 years old.

George
Needle Felted Wool Doll
A first Felt Alive Doll with removable dentures!

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

Evelyn
Needle Felted Wool Doll

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

Daisy
Needle Felted Wool Doll

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

Hilda
Needle Felted Wool Doll
(Well, Hilda was not from my imagination totally, she was inspired by a pin-up caricature
by Duane Bryers.)

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal
Cyrus (with my Great-Niece, Chloe)
Needle Felted Wool Doll

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

Droits!
Needle Felted Wool Elfin Creatures. AND the subject of my latest video workshop

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

Doc Treeboat
Needle Felted Doll

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

Mindy
Needle Felted Wool Doll

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

I finally made a Felt Alive Dog
Rufus
Needle Felted Wool Dog

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

And One Dog Led to Felt Alive PUPS!

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

Crackers and His Bro’, Alice
Needle Felted Dolls

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal
Gladys
Needle Felted Wool Doll

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal
Mac
Needle Felted Wool Doll

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

Igor

Original Felt Alive Needle Felted Wool Art Doll - Sculptural Needle Felting by Kay Petal

This is my needle felted tribute to the late, great Marty Feldman.

His Igor character in the comedy Young Frankenstein is just classic!

Igor’s Flickr Gallery

Older Works

the following photos are of my earliest projects.

Little Girl in Pink Jammies

Little Girl in Pink Jammies

Soft sculpted little girl – she is holing her little teddy bear. I made this little girl for a charity auction so her name is up to her new family.

Cupid

I set out to make a sweet little cupid and this rather silly looking character showed up instead. The song “Stupid Cupid” kept running through my mind as I created him.

Baby Brother

 

This little pair was donated to a charity auction.

Lena

This is another little cutie in her jammies

Moon Man

I made this for a felting challenge.

Little Girl

This is little Hazel. She sits about 6 inches tall. She is wearing a yellow dress. Click the link to watch a video!

Santa

Santa is about 20 inches tall. He is enjoying some down time in his red long-johns and wool socks.

Elf

This is Chieder. Check out his video!

Young Love

 

This couple is young at heart. And yes, it’s true Granpa’s in his Superman Underoos! Make sure to watch their video!

Grandpa Vern

My niece named him after my late father. The resemblance is a bit uncanny!

Grandpa Vern’s Woman

She doesn’t have a name – my niece just calls her Grandma.

Cookie

The sexiest distance between two points is a curve!

Hailey

I made Hailey in a workshop. She was supposed to be sunbathing but really, she looks better flying.

Kleebus

I made Kleebus in a class with Birgitte Krag Hansen. He is quite a character. The class was Funny Theatre Figures.

A. Einstein

Here is a needle felted over wire armature caricature of Albert Einstein.

Skye

This is Skye – A very early work. She is over a wire armature. Her handbag is needle felted as well.

Mush

This is my little tribute to my home town’s sled dog racing heritage. I even needle some of my husky mutts’ fur into the little dogs.

      Nuno Felt Scarves

   

Wool felted onto silk

These are my first attempts but I think there can be no doubt where I got my inspiration. Photos taken in my front yard.

14 thoughts on “Felt Alive Gallery

  1. I have never seen such clever work in needle felting!!! They are all nothing less than amazing !!!
    Beautiful, whimsical and spot on in their physical looks.

  2. I am in love with this craft. You are the first one I found when trying to find a craft to relax me (per doctors order). I just started and I’m so excited to learn from your videos. I just made my first one of the finger puppets. I can use them (when I make more) in my Sunday school class for the preschoolers while teaching in a fun way. You truly are an inspiration and I am ready to dig in this deeper. It’s so addictive! Thank you for sharing your talent! Michelle Wyatt

  3. Thank You Michelle!

  4. So I just stumbled into felting recently and I am hooked👅
    Your work is just so passionately crafted, it will be my go to for inspiration for sure.
    Can’t wait to start use your videos to make my pieces come to life as yours.
    One of my better addictions for sure.

  5. Your work is amazing. Do you sell any f it?

  6. Thanks Joan! Mostly I keep my dolls but I do make custom dolls from time to time.

  7. Thanks Shelly and welcome to the club! It’s a great addiction and I know you are going to love it!

  8. Hi Kay My dream is to make dolls as professional as yours. I would love to win a doll like this.

  9. Where’s the great Howard Stern??

  10. Hi Kay, Just fallen onto your site while felting your little Pixies. I am speechless with awe and wonderment.
    What a talented lady you are.

  11. Hi, I just noticed I could leave a comment here. Sorry I didn’t see this sooner, as I have jusy emailed you. Well now I know and next time I will comment here.

  12. These are BEAUTIFUL !!!!!!!!!!!

  13. I just checked out this web site..Very nice…the photos of work are Fantastic..I am interested in felting..but i not sure i have the ability.My hat is OFF! to all who does the Felting…I am also interested in doing wall hangins

  14. I was looking at making sock gnomes when I stumbled onto your tutorials for needle felting. I AM in AW!!! I have got to try this and could only hope to be half as talented as you.

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