Where to Start with Sachiko Susa
Sachiko Susa is a Japanese master felter who turned years of experience designing stuffed toys into some of the most beloved needle felting books available in English. After working in planning and design at a plush toy manufacturer, she became a freelance handicraft artist, publishing her creations in magazines and books while teaching needle felting classes across Japan. Her designs are known for their warmth and expressiveness, capturing the personality of each animal through careful shaping and lifelike facial details. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages.
Start here
Sweet & Simple Needle Felted Animals
Sachiko Susa · 96 pages · 2017 · Easy
Themes: needle felting, animal crafts, beginner techniques, wool sculpture
Sweet & Simple Needle Felted Animals is a step-by-step visual guide that walks you through creating an entire collection of cute, cuddly pets, barnyard animals, and mascots using just wool roving, a felting needle, and a few basic tools.
Why Start Here
This is Susa’s most accessible book and the one that best showcases her teaching style. Each project comes with detailed, photograph-driven instructions that break the process into clear stages: forming the central shape, attaching components, adding fine details, and finishing. The projects are arranged by difficulty, so you build confidence gradually rather than hitting a wall. Susa’s background in professional toy design shines through in how she approaches proportion and expression, giving even simple projects a sense of life that sets them apart from generic craft patterns.
For readers who have never touched a felting needle, this book removes the guesswork. For those with some experience, Susa’s techniques for capturing animal expressions will push your work to the next level.
What to Expect
Ninety-six pages of full-color photographs and actual-size templates. Projects range from simple round shapes to more detailed animals with wire armatures. The tone is encouraging and practical, focused on results rather than theory.