WorkArt & Culture

Lindsey Thomas's adorable needlefelt animals riding bicycles and wearing party hats

"I find joy in the way a pile of fluff can be magically transformed into whatever animal might be summoned from my mind," says Lindsey Thomas, a textile artist based in London.

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All images courtesy of Lindsey Thomas. Via Creative Boom submission.

All images courtesy of Lindsey Thomas. Via Creative Boom submission.

Working from her home studio, she pokes and stabs at wool with needles from industrial feltmaking machines. They have barbs which repeatedly catch the fibres as she stabs, enmeshing them into a sculpted three-dimensional form in a process which has come to be known as needle felting.

"Once the face is there with eyes to peer at me as I stab life into the creatures, I fall a little bit in love with them," she adds.

Lindsey graduated in Illustration from Middlesex University in 2012 where she experimented with mixed media. But it wasn't until a few years later that she discovered the "wonderful ability of wool" to transform her illustrated characters into 3D sculptures. "As a child, I was forever drawing animals and imagining what they would be like if they could peel themselves from the paper. Now I know!"

You can follow Lindsey Thomas on Instagram and Facebook to see her many works in progress. Or visit lindseythomas.co.uk.

White needle-felted goat with curved horns wearing a red collar, riding a black tricycle against a grey background
Needle felted gorilla wearing a pointed party hat and headphones, holding a small red panda while riding a unicycle with a blue balloon attached
Needle felted badger standing upright on a tricycle against a neutral background
A needle felted bird with brown and cream colouring, standing against a white background with its tail feathers raised upright
Needle-felted brown walrus with tusks and a small teal fish perched on its head, both crafted from wool
Needle-felted brown bear sitting upright on a unicycle against a neutral background
Needle felted giraffe with spotted coat and ruffled neck standing upright on a three-wheeled bicycle
Needle-felted grey bear riding a small black tricycle against a cream background
Needle-felted brown rabbit wearing a red and white polka dot bandana, riding a black tricycle with an upright posture
Needle-felted fox with russet and white wool standing upright on a miniature black bicycle against a neutral background
Needle felted bison sculpture with a brown woolly body, black face and legs, and small grey horns, positioned against a neutral background
Needlefelted pig standing upright on a tiny black bicycle against a neutral background
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