Core wool by the pound: buying bulk wool roving for felting
Core wool is coarse fiber that needle felters use to build up shapes quickly. It is much cheaper than fine felting fiber, so buy this wool roving in bulk when you need organic pillow stuffing, doll making supplies, and for big needle felting projects.
No snails were hurt in the photoshopping of this image.
“Core wool” is a generic term that is used for many different products. Here’s what you need to know when you’re buying bulk wool for needle felting.
Core wool is undyed sheep’s wool. It can be any natural color but is most often ecru (the natural off-white pictured above).
Core wool isn’t raw wool. This is washed and carded fiber sold in the form of roving or batts. Both wool batting and bulk wool roving are common generic names for core wool. [To learn more about different types of wool processing and what’s best for needle felting, read my Fiber Vocab for Felters post].
Is it organic? Core wool is processed without chemicals, and it’s not bleached. It’s a totally natural material. Wool doesn’t qualify for organic labeling; it has it’s own sustainability rating called Responsible Wool Standard. Few small farms can afford to qualify for the RWS certification - your best bet is to buy from a source you trust. My favorite core wool is raised by Quaker farmers who do a good job with this.
Core wool is much coarser than typical needle felting fiber. This means it’s great for sculpting 3D shapes, but not so great for adding fine details like dots or lines. The coarseness of core wool varies a lot product to product.
Coarser wool = less expensive Coarser fleeces contain less grease, are much cheaper to process, and less in-demand than fine fleece. Because it’s less precious, it’s sold in larger quantities. Core wool is usually sold in pound increments.
So many uses! Core wool works great for sculpting large 3D shapes (needle felting), and creating felted sheets to use as background ‘canvases’ for 2D felted ‘paintings’ (usually wet felting, but these could be needle felted too). This medium-coarse fiber is springy and durable. People love it for organic wool pillow stuffing and dollmaking.