I have spoken to a few crafting people who have tried Needle Felting found it most difficult and given up. From what they told me I have come to the conclusion that they were sold the wrong needle for the wool. So here is a short guide to getting the right needle.

How to choose a Felting Needle for the job in hand

There are four things to consider Gauge:

The gauge (diameter) of the working zone for wool needles ranges from 32 (coarse) to 42 (super fine). In general, start your project with a coarser needle and work to a finer needle for finishing. Choose thicker needles to felt coarse fibers and finer needles when working with finer fibers.

Barb number:

The total number of barbs on the Needle influence the speed of the felting process; fewer barbs allow for more precision. Star needles have a high number of barbs, but are designed to penetrate firm felt easily, working fast and resulting in more tensile strength.

Working edge: Most felting needles are triangular with three working edges, except Star needles which are a new innovation with four edges. You will find that needles with only one or two working edges will penetrate denser felt more easily. A needle on which the barbs are situated on one edge in a row right behind each other will move fiber reliably and can also be used sideways, parallel to the surface of the felting project.

Barb spacing and form:

Needles on which the barbs are spiraled evenly up the working blade will accomplish an even needling effect over more depth. To produce a smooth felted surface the barbs should be situated close to the tip of the needle. Deeper barbs and more barb angle will transport more fiber but also be more aggressive.

Here is a short list of Needles and their suitability to task.

32 gauge, 3x3x0 barbs,3 inch is suitable for cross-bred and other coarse wools.

36 gauge, 2x2x2x2 barbs, 3 inch,star is suitable for both medium and coarse wool.

40 gauge, 3x3x3 barbs, 3 inch,fast is suitable for meduim to fine wools.

40 gauge, 2x2x2,barbs,3 inch is suitable for medium to fine wools.

42 gauge, 2x2x2,barbs,3 inch is suitable for fine wool and other delicate fibres

32 gauge, 8x0x0 barbs,3 inch a special needle which moves a lot of wool exactly where you want it, great for joining and forming eye sockets etc.

I hope you find this helpful :-)