This listing has two of each of the uncommon felting needles. An assortment like this lets you try all the hard to find shapes and sizes without spending a small fortune. You may find some you can't work without and decide to buy in larger packs. The picture shows all the needles you will get, 22 in all. I can no longer find a 30 gauge, and have substituted the 40 ga. Star in this pack.
The following description is for all the needles I sell.
Felting Needles come in many shapes, sizes(gauges) and lengths with various purposes. Once you've gotten hooked, you'll want to try every needle out there to add to your repertoire of felting activities. I will give a breakdown of all the needles and what they are best used for. The most common everyday needle is the Triangle, 3 sided needle. I comes in a large assortment of gauges, the ones I carry are 30-46. They also come in a 3 inch and 3 1/2" length. I prefer the 3 1/2" when working with a single needle. It gives you added depth and greater handling ability. The 3 inch are needed for the various mushroom tools which hold multiple needles. Either size will fit into the single needle holders. The 32 are quite coarse and come with 3 barbs per side. They will greatly speed up your initial felting, but quickly become too coarse to penetrate your work, necessitating the move to a smaller (higher gauge) needle. The 36 and 38 are good medium gauge needles that also have 3 barbs per side. The Finer needles have 2 barbs per side and include the 40 and 42. These are excellent for detail work and getting a smooth surface (depending on your wool) on your final creation. Load up on these, they are fine and break more often than the thicker gauges.
The last two triangle needles are called Crown needles and are extra fine with a single barb per side. These are quite popular with baby doll reborners as they will grab a single hair at a time for that purpose. In Needle felting, can be used for very fine detail.
The Star Needles have 4 sides and 2 barbs per side and come in a 36 and 38 size. Also a 40 ga. which has multiple barbs on 2 of it's 4 sides. Because of the 4 sides it grabs a bit more wool than the triangle and some people swear by these needles and will use nothing else.(I'm not one of those, but they do have their uses.) Slightly more expensive, so there is that.
The Spiral Needles (also called Twisted) have a twist to their triangle, 2 barbed sides. Because of it they are great for compacting wool and creating a smoother finish. They are more expensive too. Comes in 36-38-40 gauges.
The Reverse Barb needles (also called inverted) comes in 38 and 40 gauge. They are used for Shading and Fluffing. If you have several layers of colored wool, it will pull the inner one to the surface, creating a roan look. The 40 gauge penetrates a solid felted creation easier than the 38. Use the 38 for a loosely felted item. Don't push it in too far or you'll not get it back out easily though.
I sell several assorted packs of needles so you can try different needles without buying too many of any you may not use very often. Everyone is different and makes different things, from rugs to miniatures, requiring different needles.
The most used needle is a 38 gauge, fyi. There are also cut needles to fit all the different Felting Machines out there. I cut and sell these too, for much less than the manufacturers of the various machines. If I hear of or see a different needle appearing on the market I try and get them in stock as quickly as I can, so let me know if there's something you're looking for.