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We Make Collective Subscription Review – February 2017

Emily Cosnotti
ByEmily CosnottiFeb 24, 2017 | 6 comments

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We Make Collective
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We Make Collective is a UK-based subscription that sends out a materials kit every 2 months.

Each box is themed around a specific craft with a variety of materials and online tutorials to explore the craft on your own. This subscription is different from other craft subscriptions in that you receive a variety of materials instead of everything needed to make a specific item.

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This month's box was all about needle felting.

My Subscription Addiction paid for this box.(Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

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The Subscription Box: We Make Collective

The Cost: $43.78 every two months (£35.00)

The Products: "We make kits are not designed to make one, three or even ten different items. They’re made to encourage creative freedom and explore each of our individual ideas of design. The kits are packed full of the very latest in DIY and craft materials you might be struggling to get your hands on elsewhere. Each month you will receive a selection of materials that will allow you to learn and develop new skills."

Ships to: Internationally via Royal Mail from Birmingham UK. Free worldwide shipping with a subscription.

Check out all of our We Make Collective reviews and the Crafting + DIY Subscription Box Directory!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

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The We Make Collective website is a great resource for tutorials and guidance to go along with this subscription. I'll show you more from the website later in this post!

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The kit came with a lovely selection of wool for felting. The colors included are really beautiful.

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The wool is wound into little balls to keep things tidy. The wool itself is soft and very easy to work with. The peach and rose colors are my favorite.

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The kit also included the necessary felt needles, neatly packed in We Make Collective branded packaging. It also includes a warning to be careful with these needles and to keep them away from children - this is definitely a great warning as these needles are SO sharp.

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The kit includes 4 felting needles.

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Here's a look at the size of the needle in my hand. The sharp end of the needle has little barbs to catch the wool as you felt it.

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You can use an individual needle to felt small areas but may want to use more than one needle at a time for larger areas. The kit came with a branded fabric pouch and pieces to assemble a tool that holds all 4 needles at once.

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Here is the assembled tool loaded with all 4 needles.

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The tool is a little tricky to assemble because you have to place needles into the predrilled holes and then use a screw to lock everything together. It's best to use a long screwdriver because you have to insert the screwdriver in the middle of the very sharp needles to tighten the screw.

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Once assembled, it's easy and comfortable to use. And, it's easy to disassemble to use the individual needles again.

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The included foam block is used as a backing when felting. You need something to catch your needle after it passes through the felt to protect you, your surface and your needle.

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The We Make Collective website features quick needle felting basics to teach you how to felt. It's not a complicated craft, just one that takes a bit of patience. A felt shape is formed by compacting the wool and poking it over and over again with the felting needle until you form a tight shape in the design you want. You can form the felt into a shape all by itself or felt onto fabric. It's important to use the foam as a protective backing when felting onto fabric.

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There were just 2 felting tutorials on the We Make Collective site when I check but I'm sure more will be coming soon. The two featured projects are a pouch decorated with a felted avocado and a pillow felted with the word "rest." I love the idea of felting a design onto a throw pillow!

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I wanted to try out my new materials right away so I decided to do a simple design on the plain side of the pouch that came in the box. I chose a heart design in the pretty rose colored wool. I cut off a smaller piece of the foam to put inside the pouch as I felted it to make sure I didn't felt the pouch shut.

You can draw a shape with a pencil and then fill it in or just freehand it like I did.

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Here's the finished pouch. So cute and simple! This was such a simple project to complete but there's so much potential with the rest of the materials in the kit. I look forward to doing more needle felting!

Verdict: This is a different kind of craft subscription. Rather than providing everything needed for a single project, this box lets you explore a craft with your own creativity. The online basics and tutorials are a great resource to help get you started and then inspire you to create on your own. I have done some needle felting before but not onto fabric. I love the idea of making my own felt design on a pillow to display in my home. The value for this box lies in the online resources, quality of the materials, inspiration to make new things, and the curation and care put into this box.

What do you think of this month's We Make Collective?

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"Each second month we send out a box full of supplies which will give you everything you need to learn a new skill and create any number of finished pieces. Every new kit focusses on a different area of creativity. As well as including the physical materials you will receive an online course to teac... read more.
Emily Cosnotti
Emily Cosnotti
Emily is a design enthusiast who loves beautiful objects. She's really into vegan snacks, corgis, home goods, and minimalist makeup. She is currently fostering a healthy subscription addiction.

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6 comments

Celi

Emily are you willing to sell your felting box? I went on their website and they are not longer selling the kit with the wool. 🙁

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Emily Cosnotti

Hi Celi! Unfortunately, I can’t sell you my kit because I have used it but if you’re still looking for a needle felting kit, I recommend doing a search for “needle felting kit” on Etsy.com or even Amazon. Looks like there are a few similar kits out there.

Hope that helps!

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Heather

That’s so cool! My sister and her husband both do felting and I love seeing their little creations.

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Michelle

Wow that needle thing looks lethal. I have never even heard of this craft. I’m going to have to youtube it because I am dying to see how you use the needles.

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Emily Cosnotti

It is definitely a dangerous tool! To felt, you basically just stab the wool with the needle a million times all over, shaping as you go, making sure not to bend the needle.

Hope you found some good youtube videos, it is kinda fun to watch!

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Lin

That’s a great kit. I love felting but had to put all my materials together myself. It’s nice to have a kit to start with!

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