Updated December, 2024
This is certainly not a comprehensive list, but these are all online businesses that I recommend – I have bought supplies from them and have been happy with my purchases.
Living Felt and Sarafina Fiber Art, in addition to selling quality supplies, both have excellent friendly online communities, free YouTube tutorials, livestreams, and more advanced paid tutorials and courses. Recommended!
Needles: There is a range in prices, so if budget is important to you, be sure to comparison shop. Some felters have had bad experiences with inexpensive needles that felted badly and caused frustration, but I have found that the needles from all these suppliers work well and produce good results. More expensive needles may work a little better than the less expensive options, but needles from any of these suppliers should work fine. My favorite needles are 38 star, 42 triangle, and 36 triangle. Your favorites may be different from mine, but if you are unsure what to buy, these are fine to start with. If I could use only one kind of needle, it would be 38 star. It works for just about everything.
Note: Some needles (especially the less expensive ones, I think?) arrive with a thin coating of oil to prevent rust. If you leave this oil on the needle and start felting, it can transfer dark oil marks to your wool. Wiping new needles with a paper towel seems sufficient to remove the oil, and if you want to be extra careful, wiping with isopropyl alcohol gets them nice and clean.
Wool: There is also a range in prices for wool, but I have found that ease of needle felting depends more on wool breed than wool price. For needle felting, you can’t go wrong with Corriedale wool. So feel free to experiment, but if you are unsure what to buy, look for Corriedale. “Batts” and “carded sliver” are easier for beginners than “tops”. But tops are ok too.
Here are some of my favorite wools for needle felting. If you have taken a class from me or bought one of my kits, it probably included these.
The first two products seem to be identical, so I buy whichever one is in stock. I use it for core wool, and for a lovely almost-white surface layer:
These next two products are great for surface layers and embellishments, and can also be used as core wool if you like: