Cris Cross

Beyond the Troll: Basic Face Felting

Don’t miss your chance to learn from one of the best felting teachers. Artistic Figures In Cloth only allows teachers to teach two years in a row. Then they must take a year off. This helps me to rotate teachers and keep the convention fresh. This is Esther Bechler second year teaching at AFIC; she will have to take 2013 off, and can not be invited back until 2015. Her classes are packed full of little details and unique tricks of the trade.

Esther specializes in felting and applied felting. The detail she puts into all her figures is amazing giving them a life of their own. She can not resist adding those special little touches that makes her dolls and critters take on movement. She is always adding special touches. Self taught she has had no fear in creating out side of the box. Esther is obsessed with felting and has developed interesting and different classes with the ideal workshops so anyone can learn. She could care less if you are a first time or advanced felter. Esther can teach you to felting great faces. Her class this year is devoted to taking you Beyond the Troll face and right into needle felted faces.

I could not resist showing some of her critters, She taught a bear workshop in 2009.  She gave her students the freedom to create any type of bear they wanted,  it was so much fun. As you can see humanizing fruit and vegetables is not out of her realm either. She can create just about anything using a felting needle and some wool.




Cris Cross
Felting  skills can be used many different ways and Esther's puppets are leading the way!

Felting on a commercial purse

The other workshop she is instructing, Fellowship of the Sleeve,  may just seem juvenile at first but take a closer look!  This class has all the fabulous felting techniques and you can learn them in just one day.  This technique can be used to cross over to applied felting, purses, table runners – uses in dry felting faces, eyes, ears and wet felting for bags, felting fabric techniques. You truly get to experiment with all aspects of felting ins one day not to mention the adorable little creatures you end up with. “Fellowship of the Felted Sleeve” was chosen for artist that want to add three basic techniques to there fiber skill set. I believe that all artist are in search for something they can add to their skill set. Mix and Match or Criss Cross, find it here and take it to a new place.   This is what makes an artist work unique.

Fellowship of the Felted Sleeve has all the elements you need. Esther uses many of the techniques in this class to create other items and add to her existing dolls and bags, sweaters.


Fellowship of the Sleeve
A Class that leads the way teaching Wet felting, Dry Felting and applique techniques all in one day.


  There was one other aspect to choosing this class. We have so many Special Teachers, Professional Art Therapist that could use these very puppets created in class to help them in their chosen field. We also have Child Care givers which includes you Grandma and Mom. How fun can it be to learn these techniques to use on future projects and also take a gift back from AFIC and share it with someone you love?
To learn more about Fellowship of the Sleeve and Beyond the Troll: Basic Needle Felted Faces Click Here